Buzz
When I first started this stretching challenge, my main goal was to see if I could actually become more flexible. Honestly, though, a part of me secretly hoped it wouldn't work. After all, if it didn’t, I’d have an easy out—no guilt, no strings attached.
But, damn it, it worked, and now I'm faced with the consequences. Keep stretching and commit to a journey where I’m always measuring how far I am from whatever my version of success is? Or bail out, knowing I could’ve achieved my splits if only I’d put in the work, but I didn’t, because I’m a quitter?
I guess that’s a dilemma I’ll have to figure out on my own. But for now, let’s pause and assess what actually happened:
Over the course of 6 weeks, I stretched 20 times, averaging about 3 sessions per week.
Most days, I followed this stretching routine or something very similar. Each session lasted around 15 minutes.
For the final 5 sessions, over the last two weeks, I repeated the same routine but added PNF (also known as PAILS and RAILS) techniques, as outlined here.
A well-documented principle in flexibility training is that you can stretch deeper after one or more of the following: (1) warming up, like with cardio or other forms of movement; (2) stretching for a few minutes; and (3) applying advanced techniques like PNF. So, by the end of each session, I could always go deeper into a split or lower in a toe touch than when I began.
To ensure a fair comparison, I decided to take my before-and-after photos cold. I skipped any cardio warm-up (I usually warm up on my spin bike) and took the photos right after stepping into each position for the first time that day. If I can stretch further within a session due to technique, that’s fine. But if I can stretch further without warming up, that tells me I’ve actually become more flexible in a practical sense.
And here’s the result:
These are my front split attempts. While I'm still far from having my butt on the floor, you can clearly see a difference between the before shots (red shirt, top row) and the after shots (black shirt, bottom row). My front leg is closer to the ground, as you can tell by comparing its position relative to my forearm. This indicates improved hamstring flexibility. I can also keep my torso more upright, thanks to increased flexibility in the hip flexor of my back leg.
(A few weeks ago, I realized that if my ultimate goal is a front split with an upright torso, it’s better to use props for support during the stretch. So now, I rest my forearms on two chairs while working on this position. But since I didn’t use props in the 'before' photo, I made sure to pose without them in the 'after' shots.)
What about my upper body progress? Take a look at this:
It’s a subtle change, but still noticeable. In the 'before' pictures, I needed to use an object (a red shirt in this case) to help bring my hands together. However, in the 'after' photo on my weaker side (right arm down), I can now bring my hands close enough to barely touch my index finger to my thumb. On my stronger side, with my left arm down, I’m able to clasp my hands together without relying on the T-shirt.
The difference is only about an inch, but when I first managed to touch my fingers together without the shirt, I was genuinely shocked.
Alright, one more comparison. Remember that we kicked off this whole journey with a video that took me from not being able to touch my toes to placing my palms on the floor in three minutes. This is an example of that kind of in-session progress. But for the final before-and-after, I compared my 'before' picture from that earlier session with one of me touching my toes cold today.
Well, damn. It works. I'm frustrated. And yes, the results after stretching are noticeable as well. On the first day, after stretching, I could get my palms on the floor with bent knees. These days, by the end of a session, I can often get my palms on the floor with straight knees. Stretching works, and I’ll probably keep doing it, and you can too, if you want. Blarg.
