I Did An 8-Week Hip Mobility & Flexibility Program. Here Is What Happened...

My father was a professional tennis player in the 1960s and early 1970s. His name was Owen Davidson and while I never knew the the dude very well, genes are passed down from parents to offspring, etc., etc. and my genes are half his. 

He played all the tournaments all of over the world and one thing he told me was that all the other guys on tour used to laugh at him during warm-ups. They would all stretch out before a match and he was so inflexible, they couldn't believe it. Tennis players aren't necessarily known for being super limber but he could barely bring his feet out wider than shoulder length and got nowhere near touching his toes.

Unfortunately, this seems to be hereditary. I have always been very inflexible too. I could never stretch very far, no matter how frequently I did it. As I got older and the yoga craze happened, I was excited about trying it out and hopefully, finally developing at least a little better flexibility. But no, I tried several different studios and never got anything out of it, personally. I have also since had unrelated problems in both knees, which certainly doesn't help but the problem is much deeper.

While I may never be as limber as I would like, I decided that I wanted to give it one more spirited try and see if I could increase my own overall flexibility. And if not flexibility, maybe at least improve hip mobility. What is the difference? Flexibility is about how far a muscle can be stretched whereas mobility is about how well a joint can move actively. Flexibility is a component of mobility but there are other factors, like the active ability to move a joint through it's full range of motion with control and stability.

So I took an 8-week program designed specifically for kickboxers to increase hip mobility as well as overall flexibility. I trained 5x a week and each session was a little over an hour, which included a warm-up, kickboxing drills, dynamic stretching exercises and a long, static stressing at the end. As everyone should with engaging with any program, I trusted the process. I did everything that was asked. I didn't change it up if I was bored or wanted to add something on or thought I knew better. I just followed it to the best of my ability. Here was what I found:

#1) I really, really hate static stretching

I have always hated it and even with a renewed sense of purpose, I still found that last static stretch session at the end of the class to be painfully boring. Sometimes that session itself would be 20-30 minutes but it seemed at least 10 times longer. All I could think of how much I wanted it to be over and all the things I needed to be doing at that particular moment.

When I do heavy bag workouts, my mind is fully engaged and I don't think about much else. I find it fun and interesting and challenging. Stretching I only find challenging but it's not a fun kind of challenge. It also physically hurts me to stretch so the challenge is just about pushing through some of that pain in hopes that a greater good is in store.

#2) I do like some dynamic stretches though

I'm the kind of guy who likes to move and so dynamic stretches, particularly ones working the muscle groups in my hips and legs that I want to strengthen, are a much better sell. Plus I would just do one of these for a minute before I went back to drills on the heavy bag so it didn't feel like I was stuck on the ground.

#3) My flexibility did not improve at all

Or if it has improved, the difference is pretty negligible. I am more used to stretching, that is for sure, so in a way it feels more comfortable to me but I cannot come any closer to touching my toes or bring my legs any further apart or sink down any deeper into a squat or lunge than I did before.

#4) There are some improvements to hip mobility, but they are small

I have a little more control within my range of motion. There are some small muscles that don't get used a lot because my flexibility is so limited but trying to push that helped get them activated.

So in the end, I can't say as it was a successful program but definitely worth trying. I may do it again but maybe 3x/week vs 5x. I also might try out another program to see if it's any different. Maybe I can continue to chip away and make minor improvements but I am not sure the very limited amount of juice is worth the disproportionally time-consuming squeeze and in the end, while my last name is different, I am ultimately still a Davidson.

I don't want to seem like I am knocking stretching as a process though. Whether you are good at it or not, it is valuable to do some stretching before and after a workout. There are also other benefits to stretching besides just flexibility and mobility, like increasing blood flow and to help prevent injury. I am certainly not going to abandon it completely. I just don't think that it is something I will make a lot of progress with, at this point in my life. Thanks, Dad!!