#21 - 5 Awesome Flexibility Exercises
Flexibility is something that might not be the sexiest desire… but we all have it.
We have it when we feel the most pitiful.
Stumbling trying to put a sock on while standing up. Trying to satisfy an itch in the middle of your back. Working to clean up a spill on the kitchen floor without having to get on your hands and knees like a child searching for her little Ariel doll under the couch.
We want flexibility when we want quality of life.
These quality of life desires, annoyingly, go away when you aren’t struck with the in-the-moment frustration of the occurrences like my previous examples.
It’s very much like sickness in that way. There is an adage that I certainly didn’t make up that goes something like “your health isn’t a priority until it becomes your only priority”.
We want a six pack. We want big arms. We want a nice ass. We want our stomach to stay inside of our pants. We want a lot of things that have to do with what we see but now with how we feel.
Don’t read what I’m not writing… getting a big ass and big arms is well worth… but in the grand scheme of things it ends up a minuscule goal for many.
So how do you get flexible?
This is a funny question for some people because they never had to think about it a day in their lives.
There is certainly a genetic component to flexibility that cannot be understated. Some people will be able to perform the exercises I’ll talk about today with no issues and wonder what all the fuss is about. Well if that’s you congratulations… you can skip this article if you find it boring I suppose.
But for the rest of us normal folk we have had enough of these flexibility frustrations in our lives to demand more from ourselves.
Well I’m here to tell you that you don’t have to become obsessed with yoga. It’s fine if you do.
I’m here to tell you that you don’t have to passively stretch for hours at home to undo the damage of sitting at a chair all day. It’s fine if you do.
What I’m here to tell you is this:
Flexibility is very much a trained skill. You can get stronger. You can run faster. You can lose weight. Flexibility is no different.
This isn’t shocking to hear, maybe.
Understand this though: Since flexibility can be trained like other physical pursuits it means that with a proper plan and focus of effort you can achieve significant results without wasting valuable time and energy.
Let’s repeat that last part.
WITHOUT WASTING TIME AND ENERGY.
The No Brainer
Full Range Of Motion Training & Beyond
If you already have an established gym routine and don’t want to change a thing then this is where you start.
If you already do presses, squats, deadlifts, and the classic accessory exercises you can still attain impressive flexibility.
There is an age old myth that strength training will cause tightness in joints and muscles.
THIS
IS
NOT
TRUE
Your joints and muscles respond accordingly to the stimulus you give them. As long as you train them through an increasing range of motion and spend enough time doing it, you can make progress.
I underlined those two terms for a reason though because they can easy to miss for many people.
Increasing Range Of Motion
Let’s visualize a typical workout and a typical desire. You want more flexible hamstrings and already do deadlifts. My first suggestion would be to experiment with RDLs. When doing these RDLs I want you to work on bending the knees as little as possible. You should be feeling an intense stretch in your hamstrings. You can gradually work up to performing these all the way to the floor and then you can even train these slightly elevated which will allow the bar to travel further giving you an even greater flexibility training effect.
This principle can be applied to pretty much any exercise. Here are some quick pointers:
Bench Press - go with dumbbells so you can lower a bit deeper compared to a barbell
Squat - lighten the load, extended pauses at bottom where the goal is to really sink, push extreme ranges of close stance as well as wide stance
Overhead Press - work on handstands… my obsession with handstands in college what I totally credit with my impressive overhead ability while never focusing on it outside of that effort
Curls - for the love of all that is holy let your damn arms go alllllllll the way straight down each and every rep… if you have access to a preacher curl setup that is fantastic
Enough?
For some people this could simply be one day per week where they prioritize range of motion in their current training. For others it may have to creep more and more into their other training days. I can’t give you the right answer right here on this page but what I can tell you is that if you have an effective way of tracking progress then you don’t have to rack your brain on whether or not you are doing enough… the answers should be right there in front of you.
I stand by my promise I made earlier. You don’t need to add 2-3 hours of yoga to your week if that doesn’t interest you. You can make gains by focusing on the biggest bang for your buck exercises I could think of on this random April day in the year 2025.
So let’s take a look at the remaining 4 exercises shall we.
The Time Rewinder
Back Bridge
I am calling this the time rewinder because it is the antithesis of the cliche aging adult.
Hunch back… nope we will extend our back.
Rounded shoulders… nope we will use them to press our bodies from the furthest degree joint angle possible.
Tight hips… good luck with that because we are treating our hips as a conduit of elastic extended tension from every other joint in the body.
Look this exercise is the shit… point… blank… period.
Now we will quickly go over a few key parameters for this exercise.
Regressions
My suggested order working up to a back bridge would be as follows:
Progressions
When a full back bridge is something you can hold, with arms extended straight, for 30 seconds then you can start thinking about increasing difficulty.
My suggestion is super simple but brutally effective: move.
Just walk in different directions while in a back bridge.
Sure you can technically continue working all the way towards getting your hands to hold your feet, but that is well into contortionist territory.
Moving while in a back bridge will create an insanely strong spine and shoulder complex while in these positions and is well worth working towards achieving.
Programming
When it comes to sets/reps/frequency I find the back bridge to be best placed in the following ways:
3+ times per week
2 or 3 sets AT MOST
static holds for 30 seconds is where you want to work at… building up to 60 then progressing to the next step
I would NOT work these intensely the day before training the low back with heavier loads
If you have heavy deadlifts or RDLs on Thursday I would lay off of back bridges for Wednesday… place them at the end of Thursdays workout
The Athlete
Windmill
I am calling this The Athlete because it improves your ability to move like anything other than a squeaky stiff robot.
You might not be filling in for the Steelers this year at QB when Aaron Rodgers (or whoever the hell plays) inevitably lets us down but you can still benefit from moving like an athlete.
We all do the following pretty much everyday: twist, reach down, and reach up.
In a super duper simplified world… that’s all a Windmill really is.
Regressions
My suggested order for working up to a full windmill is the following:
Progressions
Getting your hand flat on the floor while legs are locked out will be challenging for many people. Doing so while supporting even 10% of your bodyweight overhead is even more challenging.
BUT…
When you accomplish this we can still improve.
The obvious way is to continually increase the weight you are using. This is certainly my main recommendation
Programming
These are absolutely fine to slot in often throughout your training weeks as long as you are mindful of low back and shoulder recovery. With that I would suggest you go lighter and/or less range of motion on training days where those two areas are heavy targets.
The Cure For Knees
Pistol Squat
You know I am old enough to remember when “knees over toes” wasn’t all the rage and people were afraid to get anywhere near that. That myth still persists but I find that the direction we are heading in nowadays (although better than before) still has plenty of issues.
The Pistol Squat isn’t mobility for mobility’s sake.
If you can work towards sets of 10 on pistol squats then YOU ARE DAMN STRONG!
Setting aside bone on bone issues… most knee pain isn’t crippling degeneration. Nope, it’s crippling weakness.
The antidote would be, shockingly, strength.
Regressions
My suggested order for working up to full pistol squats would be the following: (can you tell I haven’t done a full pistol squat in a long while?😂)
Programming
As a rule bodyweight training can be done much more frequently.
This still applies here UNLESS this will serve as the focal point of your leg training. If this is the case I would be comfortable with you slotting this into 1-2 times per week.
can you tell this is where I need the most work? 😂
The Gymnast
Seated Weight Pushes
Guess what? I can’t do a split.
Shocking huh.
Well if I were so inclined to dedicate myself to achieving a split this would absolutely be a staple of my training.
This tremendously benefits the hip complex, abdominals, and lower back all at once.
Very importantly, too, it teaches you how to position your body differently to achieve greater ranges of motion. (that sentence won’t make sense until you start getting good at these)
This is a great diagnostic tool for figuring out what is holding you back in terms the deeper split positions as well.
Regressions
My suggested order to work towards high level Seated Weight Pushes are as follows: standing hamstring stretch, forward fold, elevated seated weight push, seated weight push
Progressions
I will be candid with you in saying progressing past this point is not something I am 100% confdient in because it is not something I have achieved yet.
I will, however, point you in a great direction. Check out Range Of Strength’s YouTube page for more info on this.
Final Thoughts
I am very confident that these 5 exercises can benefit you greatly on the road to a stronger AND more flexible life.
If you have any questions just shoot me an email… seriously let me help!
With that…
Take Action, Believe
-Coach Dill
