"Miracle" flexibility suggestion for tight people

[Fiddleman 4,376]

If anyone has been following my posts, one the topics i post frequently about is my struggle with flexibility and mobility as well as general back soreness / stiffness. I have been trying yoga for a long time (6 months) with no real strides. I stretch a lot before warming up and after cooling down for a workout.

I also have purchased a couple of excellent books on the subject of flexibility and mobility titled " genius of flexibility" and "supple leopard." I am starting to work through both books and they are going to help, but it will take a while to absorb the information and put it into practice. I like the supple leopard is written by a Cross fit expert and it is considered a bible in the athletic circles. I also use a great roller (TP roller ) for getting knots out of my muscles every day, but it does not really help with general stiffness.

However, despite months of trying to gain flexibility I still struggle with a simple activity like bending over at the waist and putting my palms on the ground without tons of resistance from my hamstrings. In fact, I cannot do this. The best I can do is touch the ground with my legs slightly bent. For the life of me, I am noble to keep my legs locked straight and touch the ground. Yoga moves continue to be challenging because of this body stiffness. I think a majority of this stiffness and soreness comes from decades of poor posture in both the sitting and standing positions. I have been a computer person for 30 years professionally a software developer who works long hours for the last 15.

I need a miracle because lack of flexibility and mobility is holding me back during my workouts, especially my cross fit workouts that involve lifting heavier weights. It is not a strength issue, but a mobility issue for me on several of the typical lifts. It is a bit frustrating because I try and use good posture today when working out, yet struggle with basic mobility due to my past chair sitting. I want to be supple like a leopard.

Today, I spent about 30 minutes laying on a product known as bed of nails today, making sure my lower back was getting good exposure to the acupuncture. Usually I was on it for 5 minutes at night time, but today I wanted to see if 30 minutes makes a difference. I also used the pillow to apply acupuncture to my neck region and upper shoulders.

Afterwards, the tightness was completely gone from my lower back and butt region in addition to my neck, shoulder region and rest of back. Another thing I did prior to laying down on it was drink some BCAA. I do not know if it helped, but perhaps the BCAA worked with the acupuncture to send BCAA goodness immediately to those tight muscles. Usually I do not take bcaa before using the bed of nails. Don't know, it is a theory. Can anyone validate that?

After i got up, I bent over at the waist, legs straight and put my two palms flat on the ground with no resistance from my lower back and hamstrings. Yes! It is a miracle. I am not not into traditional acupuncture (nor may you be), but wanted to give this bed of nails product a try to see if it would work some magic. indeed, it has. You can find bed of nails at bed bath and beyond or you can order it or generic products like it from Amazon. I got a generic product because cost was 35 instead of 120+. Same type of product, just without the brand name.

Maybe this will help you also with flexibility and mobility as it has helped me. I plan in continuing to dedicate 30 minutes a day to elongate the pain free flexibility duration, and with enough time, perhaps the stiffness will be permanently eliminated. Here is hoping to that!

[Globetrotter 1,340]

How are your sun salutations? I too have a lot of tightness in the back of my thighs and calves and achilles, if I begin my sun sals with a simple bend at the waist dangle, I can actually see my hands getting closer to the ground as my spine releases. And, as much as it is not a favorite of mine, the longer I stay in downward dog, the better it is for me. They say that your position hasn't really begun until your body starts talking to you/protesting, that's the point where you are supposed to breathe into it and go deeper.

Also, a Xfit trick - the tennis ball mash-out: take a tennis ball, lay down on it, positioning it under the stiff spot, and then gently release your entire body weight into it, breathing into the (good) pain. Once you are acclimated to it, gently roll around on it, really mashing it into the fibers. Hurts so good!!

[Fiddleman 4,376]

How are your sun salutations? I too have a lot of tightness in the back of my thighs and calves and achilles' date=' if I begin my sun sals with a simple bend at the waist dangle, I can actually see my hands getting closer to the ground as my spine releases. And, as much as it is not a favorite of mine, the longer I stay in downward dog, the better it is for me. They say that your position hasn't really begun until your body starts talking to you/protesting, that's the point where you are supposed to breathe into it and go deeper.

Also, a Xfit trick - the tennis ball mash-out: take a tennis ball, lay down on it, positioning it under the stiff spot, and then gently release your entire body weight into it, breathing into the (good) pain. Once you are acclimated to it, gently roll around on it, really mashing it into the fibers. Hurts so good!![/quote']

Globetrotter- Thanks for the bio-feedback information.

Unfortunately, my body talks to me like this every time before I start strength training. you know, my trainer was telling me this last week hat most of the really good cross fit guys and gals spend 30-45 minutes stretching out before they begin their WOD. I find this quite hard to see myself stretching for this amount of time. Most of my stretching is done 10 minutes max. Warmup contains some stretching also which may add another 5 minutes.

I used to use the taped balls on my back to increase mobility in the upper body, but have not done this for several months. I start with laying on it about in the middle of my back and reach overhead to touch the floor in an arc. I move the taped balls up a few inches and repeat until the taped balls are under my neck. It is supposed to help, but I just have not done it in so long.

I usually do PVC passthroughs every time to increase mobility of my shoulders and upper body. To increase mobility in my legs and inner thighs before I do squats, I sit as close to the wall as possible and plant my feet on the wall in a sumo squat position while pressing my knees outward with my arms. This does help. It is surprising at how much my inner thighs and hamstrings gripe about getting into the perfect deep squat position.

I do alot more stretching exercises. However, none of these moves are permanently "fixing" my flexibility and mobility issues. I am hoping that a thorough read through my books " genius of flexibility" and "supple leopard" will give me some long term flexibility and mobility solutions. I want to be able to stay flexible and mobile instead of regressing back into a tightwad. I will continue on the acupressure technique described above because of the "miraculous healing" it gave me. Lol.

Do not think from my post that the yoga and mobility training has not helped over the months. It has. I am so much more flexible and mobile then before I started focusing on it 7 months ago. It is just I have high expectations and I have big goals to reach.

Thanks again for taking the time to give me feedback. I appreciate it.

[Macy6 356]

For my birthday In July I received a gift card to Amazon I wasn't sure what I wanted to buy After I saw this post a few weeks ago I went ahead and I purchased an acupressure mat. I agree it took some getting used to but now when I use it for about 30 minutes a day I can't believe how much better I feel. I haven't paid much attention to my flexibility but it is taken away my lower back pain completely and it helps a lot with headaches and upper body tightness.

[Macy6 356]

Another thing.... I used to have bad knots in my lower back and it would take me rubbing them daily to keep them at bay. No joke two days of doing this they were gone. I think I paid $47 and it was the mat and a pillow and protective bag.

[Fiddleman 4,376]

Another thing.... I used to have bad knots in my lower back and it would take me rubbing them daily to keep them at bay. No joke two days of doing this they were gone. I think I paid 47 and it was the mat and a pillow and protective bag.

That sounds so great. Good to hear about it helping you. I get so much muscle ache relief from laying on the accupressure mat for 10-15 minutes a day combined with rolling on TP roller.

[Canary Diamond 186]

I read recently that releasing tension in the glutes and uppermost parts of the hamstrings also strengthens the pelvic floor......ladies.....and does so much more effectively that Kegels, which can actually weaken the pelvic floor.

[robin04 8]

Have you tried doing yoga?? I have awful flexibility and everyone keeps telling me to throw some yoga into my routines and I would better my workouts and my results. I find yoga kinda boring but my friends suggested "fountain of youth" yoga. apparently its an easier to do yoga for those who are not very flexible. I actually have never looked into it but am happily passing along the info to you. But it is something that I probably should really look into. I just want like a short 15-20 minute video, I feel like even doing that a couple times a week could help with some flexibility issues. If you find something that works for you, I would LOVE to hear about it!!

[Fiddleman 4,376]

I have tried and tried to enjoy yoga. Several times. I just find it to be quite a snooze and get bored with it. I suppose that is the point ( to be ultra relaxed with it), but it is so boring I do not really look forward to it. I have done Hatha, yin, power vinyasa and hot yoga. Again, not trying to bad mouth yoga for those that really like it. I just cannot seem to staying committed with it.

Recently, I have found that a stretch my trainer refers to as good morning stretch really helps stretch lower back, ham strings, calves and Achilles' tendon. It is good. Basically you put a PVC pipe or broom stick into back squat position and bend over at the waist, chest up, head up, legs straight, back straight. It is also called a stripper stretch too, I think, because your butt is sticking up there with flat back as you bend over. Good stretch!

[robin04 8]

I have tried and tried to enjoy yoga. Several times. I just find it to be quite a snooze and get bored with it. I suppose that is the point ( to be ultra relaxed with it), but it is so boring I do not really look forward to it. I have done Hatha, yin, power vinyasa and hot yoga. Again, not trying to bad mouth yoga for those that really like it. I just cannot seem to staying committed with it.

Recently, I have found that a stretch my trainer refers to as good morning stretch really helps stretch lower back, ham strings, calves and Achilles' tendon. It is good. Basically you put a PVC pipe or broom stick into back squat position and bend over at the waist, chest up, head up, legs straight, back straight. It is also called a stripper stretch too, I think, because your butt is sticking up there with flat back as you bend over. Good stretch!

Not going to lie, I am right there with you about my feelings about yoga... it get bored. But your stretch sounds good! I'll have to find me some pvc piping or something similar around the house!

[southernsoul 773]

Thanks for posting the info about the bed of nails mat. My husband suffers from terrible back pain. I told him about your post & he was excited to try it...so it's on the way from Amazon right now!

[Canary Diamond 186]

I have a question, Fiddly Diddly. While looking at mats on Amazon I noticed that they are around 30" in length. Do you find it helps release tension in areas other than the back, even though only your back is touching it while your lying on it?

[Fiddleman 4,376]

I have been thinking about whether it works on the legs or not. Not sure, but am open to trying it out. The pillow takes some getting used to. Sometimes it feels really awesome and other times, it feels like it is a little too spiky for the back of head. I am trying to get it to rest more on my upper shoulders and neck, but it usually ends up just touching the back of the head. I tried putting the spiky pillow under the lumbar area and that worked really well in providing extra relief not given from the mat alone. I am sure there are other ways you can use the mat and pillow, but so far I am using them as designed and getting really good results from it. The Mat does make both my arms and legs receive increased circulation, so they tend to benefit from just exposing your back to the mat.

[Canary Diamond 186]

I guess what I was wondering was whether you find it benefits body parts other than the back when you are using it only on your back (as it was designed). Do you feel the release anywhere else? You mentioned you felt looser in the hamstrings, but from my understanding you only used in on your back. I know the muscles along the spine can correspond to other areas of the body when it comes to pain, so I'm curious as to whether this applies to muscle relaxation as well.

[Macy6 356]

I too struggle with the pillow. It is awkwardly weird, I tend to stick with it for half the time and switch to a regular pillow. I will have to try it in the lumbar area.