I want to be flexible, like being able to do split, bridge and a lot more. I want to do what martial artists can do. In short I want to be a martial artist. But first thing first: I have to be flexible, so when I start my martial art class, I'd be doing the directly the movements and not those flexibility sort of pre-requisites. Aside from this, I want to become flexible because it offers health benefits also like it reduces the pain, the stress that you get from doing sports and other strenuous activities. It's also healthy for the heart and it allows maximum motion, full potential for any sporty activity.
I've heard those who're learning to dance talk about how hard it is to do splits among other things that require one to be flexible. Fact is, you can't be flexible overnight. Trying to do such stuff on your own without an instructor would be bad for you because you can tear a tendon or worse if you were attempting do a bridge and your spine snapped. Take a look around youtube, find the right videos and work on your flexibility slowly. It's a lot better that way.
Flexibility and physical activity come hand in hand, so if you want to be more flexible it's just a matter of finding the adequate exercises for that. Martial arts seem like a sport that indeed can make you move in that direction, but don't forget that everything happens in it's own pace, so don't rush things so that you don't get injured.
People often believe that some people are flexible and others are not. This is a myth. We need to treat flexibility training in the same way we treat other types of training like strength and endurance. Maintaining a flexible body will have all sorts of hidden benefits. You are less likely to pull a muscle when working out but you are also less likely to do damage when picking up something off the floor. If you typically exercise outdoors and are on uneven ground or - in my case - dodging cars and pedestrians, being flexible will improve the range of motion in the joints and allow for quicker and more effective responses. This can mean not hurting your ankle when missing the foot placement. While I take the time to keep flexible, I wont be doing the splits any time soon. If ever I need to do so in real life, I guess I am in trouble.
Being flexible requires the same amount of training as getting in shape or lifting weights. It's something you need to do every day and work on training to get better at. Flexibility is also great improving sports performance and makes working out a lot easier on your joints. Stretching daily and taking yoga classes are great ways to improve.
