If you’ve ever yearned for greater flexibility but believed it was beyond your reach, a flexibility coach on TikTok is here to debunk that myth.
David, known as @movementbydavid on the popular social media platform, has revealed a “hamstring flexibility hack” that promises to have you touching your toes in no time. “Okay well it’s not really a hack, it’s an actual workout that WILL give results”, he clarified in his video caption.
One of David’s friends, who has always struggled with tight hamstrings and difficulty reaching his toes, was assured by David that “we can improve that for sure”.
The first exercise David suggests for enhancing flexibility is the elephant walk, performed for 30 reps. This involves keeping your back perfectly flat, hinging at the hips, bending one knee, and then switching to the other side.
David emphasised: “Don’t lose tension for any of the reps”.
The second recommended exercise is a single leg RDL, to be done for 10 reps. This requires you to bend one knee, keep the other leg perfectly straight, use your toes on the ground as a kickstand for balance, stick your hips out behind you, hinge forward until you feel the deepest possible stretch, then lift your chest upright nice and slow.
Repeat this ten times on each side. David also reassured viewers that “if you start shaking, that’s normal too”.
David recommends a single leg hamstring stretch for 30 seconds to round off the trio of exercises. You’ll need to be seated on the floor with one leg extended ahead.
He advises to “grab whatever you can whether that be your ankle, your heel, your toes, and pull your head toward your feet”.
After completing the stretches, when David’s mate mentioned he was “sweating”, David challenged him to spin around thrice and then attempt to touch his toes. Surpassing expectations, his friend managed to place his palms flat on the ground in front of him, all thanks to these straightforward exercises.
According to the NHS, enhancing flexibility is key as it can improve posture, ease pain, and reduce injury risks. Flexibility helps maintain daily activities, making it crucial to stay as limber as possible.
For adults, the goal should be:
- do strengthening activities that work all the major muscle groups (legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders and arms) on at least 2 days a week
- do at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity activity a week or 75 minutes of vigorous intensity activity a week
- spread exercise evenly over 4 to 5 days a week, or every day
- reduce time spent sitting or lying down and break up long periods of not moving with some activity