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Flexibility is defined as range of movement (ROM). It is regarded as joint specific, meaning each joint needs to be worked on separately. It is possible therefore to be very flexible in your hip joint but to have very poor shoulder flexibility.

A joint is made of bone meeting another bone in a different connective way, whether it is through a ball and socket joint like the hip and shoulder, or a hinge joint like the elbow. Muscles will come together to connect or be connected to the bones through a tendon.

It is difficult to increase the flexibility of tendons because they are made of collagen, which has amazing elasticity and strength. This is why they take a long time to heal once injured. Conversely, a muscle will stretch and can help improve flexibility.

There are certain muscle groups that get used a lot and accordingly hold very important roles in overall flexibility. The opposite naturally holds true. You may notice some muscles stretch more easily than others. This can sometimes cause problems as certain deeper muscle groups are over looked because either A, you don’t know how to stretch them or B, the stretch to do them is quite awkward.

A Get Personal trainer will assess your biomechanics, your goals and current joint ROM and determine which muscle groups will need to be stretched all the time and which others are not so important for you.

Many factors can play a part in your flexibility, including, genetics, age, exercise history, stretching and gender. By the way, even though it appears females are more flexible than males, no strong scientific evidence has been found to support this.

There are three different ways of stretching a muscle

static
This is the most basic and common way of stretching. It involves a very low risk level, provides moderate gains, takes up little time, and can be done quiet easily on its own. That's why it is always the first type of stretch that a fitness expert will show you. It invariably involves you taking a muscle to a mild tension and then holding that tension for a period of between 20-60 seconds and repeating once or twice.

ballistic
This is more commonly seen in athletes. Ballistic stretching involves a very high risk of injury but provides good gains in flexibility. It takes up little time and it can be done on your own.

You take a muscle to a point of tension and then repeatedly bounce on it thus opening up and stretching the targeted muscle/s. I must stress that this is a very advanced technique and is only really used by athletes who have a strong supportive biomechanical structure capable of handling this repetitive action.

proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF)
This can be seen with people training with partners. It has a low level of risk of injury, and provides excellent gains in flexibility. It does however, take up a huge amount of time and does need to be performed with a partner.

PNF involves taking a muscle to its tension and holding for 6-10 seconds. Then, the person who is being stretched, pushes back against the person stretching them through the target muscle group for another 6-10 seconds.

The person being stretched then relaxes and the stretcher then pushes further than the first point. This can be repeated 3-6 times until you reach a further point than what you started with. The final stretch can then be held for between 20 and 60 seconds.