What you can’t change

To avoid any unrealistic expectations, remember that there are some physical factors that everyone has in common that simply can’t be changed. Yes, genetics do play a big part in individual flexibility, so I guess it’s okay to blame your family for this one . . . sorry mom!

• Your gender: Research indicates that, in general, women are more flexible than men. One reason could be because of bone structure because, for example, women usually have broader and shallower hips, which give them a potential for greater range of motion in the pelvic area.
• Your age: The aging process diminishes normal muscle function, including strength, endurance, and flexibility. Lost muscle mass is replaced with fat and collagen. Collagen is the main component in connective tissue and is highly inflexible. Although aging is, of course, inevitable, you can greatly slow down this process with your lifestyle choices, such as eating right, exercising, and stretching regularly!
• Elasticity of connective tissue in muscles or joints: Don’t think of flexibility in terms of your whole body; think in terms of the range of motion of each joint. And each of the joints in your body is made up of bones, muscles, and three types of connective tissue:
• Tendons: Tendons connect muscle to bone, and they drag the bone along when the muscle moves. Firm, strong tendons are a good thing because without them your muscles would be inefficient and unstable. You don’t focus on stretching the tendons in this book.
• Ligaments: Ligaments connect bone to bone (such as the bones in your knees and in your elbows) and play a large role in the stability of a joint and how much range of motion is possible in that joint. Because you don’t want wiggly knees or elbows, you don’t want to stretch your ligaments, either.
• Fascia: This tissue is the rest of the connective tissue in your body. You can find fascia under the skin, deep in your body surrounding your organs and within your muscles, holding the fibers of the muscle together in a compact, efficient bunch. As much as 30 percent of a muscle is fascia, but the precise percentage is determined solely by genetics, so the amount of fascia in your muscles can play a large role in how tight or flexible your muscles can be. If you were born with a high percentage of fascia in your muscles, chances are you will be less flexible overall.
• Your bone and joint structure limitations: You can thank Mom and Dad for your bone structure. Plain and simple, some people’s joints allow more range of motion than others. Get over it. Just like your childhood.