Pliability Rocks!
I've always known I should stretch more. I never knew it could be like this!
I've done some Yoga and Pilates in my time. As per my usual approach; I dabbled. Doing it here and there, never getting into a serious routine or making it a priority. I'm such a broken record.
Well, I've been introduced to something that has changed my life. Pliability.
First thing? I joined up. I never join up for things. It made that much observable difference in my daily life that I had to.
With all the intense hiking we've been doing lately, I've been getting very sore. I started watching strengthening videos on YouTube and one of them mentioned adding stretching to the routine to help with recovery. She casually mentioned Pliability and my ears perked up. I went searching to see what that might be.
Originally, it was created in conjunction with CrossFit but it's morphed into an all sport, life, range of motion, and recovery program.
They put you in some really crazy positions for what feels like forever but if you take it slow and learn to relax into the positions, you progress very quickly. That's a really tough concept, relaxing into something that hurts. It works.
I've already noticed improvements in my hiking because of it. I felt like the further range of motion I've achieved made me able to use more of my muscles which in turn made it easier to cover more ground faster.
Another huge milestone for me is I can squat! I have never in my life been able to squat flat footed and I've worked a lifetime of desk jobs that keep me in a limited range of motion. For me to be able to reverse (or correct) 50 years of damage and un-training in a mere 3 weeks is pretty insane. I'm not gonna lie, I still can't do it for the whole 5 minutes recommended by today's routine but I'm impressed.
Another amazing side effect is the feeling of being able to relax muscles you are actively using. That's a new concept to me. I've realized I clench everything. When I stand, I clench all the muscles in my legs, when I lay down, my arms and legs don't relax, etc. Now when I stand, I can relax the muscles in my legs and it actually makes the activity easier with less wasted energy. I've been sort of working against myself. All this intensive stretching is undoing all of that.
It's also helping me to fall asleep faster since I am relaxing better.
Even if you don't follow the Pliability program, I highly suggest finding some way to do intense stretching as a way to improve your range of motion. It's been a game changer for me.
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