In the pursuit of surplus amounts of muscle mass, many individuals will often neglect other facets of their fitness levels. Everybody comes into the gym with a plan: warm up with some cardio, do some strength training, possibly finish with a cool-down or some more cardio. Often the area that is neglected is flexibility training. I can’t say that I blame gym-goers for skipping this. Not all of us have the luxury of being able to spend hours upon hours in the gym. Many of us work 40+hrs per week; have a social life, a family, school and other items which occupy our day. Most of the time after an intense strength training session the last thing I want to do is waste more time at the gym. But did you know that something which takes up minimal amount of time can mean all the difference in terms of your performance and injury prevention?

Let’s kick this off with explaining what flexibility actually is. It is best defined as pain free range of motion throughout a particular joint. A more in-depth definition would be “a pain free range of motion throughout a particular joint which allows for optimal neuromuscular efficiency”, as defined by the National Academy of Sports Medicine. There exists a multitude of viewpoints on this particular topic as it relates to preventing or treating injuries, correcting muscular imbalances, optimizing range of motion, along with different protocols and recommendations. As a coach, trainer and professor in the field of exercise science, I don’t believe in a one size fit all or cookie cutter routine approach to exercise prescription, but rather believ…

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