The basic method of flexibility training is repetition training method

The most universal and lowest basic method of flexibility training is the repetitive training method - this is the most certain conclusion that I have come to after practicing track and field specialties for 7 years, taking flexibility classes for ordinary students for 4 years, reading more than ten sports training materials at home and abroad, and talking with the provincial team's physical fitness coach, senior yoga instructor, and sports rehabilitation specialist.

To put it bluntly, the repetitive training method here refers to each training session, where you can either maintain static stretching or perform small-scale dynamic stretching at the position of the maximum stretch you can bear (without causing tingling). The same action is repeated multiple times and repeated training in a fixed cycle. There is no fancy threshold.

Oh yes, there must be someone who wants to refute it. Nowadays, there are many opinions from various schools on the Internet: Some yoga teachers say that you can hold still for 90 seconds without repeating, and you can "open up your flexibility" by breathing.”； Bloggers in the fitness circle say that dynamic elastic stretching is the core of improving sports performance, and static repetition is useless. ； Some rehabilitation therapists will remind you that too many repetitions will cause soft tissue strain, which is not worth the gain.

Don't tell me, these statements have their own applicable scenarios, and they are all wrong, but they essentially do not jump out of the underlying logic of the repetitive training method.

Let me tell you a true story about a student I taught: Last year, a brother who ran a marathon came to me to adjust his gait, saying that his hamstring muscles were tight and he couldn't stretch his stride. After practicing flexibility for two months, he held the leg static for 30 seconds every time he pressed his legs. He did it once on one side and was done. He couldn't even touch his toes when he bent his fingertips forward. Later, I asked him to change the plan: each time he presses to a position where there is obvious stretch but no pain, hold it for 15 seconds and then relax. Repeat one set of unilaterally 4 times, do 3 sets of each training, and practice 4 times a week. Only 3 weeks later, he could bend forward and put his palms on the ground. When running, his stride length increased by 5 centimeters. His hamstring muscles, which were sore after running 10 kilometers before, did not hurt much after half marathon.

Also, when I was on the track and field team, the dynamic leg swing required for warm-up before the game was to do 3 sets of 20 times each of front and back and left and right swings. It was not just a couple of swings and it was done. At that time, we always complained that the coach was too rigid, but later we realized that this is repetitive training in dynamic mode - the stretching range of a single leg swing is not enough. Only by repeating it a sufficient number of times can the viscoelasticity of the tendon be fully released, so that it is not easy to strain during competition.

From the perspective of exercise physiology, this logic is actually very easy to understand: our muscles, tendons, and joint capsules are all viscoelastic tissues, exactly like the thick rubber bands we played with when we were children. You pull it hard, and it does get longer. Within half a minute of letting go, it springs back to its original length. This is called elastic deformation, and it cannot be retained. Only when mild tensile stress is repeatedly applied to it, and each time it is stopped at the extreme position for a while, and the accumulated stimulation is enough, will it produce plastic deformation that can be retained for a long time, and the flexibility will really increase, not a temporary effect.

Oh, yes, I had a friend who was a yoga teacher argue with me before, saying that their school emphasizes "awareness guidance", and there is no need to repeat it deliberately, just follow the breath and go deep slowly. I asked her, when you bring a new member to hip opening, do you have to do the same posture three or four times, each time being a little deeper than the last time? She was stunned for a moment and had nothing to say - in fact, what she called "finding awareness step by step" was to do repeated training while controlling the intensity. It was just a different way of saying it.

As for the problem of repeated strains that many people worry about, it actually has nothing to do with the method itself. It's just that the intensity is not controlled well. When I was chatting with a rehabilitation specialist, he said that even for patients after ligament injuries, the PNF (Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation) used for rehabilitation is essentially repetitive: "contract for 6 seconds - relax for 3 seconds - further stretch." This cycle itself is a repetitive process, but the intensity is controlled more precisely each time. On the contrary, those who pursue "one-time opening of the hips" and "quick one-shot", press hard once, and are more likely to be injured if they do not repeat.

Of course, I’m not saying that all flexibility training must follow the same mold. If you're warming up before a game, do dynamic repetitive stretches to activate your muscles and improve your performance. ； If you have free time to relax, use the foam roller to repeatedly roll the tense muscles, which is also a kind of repeated relaxing stretch. ； If the joint itself is relatively loose, or is in the recovery period, then reduce the holding time of a single rep, reduce the number of repetitions, and do whatever is comfortable for you.

After all, when people look for various flexibility training techniques, they are essentially trying to take shortcuts. I have seen too many people sign up for "hip classes in 7 days" or "learn a horse in 3 days". A class consists of seven or eight movements that last 90 minutes. It looks fancy, but in fact each movement requires you to do it several times. In essence, it is just a repetitive training method in a different package to charge you money.

If you really want to improve your flexibility, you don't need to find so many extravagant activities. Choose two or three movements each time, control the intensity and repeat it several times. Practice three or four times a week for two months. The effect will be more obvious than ten crash courses. It's that simple.

Oh yes, one last thing to add: If you feel tingling while practicing, don’t hold on, relax immediately. The prerequisite for repetition is that you won’t get hurt. This is the bottom line.