This is the 10th part of Tony Horton’s series of posts called, P90X Tony Horton’s 11 Laws for a Lifetime of Fitness.

Last week, we covered Lifetime Fitness Law Number 9 – Loving It. Recently we’ve also covered: Fitness Law 8 which is Sleep and Stress, Fitness Law #7 Is The Plan, Fitness Law Number 6 – Sports, Law Number 5 – Reality, Lifetime Fitness Law Number 4 Purpose while previously it was Lifetime Fitness Law #3 Intensity and prior to that Lifetime Fitness Law Number 2 Consistency and we started it all off with, Lifetime Fitness Law #1 – Variety. This Week’s Law of Exercise:

Law 10: Flexibility

Flexibility is the fountain of youth. Flexible people are much less prone to
injury. Yoga and stretching allow you to bring more intensity to your
workouts. Flexibility is the key component to becoming less vulnerable
and more durable. Aging has a funny way of making everything we do
harder. Staying limber and flexible is the way to prevent that from
happening.

When I was a young lad there was no such thing
as stretching, really. When I heard the word yoga I thought people were
mispronouncing yogurt. Come to think of it I didn’t know what yogurt
was either. Some kind of healthy sour milk. Nasty! (I love it now!)

Back in the ‘60s (yes, I’m that old) there were benchmarks that determined
how fit you were. Push-ups, pull-ups, dips, sit-ups (not crunches), the
100-yard dash, and whether or not you could touch your toes. The first
five items on the list involved strength and speed. Some kids had it
while others did not. I was in the “did not” category. (That changed
later). Touching your toes was a breeze for all of us. Even
out-of-shape kids like me could touch their toes.

When you’re young (no matter what kind of shape you’re in) you’re naturally
flexible and durable. Kids get scrapes, bruises, even broken bones, but
it’s pretty rare for a young child to pull a muscle, and if they do
they recover in the blink of an eye. Back in the good old days, the
focus was on running faster and jumping higher. The only kids in my
neighborhood that stretched were gymnasts or ballerinas. Try to imagine
a stretch class for children in the ‘60s. Yeah, right!

Back in the day, proper stretching didn’t happen. For most adults it still
doesn’t. Studies show that pulled muscles (due to lack of flexibility)
cause as many people to quit their fitness programs as joint injuries.
Back and hamstring muscle strain/injury can take as long to heal as a
broken bone . . . or longer.

People hate to stretch because they say it’s too boring. They feel that stiff, tight people
can’t become loose and flexible. They say that stretching and yoga are
too uncomfortable, and they don’t see results fast enough. People don’t
like it because it cuts into their workout time. I’m here to tell you
that it’s time to rethink the importance of flexibility.

Stretching, yoga, and Pilates improve overall body awareness, enhance all aspects
of physical fitness, reduce muscular soreness, increase skill and
performance levels during training, and during athletic performance.
Flexibility increases mental relaxation, greatly reduces the risks of
various injuries (like back problems, muscle strains, and joint
sprains), and slows the aging process in muscles and joints. Who
wouldn’t want all that?

The only reason why people don’t
become more flexible is because they’re not willing to put in the time.
The axiom for other aspects of fitness also applies to flexibility: You
get better at the things you do often. Stretching and/or yoga are
equally as important as strength conditioning and cardiovascular
fitness. Stretching and yoga can replenish the natural flexibility and
durability of our youth. If you decide and commit to becoming less
vulnerable through flexibility, you will also discover a calmness (much
like meditation) that comes with stretching and yoga.

Flexibility is the Fountain of Youth. Give yourself that amazing gift. Here’s to touching your toes.

Peace,
Tony H.

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