How many times have you tried to get “more flexible”? How many times did you try to increase your flexibility by simply stretching after your lifts? How long did you stick to that?

The truth is, if you want to improve your flexibility, you need to treat it the same way you would treat your strength program. To see true, drastic improvements in your flexibility, you need a flexibility program. A flexibility program will: (a) hold you accountable, (b) target the muscle groups you want to see improvements in, (c) ensure you are stretching enough to see improvements, and (d) progress you properly.

So before we dive into the components your flexibility program should include, let's define flexibility. Flexibility is the ability of a muscle to lengthen. Flexibility is a muscle-specific term. So if you are confusing flexibility with mobility, here is the difference. While flexibility focuses on the stretch of a muscle, mobility is the ability of a joint to move through a specific range of motion. Mobility is joint-specific. So, if you want to improve your hip mobility, you need to work on moving that joint through different ranges of motion. Yes, mobility is impacted my flexibility. So if all the muscle surrounding your hips (glutes, erectors, hip flexors, abductors, adductors, etc.) are tight, then your mobility is probably limited. For the sake of this post, we are focusing on how to improve flexibility. These principles are to be applied to the muscle groups that you want to see improvements in flexibility. Now let’s get to it!

Program Guidelines

1. Frequency

How often should you be stretching? The minimum # of times you should be stretching per week is 2 times. Personally, I would recommend more than that. I would recommend 3-4 times a week for faster improvements in flexibility, especially if you have a sedentary job or lifestyle!

2. Duration

You don’t need to stretch for hours on end to see improvements. Truthfully, you can stretch for 10 minutes 2x a week and see some improvements in your flexibility. Typically, I would say anywhere between 10-30 minutes of stretching is enough. Your duration of time spent stretching does depend on how many muscle groups you are trying to increase your flexibility in. If you are only focused on hamstrings, 10 minutes is more than enough. But if you want to improve your hamstrings, quads, calves, glutes, low back, t-spine, and shoulders, you might need a much longer stretching session. 

3. Sets & Reps

2-4 sets per stretch is the recommended number of sets for stretching. As for reps, stretching “reps” are defined by the duration of a stretch. Stretches should be held for 15-30 seconds, with most being held toward the latter end of that. 

4. Intensity

Determining the intensity of stretching is difficult to do. The intensity is dependent on the person’s stretch tolerance, meaning how well they can handle the discomfort of stretching. Stretches should be held to a point of discomfort, not pain. Stretching should be difficult and it should take effort. If you are holding a stretch just to maintain flexibility, that is great! But if you want to see improvements in your flexibility, your stretches should be somewhat difficult to get through. Once again, treat stretching like lifting!

Other Considerations

Here are a few other considerations and disclaimers I want to mention so you can have the most information necessary to start your stretching program.

Age, gender, injuries, and exercise history all play a part in your flexibility. Typically women are more flexible than men and younger individuals are more flexible than older ones. If you have had previous injuries, your flexibility might be limited or enhanced! Sometimes injuries can cause tightness, and other times it can cause hyper-mobility. In the cases of hyper-mobile joints, you should focus on strength training & stabilization over flexibility. Finally, if you have been active your whole life, you are likely to be more flexible than someone who has not. If you don’t use it, you lose it! So if you have been active, stay active to ensure you maintain your flexibility across your lifetime!
One last consideration is when you should stretch. True stretching should be done either after you stretch or in its own session. Of course you can stretch before activity, but typically dynamic stretches should be the focus of your pre-lift or pre-workout stretching. Dynamic stretches are great, but they have less long-term flexibility enhancement than static stretching has. Stretching after your lifts is great because your body is already warm. When your muscles are warm, they have the ability to lengthen to a greater extent than previously. So as long as you are intentional with your stretches after your lift, stretching post-lift is a great option. Making stretching its own session is also great! This will help ensure you are staying focused and intentional during your stretches. If you choose to stretch in a separate session, make sure you perform a full body warm up to get your muscles warm so you can enhance your stretches. Remember, a warm muscle has more flexibility, which can potentially lead to greater long-term improvements.

To wrap it all up, here are my flexibility recommendations: 

• Choose 2-3 muscle groups to focus on at a time 

• Stretch for at least 10 minutes, holding each stretch for 15-30 seconds

• Perform each stretch 2-4 times

• Choose 3-5 stretches per muscle group you are focusing on

• Stretch at least 2x/week (I recommend 3-4x)

• Stretch intentionally & follow some type of stretching program

• Follow that program for at least 5 weeks

I hope this helped simplify stretching programs. Subscribe to my newsletter for insider deals, blog post notifications, & updates! Click the button below for one-on-one online coaching so you can start making REAL progress in the gym:)