How to progress in flexibility

Flexibility, Volume and Intensity

In any given flexibility exercise you can progress by either increasing volume and/or intensity.

Volume = Set, reps and duration of hold.

Intensity = External weight to the same position and sensation of stretch (i.e. range of motion).

All of the aforementioned factors can be combined but for the sake of simplicity we’ll only cover how to increase intensity in this blog post.

Let’s take the classic hip extension exercise Long Lunge. In the Long Lunge the aim is to keep the hip low and straighten the back leg as much as possible. When the back leg is fully extended it’s time to move to the next step (not taking volume into account)

So what is the next step?

One way of increasing intensity is by getting into the same position but holding 2x8 kg dumbbells which will force the contraction to be higher to maintain the position.

Another way is by elevated the back leg increasing the demand by having to increase the angle of the thigh in relation to the pelvis and torso.

Another way would be to increase demand of both range and external weight by holding a kettlebell over head.

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Which one is the better way?

No one can know. Based on my experience I know what strategy I would use with the person in front of me but the only way to know for sure is to test, retest and evaluate the process.

If you dive deeper into the rabbit hole of flexibility training you’ll find that you can also increase the intensity by placing a support under the back knee, by holding a weight over head, by using a resistance band to pull with the direction of the tension and to use a resistance band to pull against the direction of the tension but we’ll save that for another blog post.

To summarize

Want to get more flexible?

Increase range and/or add more resistance to the same position.

..and obviously spend time in a given position increasing the amount of sets, reps and/or the duration of the hold.