Washington Business Daily

What is the minimum timescale needed to incease flexibility?

I want to increase flexibility of the hamstrings and the muscles around the hips. I am trying to increase flexibility in my hamstrings and hip joints. How many times a week and for how long each session?

Public Comments

1. Improvements in flexibility can be noticed surprisingly quickly. Several days to a week or two. That doesn't mean you'll be doing the splits in a week but a noticable improvement from your starting point. I do only 5-10 minutes of stretching after I exercise, which is about five times a week. I am considered quite flexible for a man. Women are naturally more flexible than men. The consensus seems to be that you do not bounce when in a stretch. Just stretch the muscle and statically hold the stretch for 10-15 seconds then slowly release.
2. It is a fairly open question as I don't know where you are starting from and what your abilities are. Improvements though are progressive so don't expect a sudden change, it takes time but it is worth it. If you are serious about stretching then you will need to do it as often as possible as everything else we do during the day will contract the muscle and make it shorter. However this is usually impractical so I would try and spend 10 to 20 minutes and 10 to 20 minutes in the evening. Definitely don't bounce in the stretch as you can injure yourself this way and hold each stretch for at least 20 seconds but for you I would try and aim for 1 minute. I write a blog where I have spent some time explaining some of the more popular stretches and how to perform them correctly. The links to the posts are below but have a look at the stretching section as you should find most stretches there. I hope this helps, I know it doesn't give you an exact time but you should see a marked difference after 6 weeks. Good Luck