Not long ago I wrote a post about the top 10 excuses about flexibility training, today I want to talk about which common mistakes I see people do (and I did too) that set them back with progress and makes flexibility training uneffective and at times dangerous too. So here we go, in no particular order:

1. You don’t know what you’re looking for.

What does flexibility training mean to you? A way to learn a difficult pole move? Better balance? A sense of connection between body and mind? Relief from sitting all day? Getting splits? Handstands? Deep backbends? There are several schools out there that uses flexibility in different ways (contortion, gymnastics, yoga etc), with different technique, goals, training philosophy. Make sure you know what you want out of the time you spend training and what better fits your needs.

2. You don’t commit to a method/teacher, rather jump from one thing to another.

This is very common. You started out following someone’s DVD, then got into this circus stretching class, then suddenly switched to more yoga, but then changed your mind and went back to the DVD, taking in the meantime a couple of private classes with different instructors as well. WOW your body must feel confused ! It’s highly unproductive to jump from one thing to another, and this apply to any training (and diet as well). Your body is a creature of habit, and needs TIME and lot of the SAME STUFF over and over to actually show you it’s capable of improvement and change. So make up your mind, pick a studio, a gym, a class, a coach and COMMIT to it. Spend a good amount of time (1-3 months) before deciding if what you chose is not working for you. Few things works better than too many, always.

3. You don’t know how to warm up.

This is very common too! You just do few arms circles, couple leg swings, some cobras and then… 5 minutes have passed and you think it’s time to get to the hard stuff. Not really! I’m not saying to warm up an hour (even tho I can spend an hour warming up easily!) but at least give your body 20 minutes to raise its temperature, start greater blood flow and gentle opening up what’s about to be stretched. I love warming up because it’s also the time I start getting my mind ready and focus.

4. You jump to the hardest stretch without allowing your body to gradually open.

No wonder you feel stiff… You need to go from easier stretches to harder ones. Stretching is like a video game: you can’t go to level 5 before passing through level 1,2,3,4, right? The easier stretches are necessary to open up your body, gradually and safely, so that when you attempt to do something harder, you put your body in the best condition for it. Do you think I go to the gym and flop into a cheststand? It takes me at least half hour 😉

5. You stretch only when you feel good.

If I had to stretch only on “good days”, it would be probably once a week lol. But that doesn’t make any progress happen! You need to get your body accustomed to the stretches, on good and bad days. Once I was told actually, the biggest growth you make it on bad days, not good ones. So if you decided to stretch 3 days a week, you will do it, no matter what.

6. You avoid stretching when stiff.

This is similar to the previous point. You’ll need to stretch even when you feel you’ll suck. Obviously you won’t go so hard (keep in mind stiffness is one thing, being injured is another), but you gotta do it, because of what said in mistake #5. You’ll feel better afterwards, and most probably you’ll get rid of some of the stiffness, too!

7. You take long breaks.

This is highly counterproductive, and another very common mistake. You are trying to get your body more bendy, and you started maybe later in life, like me. You’re basically trying to domesticate your muscles, tendons, ligaments, nervous system to another way of being, which is pretty uncomfortable at first if you ask me. And you think you can take 2 weeks off? Your body can’t wait for that and reverse everything back to the previous state (before stretching), especially at the beginning. But that means basically flush down the toilet all the efforts and tiny changes in progress. Do not stop stretching especially if you’re a beginner.

8. You switch your routine/exercises too often.

You try few times a certain pose, take a good picture of it, move on to something else. Or you keep getting distracted by Instagram craze challenges, or something you saw on Pinterest but wait, you already forgot. Get your brain out of social networks and into YOUR TRAINING, YOUR GOALS, YOUR PROGRESS. Forget what others do, and don’t think just because you’re getting tired of the same stretches, they are no longer effective. You can always get deeper and add variations to them. Have a stretching routine and do not change it, beside after few months, to add something new.

9. You look for stretches on Youtube.

Youtube if full of crap, be aware. Following a 10 year old doing triple folds doesn’t sounds like a great idea, anyway.

10. You get out of a stretch the moment it feels uncomfortable.

There is a difference between uncomfortable and “I’m gonna die here, now”. The uncomfortable is where the stretching process STARTS. The “I’m gonna die here, now” is where you actually make the real progress and set a new limit. Of couse I’m exaggerating, but what I mean is, you need to keep in mind flexibility involves a good dose of uncomfort, that sometimes it mixes with fear and desire to get out of a stretch right away. But as long as you’re well warmed up, breathe, take it slowly and are in good teacher’s hands, you’ll be fine. Try to hold your stretches little over the uncomfortable level, just few seconds more and will make a big difference in the long run.

Hope you enjoyed this post, questions are welcome, and if you like, you can share it too!