How Much Flexibility Do You Need?
Jun 25th, 2007 by Mehdi Tags: Flexibility, Injury
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Several readers have asked me if they really need to do all those mobility & flexibility drills.
While I agree that too much flexibility is unnecessary for strength training, the majority tends to have a lack of flexibility rather than too much.
Why Flexibility? Lack of flexibility leads to several problems:
- Inability to do an exercise
- Inability to use correct technique
- Increased risk of injury
Here are 4 flexibility tests. If you fail at least one, start working your flexibility.
Upper Body Flexibility Test. For optimal power transfer & safety, weight training exercises need you to put:
- Shoulders down
- Shoulders back
- Chest forward
Bad posture, lifestyle & too much benching impair flexibility in the upper body.
First test:
- Right hand behind your head
- Left hand in your lower back
- Grab your hands
You should be able to at least touch your fingers.
Second test:
- Both hands behind your back
- Palms facing away
- Touch your wrist
Solution if you fail on the above tests:
- Shoulder Dislocations: 3 sets of 10 reps
- Triceps Stretches: 3 sets of 10 seconds
- 4 times a week
Hamstring Flexibility Test
If you sit a lot, you’ll probably have tight hamstrings. Flexible hamstrings are needed for many exercises:
- The Squat
- The Power Clean
- The Deadlift
The Hamstring Flexibility Test:
- Feet shoulder width apart
- Lower back straight
- Knees locked
- Bend from the hips
- Grab your toes
If you can’t at least touch the floor:
- Leg Swings
- 3 sets of 10 reps on each side
- 4 times a week
Wrist Flexibility Test. Repetitive gripping & computer work promote wrist tightness. Exercises like the Front Squat & the Power Clean will often cause wrist pain when lacking flexibility.
Wrist Flexibility test:
- Take a Barbell
- Put the bar on your front shoulders
- Assume the clean grip
Lack of wrist flexibility will make the clean grip uncomfortable. Treatment:
- Wrist Stretches
- Triceps Stretches
- 3 sets of 10 seconds
- 4 times a week
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I do agree that flexibility is important, however I wonder if the tests you gave are for everyone. Individuals with larger muscle mass I could see having a problem toughing wrists or grabbing hands behind back because their muscle mass restricts joint movement, not because off lack of flexibility. Wonder for example Hossein rezazadeh is able to touch his hands behind his back or touch his wrist, even if he has excellent shoulder mobility. I myself will see If I can get flexible enough to do the exercises.
Maurice,
Good question & an excellent example: Hossein Rezazadeh.
He weighs about 150kg and he can snatch. As you know, to be able to snatch you need to squat deep (which he does) & have very flexible shoulders to keep the weight behind you.
Take a look at this picture
He breaks parallel & squeezes the shoulderblades.
If you ask me: rezazadeh is very flexibile, even if he weighs 150kg. The fact only that he can use a clean grip (!), show that you can have wrist flexibility even if if you have big arms.