Awesome video, I love how fun you make these seem! One suggestion from someone who is inflexible and has been working on flexibility and mobility (mobility is really what's being worked here -> active strength through range of motion) is to also show these exercises with someone who is pretty inflexible. Both of you are incredibly flexible! And it's sometimes hard to visualize/get motivated when I'm like "why can't I be as flexible as them"
Yeah , for us mere mortals , I can't get a perspective on how to progress towards these goals. No way to get anywhere close to this level. Super inspiring though Anna
I started quite inflexible. I used to struggle to touch my toes without bending my knees so I recommend starting the journey. It doesn't come easy but it's worth it. Start @4:05 with a standing variation, you may do this for months. This is quite an accessible position if you are very tight, and hold a weight to your chest to assist you into a stretch! Leaning your bum against a wall in this position can help a lot with support so you can go deeper. When I started adding weight to assist my stretching it was a total game changer for me. Some people respond well to relaxed passive stretching but that never worked for me. Use weights and get comfortable with stretching being hard.
I agree! I've been stretching 3-4 days nights/week for years (with some periods of inconsistency) and progress on hip abduction has been nil. In the beginning, I couldn't touch my toes from a standing position with straight legs, but now I can put my palms on the floor. I figured it would be easy to learn to do a side split, but it's pretty defeating -- lots of pain and no progress. I wish I could blame it on something anatomical, but I think it's just me. I can work for 30 minutes and see progress, but the gains are lost the next day.
ANNNAA!!! I've missed your videos and your energy. So happy to see you on my feed again!! You have either perfect timing or you are a mind reader because I have been focusing on my flexibility the last two weeks. I have seen such crazy improvements and new strengths because I have added mobility and flexibility training. Love all the information and examples. I am definitely adding some of these moves to my training.
Wow thanks a lot for the informative video! Flexibility and mobility are definitely the things I lack and need to improve for my climbing. I’ve always underrated the importance of being flexible, but now I’m motivated to stretch more
very interesting and informative! kinda funny how Josh's standing pancake "starting position" (90°ish) would already be a massive goal for my inflexible ass 😅
Thank you so much Anna and Josh for making this video :) Definitely looking to get stronger in a great range of motion and just improve my flexibility in general. Felt like I hit a bit of a plateau so will defo try adding weights - it seems so obvious once pointed out! Thank you again guys :)💛
The lifting the leg while in the splits was a really helpful tip/exercise! I have a lot of passive flexibility and mobility from a background in dance which helps me tremendously as I'm super short at 153cm but my next goal is to improve lifting my leg higher when I can't get my body away from the leg.
Have you guys seen the Hubermanlab episode on the science of flexibility? He gets all into the science of flexibility and protocols to get the most out of each stretching session...like how many reps, how hard to push, how often etc... to further flexibility. He uses big words and talks about scientific studies..... It's great. Thanks for the awesome video, I learned a lot!
Don’t underestimate stretching. I managed to severely strain my adductors with a few days of enthusiastic stretching. It didn’t even really hurt during stretching (like 6/10), but took me months to recover from. At first I couldn’t even stand for 5 minutes or squeeze my legs together without intense pain.
This is great! I'm stiff as a board... How often show these exercises be done? And for how long? Any thing we can do for wrists? I can't even fold 90 deg -_-
I was literally commenting on my lack of flexibility tonight while climbing some routes with high feet. Then you upload this. Are you reading my thoughts?
Are there any recommendations on sets and reps for passive and/or active flexibility? How often should you do them? Every day? Should you do rest days, like with calisthenics or weight lifting?
Had a similar question so I'll copy & paste here..... Yes, 3 set of 30s is fine and one option. However some people respond better to 60 or 90 seconds if they struggle to relax. So experiment a little. My other go-to method is 'Tempo' stretching. So moving in and out of a deep stretch for 6-8 reps (3 sets). But the key is to use slow tempo (pausing in the stretch for 2-3 seconds). Tempo stretching can bring more intensity to a stretch whereas long duration holds brings more volume/TUT to a stretch. Both valid methods but suit different people or phases of a programme 😊
Are there any reasons why someone would have similar levels of passive and active flexibility for some movement ? I feel like in the side splits I barely gain any depth when supporting my weight 🤔
Ballet dancer and climber here: The secret to flexibility is really just to suck it up and do them damn stretches regularly. If you aren't uncomfortable during stretching, the stimulus is not big enough to let you progress 🤷🏼♀️
I agree to a certain extent but I have a friend who can basically touch with his forehead to his shins without the help of his arms. He's 40 years old and haven't stretched for like...15 years. He used to be an sports acrobat and stretched like hell from the age of like 9. Now he still has the benefits without stretchng. How should I get flexible when I'm 40 and had always problems with flexibility (long frame/limbs, 1,95m/6'5")? I stretch daily but it's an endless groundhog day for me as the gains are unsustainable. Any advice?
@@gallanonim6535 Your friend is what I would call a genetic freak, it just comes naturally for some, and usually you'd have to maintain that level of flexibility like crazy or it will be gone in no time. I am also tall and not gifted at all, for example, when doing a pancake / middle split my hips will only touch the ground if I excessively arch my back, because my hips are build like that and I have to accept my physical limits. If this is the case for you, it should feel like the joint is blocked, much different from when the muscle is limiting. For forward folds I don't really see this as an issue though, maybe try isometric stretching and go for quality over quantity. I only strech every second day, because I can go at it much harder if my hamstrings aren't sore to begin with. A few sets of 30 seconds a week should be enough to progress, but I have to go close to my absolute limit. If you are talking about general mobility I don't have much advice, just keep going, maybe switch it up with yoga or something similar. The later you start, the slower you'll progress unfortunately. Kudos for working on it in your 40s, I'm sure most people your age don't compare to you at all!
@@TyLee96 or someone that did a lot of stretching in a period of life when it can be beneficial for years. Same with climbers. I can apply Megos or Koyamada's fingerboarding routine but will never even get close to them. Anna lives in a bubble. I wonder if she thinks that her level of flexibility is attainable for most climbers? Because it's certainly not.
@@gallanonim6535 Anna's level is attainable for anyone who is willing to put in the work. I learned my oversplits and middle splits in my twenties 🤷🏼♀️ Although I must admit that once you have this level, you lose touch with how everyone else is not able to take any beta advice from you because it often involves advanced mobility and flexibility.
So would you also apply the same 3 set, 30 second rule to the first step of building passive flexibility? (Say when trying to transition between the standing, and seated pancake?)
Yes, 3 set of 30s is fine and one option. However some people respond better to 60 or 90 seconds if they struggle to relax. So experiment a little. My other go-to method is 'Tempo' stretching. So moving in and out of a deep stretch for 6-8 reps. But the key is to use slow tempo (pausing in the stretch for 2-3 seconds). Tempo stretching can bring more intensity to a stretch whereas long duration holds brings more volume/TUT to a stretch. Both valid methods but suit different people or phases of a programme 😊
I had a similar comment above so I'll paste my response here 😊......"Being realistic, 1-2 years at least. You might get suggested less but this usually assumes you will do it consistently, with no breaks, you get great recovery and prioritise stretching over other things. It took me over a year to do a full pancake because climbing was always a high priority, I took expended climbing trips where I did very little and I had injuries to overcome. My advise would be to set intermediate goals to stay motivated along the way 😊"
my legs are 60° from one another when I get in pancake position, and in that position it takes a lot of effort to even not fall on my back and I can't keep my back straight... so... how long would it hypothetically take for me? 😅
@@bennythebear0711 I'm having a hard time imagining that it would take me less than the upper bound he advertised. ^^ I'm not sure I've ever seen people who had less than 60° ^^
Being realistic, 1-2 years at least. You might get suggested less but this usually assumes you will do it consistently, with no breaks, you get great recovery and prioritise stretching over other things. It took me over a year to do a full pancake because climbing was always a high priority, I took expended climbing trips where I did very little and I had injuries to overcome. My advise would be to set intermediate goals to stay motivated along the way 😊
Hey Anna! Thank you so much for this video! I'm a young trans fan and my lack of flexibility (in general and for climbing) has been a source of gender dysphoria for me so this video is much appreciated
I do wonder if body structure plays a role in a person's overall flexibility or at least possible limit of flexibility. 🤔 You made those pancakes look like a breeze.😮
Perhaps at the extreme end of flexibility it is true, but the majority of people never get to that. Pretty much any healthy person has the theoretical ability to do a split.
Yes for sure. Moreso genetics and lifestyle play a role also in speed of improvement. But most people will be fine and use this as an excuse too early on. Side split for example is the hardest to develop but most people are limited by their hamstrings being too tight and therefore have bad side split posture.