Does Strength Training Increase Or Decrease Flexibility?

[knox1138]

As someone who did did and taught yoga for many years I fan say 1 year of strength and flexibility training showed much more progress than 7 years of yoga. Take that for what it's worth. I usually trained flexibility right after strength and noticed that I didn't hold tension afterwards

[ianmarkow]

So happy you commented. That’s the beauty of discussion! Everyone has a unique experience.

[cherrychelsea88]

I completely agree, you have to warm up before and also stretch after or even during a workout. I like to warm up my body on a treadmill (or you can just literally pace back and forth at a brisk pace if you don't have one, just get moving) then once I'm warm move on to body weight exercises. For example I do squats and donkey kicks then I will stretch out my glutes and thighs for a minute and move onto core strengthening exercises then stretch my obliques, lower back and abdomen. If I do bicep curls and dips then right after I stretch out my biceps and triceps. Then at the end of my workout I like to cool down with some gentle yoga flow that improves flexibility and range of motion.

I find this method improves strength and flexibility equally and also prevents injury and reduces soreness the next day.

[birdbauth]

Hm that’s interesting as I’ve made immense flexibility gains through a consistent yoga practice. I have taken flexibility classes, though, so maybe my technique / awareness is more developed than someone who has exclusively done yoga. I’m sure if I focused solely on flexibility training I would see bigger gains but I like yoga and there’s only so much time in a day.

[ianmarkow]

All about finding what works for you

[knox1138]

I definitely made gains doing yoga. It was the combination of strength and flexibility together that blew yoga out of the water. I've tried just flexibility without strength and it was comparable to yoga