I've been working out for years, mostly strength training plus some running/sports for cardio. I've pretty much hit plateaus for weightlifting and over the past ~2 years I haven't seen all that much improvement. I had a fitness assessment yesterday and was pretty much told exactly what I suspected. The source of any plateauing strength wise is purely due to technical/mechanical problems. Basically, I'm ridiculously inflexible and it limits my weightlifting performance/results. (Can't fully extend, wrong muscles over-compensating, etcetc..)

I've always been inflexible and years of weightlifting (with not enough stretching) has seriously compounded the issue. So essentially, I'm interested in a general "full body" stretching routine. I'm having trouble finding one with google and such so I figured I'd post here. Even if anyone has a reference to another forum that would be helpful.

Thanks

Google "magnificent mobility" and "assess and correct".

Bump. Instead of starting a new thread.

Sort of have the same question. I've been lifting for a couple years now, have recently started playing basketball again and I'm way too stiff. I'd like to increase my flexibility but I'd like to do it in a sustainable and long term optimal way. I've read some 2010'ish threads about this topic and was wondering if there's a general consensus at this point. There was a lot of debate between static stretching, dynamic vs not stretching at all. Not a lot of consensus.

Do you guys have any recommended sources wrt stretching?

i haven't been able to touch my toes since i was like 10 years old - let's get this thread going!

What does “way too stiff” mean? As in you can’t perform certain moves on the court like lateral movement in a defensive posture?

Static stretching has effectively been proven to be worthless, and even detrimental in some cases. Effective warm ups via getting your heart rate up with some dynamic movements is likely the way to go. Then for lifting using a pyramiding scheme and even some singles at like 90 % of 1RM to activate (believe the term is potentiate) can be useful. Addressing any injuries or imbalances can be useful although I’d be really careful about a lot of the techniques you’ve seen, which usually are good at improving pain tolerance to allow for greater movement while not actually solving underlying issues.

Not to shill for big range of motion or anything but one way to get more flexible is to improve your lifts, going through a fuller range of motion with progressively heavier weights.

I don't agree with this response.

There is a difference between flexibility (being able to attain a certain ROM) and mobility (being able to control your body through a range of motion). An example would be an active oversplit from a professional dancer compared to settling into an oversplit via a chair.

PNF stretching isn't considered static anymore, but you may more may not consider it static. I don't think the terminology is really beneficial for novices either.

Another element worth considering is whether the issue is joint tightness (ankle mobility) or a lack of actual flexibility (touch your toes). Keep in mind that there cannot be mobility without flexibility. (Note: "Hang out and explore" is not static.) But whatever, you can prob pick up Supple Leopard and get there. Starrett is a dingus on many issues, but for something like this, he kills it.

I’m sure there are other brilliant resources but Kelly Starret has incredible Mobility videos on YouTube.