How do I Improve Flexibility?

@Sara007- Unfortunately there is no easy answer, whether you're a little overweight or a lot, or even if you're just out of shape. Some people seem to be naturally flexible, but I think that's rare.

For most of us, we just have to go slowly. Start with simple calf, leg, and arm stretches, and remember to warm up a little first- stretching cold can cause injury too. After awhile it might be easier to include things like planks, which are great for abs and arms, and things like a butterfly stretch for your legs and hips, and toe touches.

I like yoga but I don't think that is really for everyone. You can improve flexibility with simpler stretches if that's your main interest.

I love to ski in the winter, but know it is going to be hard on my legs if I don't do some exercises before we go.

Once fall comes, I try to improve my hamstring flexibility so I can ski all day long without getting tired.

For some reason downhill skiing is really hard on my hamstrings, and I try to keep them flexible and toned up so they won't take so much abuse.

I have a set of exercises that takes me about 10-15 minutes to go through. If I am faithful about doing these several days a week, it keeps my body much more flexible and reduces the chance of an injury.

If you just let things go on a natural course, you seem to lose a lot of flexibility as you get older. Like anything, it takes consistent work to stay flexible and in shape.

I have been trying to improve my lower back flexibility. It seems like my back is stiff in the mornings and after doing some extra work that my back muscles are not used to.

I figure if I can work on keeping my back flexible, I won't notice such a difference when I do some extra yard work.

It seems like many people have back problems, and I think this would be miserable to live with this all the time. I am trying to keep my back flexible with stretching exercises so it stays strong and won't get out of place as easily.

For many years I was regular and consistent with my exercise. Once I got out of the habit, it was hard to discipline myself to get back in to a regular routine.

What I noticed most was how much flexibility I seemed to have lost. It took many months of stretching before each work out session to get back to where I was before I quit exercising.

Since you lose your flexibility gradually over time, it is something you don't think much about until you need to bend down to get something. Even getting up off the floor makes a big difference if you don't stay flexible.

I don't know if there is an effective way to improve flexibility fast. My muscles and ligaments really needed to work at this slowly and consistently so I wouldn't get an injury.

How do you improve your flexibility if you are overweight and have trouble moving about easily?

I am not hugely overweight, but I find it difficult to maintain floor poses for any length of time without experiencing quite a bit of pain.

I want to improve my overall flexibility and focus on how to improve leg flexibility.

Right now I am eating better and doing a lot of cardio work, but I find that my lack of flexibility is really impacting how effective my workouts are. I can't afford a personal trainer, so if anyone has any tips it would be much appreciated.

If you want to know how to improve flexibility I would suggest signing up for a yoga class. Yoga classes are available for beginners and they have done an amazing job at improving my overall flexibility.

I think that yoga is challenging when you first start up, but once you get the initial poses down you can start pushing yourself to do more. I think that my improved back flexibility has been well worth the effort needed to do well in a yoga class.

Also, if you aren't up for a yoga class just yet, try buying a workout DVD and picking up a cheap yoga mat so you can start at your own pace.