If you are someone who is into fitness and gymming, one thing that a lot of people struggle with is how to maintain their strength while not compromising on their flexibility, as they say, if you are aiming for the strength you might have to compromise on your flexibility, which is true to some extent.
But if you play smartly or incorporate certain exercises along with a great weight lifting program, then you can achieve great strength and flexibility as well,
You just have to stay patient and consistent with the process as it takes a good time to give you the results that you desire.
Hence in this article, we would be discussing certain exercises that you should incorporate in your exercise program to gain great strength without compromising on your body flexibility.
But before we dive in, allow us to explain to you what is strength and flexibility in the first place?
What is a strength exercise?
Strength exercise is an activity that makes your muscles work harder than usual and challenges your body muscles which make them grow and get stronger when you consistently perform the exercise.
Basically, you make your muscles work, be it your own bodyweight or any kind of additional weight, if you perform an activity revolving around your muscles, it is a strength exercise.
This is a great exercise that each and every person should engage into, as it makes you stronger, it eases your day to daily activities and it's good for your health too.
What is a flexibility exercise?
Flexibility exercises are any activities that improve the ability of your joints to maintain the movement necessary for undertaking daily tasks and physical activity, It is the ability to move your joints in a full range of motion effectively without any friction.
Flexibility training exercises include stretching your muscles to lengthen them, Exercises like Pilates, Tai Chi, Yoga, and Stretching are some common and effective exercises to improve one's flexibility.
Therefore these are some exercises that you should perform to attain great strength and flexibility in your body
1. Jumping rope
Jumping rope is probably one of the favorite exercises of all the athletes as it's a great exercise that offers a lot of benefits, it improves your body's flexibility as jumping rope involves a combination of multiple muscles, from your legs to shoulders, multiple muscles are used when you jump rope.
Also, it improves your lungs capacity to VO2 max which is the ability of our body to breathe in and breath out, as it's a high energy demanding exercise, jumping rope can surely be useful to build your stamina, strength, and flexibility of your body.
Apart from strength and flexibility, it boosts your mood as well, as it's a high-intensity exercise that would surely improve your mood and secret happy hormones,
All in all jumping rope has an array of benefits attached to it, to tone up your legs(improving your body strength) and adding that extra layer of flexibility in your body.
2. Butterfly stretch
A great exercise to align your body together and improve your flexibility is butterfly stretch, it's the best exercise from which you can start your workout or you can stretch with this exercise post your workout, but please make sure that you add this exercise to attain positive flexibility in your workouts.
Just Sit comfortably on the ground with your back straight and your knees bent outwards. Move your bent knees out to the sides so that the soles of both your legs meet at the centers and the edges lying on the floor. Hold the ankles of both your feet with your hands.
Also, make sure that you are breathing comfortably while performing this exercise.
3. Pushups/situps/squats
If we have to name what is the most simple workout yet effective, it would be bodyweight exercise, where you use your own body weight and engage in some basic body exercises such as squats, pushups, and situps to name a few.
The best thing about this exercise is that it gives the perfect amount of weight that any beginner requires at the start of their journey, these also involve multiple muscles altogether, making sure that all major muscles are getting trained at the same time
Also, they don't hammer much on one's flexibility as bodyweight exercises are moderate to low weight.
But if you just add bodyweight exercises to the part of your routine on a consistent basis you will see a major change in your body strength and muscle toning.
4. Yoga
A lot of people have this misunderstanding that yoga is only for old people or for ladies, men, especially those who go to the gym or are looking to pack some muscles don't need yoga.
This is why you will see a lot of people hurting their back these days due to poor posture or sitting routine.
Well, this is why yoga is a beautiful activity that you can include to improve your flexibility and mental well-being as well.
Asana like Parsvottanasana, Janu Sirsasana, Bitilasana Marjaryasana, Dhanurasana, Anjaneyasana, Upavistha Konasana, Halasana, Adho Mukha Svanasana are some great exercises that would surely keep your flexibility game on point.
Just make sure that before you jump into yoga, you take it slowly or practice this asana under a trained professional to get the best out of yoga and to avoid any kind of possible harm to your body.
5. Weight lifting
Weight listing is the art of lifting weight against your muscle , which allows your muscle to grow and get stronger when supplemented with a good diet and sleep.
If you take the words any athletes or some doctors, they say that weight lifting is therapeutic for human body as it has a variety of benefits to offer, from improving strength and muscle mass , to improving metabolic rate in humans to improving insulin sensitivity, weight lifting is a great way to keep up with your strength , muscle mass and bone density for your life.
Just follow the basics of training two parts of your body together for a good period of time, like the basic protocol of training legs and shoulders, chest and tricep , back and biceps.
Also make sure that you progressively overload the exercise either with the weight you lift or the repatriation you perform to keep the journey of weight lifting exciting and uplifting the benefits.
6. Pilates
Pilates are probably one of the best activities to improve knee flexibility, toing up the muscles, improving body posture, improved physical coordination and balance and lots more.
Pilates caters for everyone, from beginner to advanced. You can perform exercises using your own body weight, or with the help of various pieces of equipment and knowledge
Pilates workout consists of a variety of exercise sequences that are performed in low repetitions, usually five to ten times, over a session of 45 to 60 minutes. Mat work and specialised equipment designed for pilates are used for the additional resistance.
All in all pilates is a great way to pack up your body flexibility and strength game in a balanced and a controlled way , just make sure that you perform it under a professional or good guidance.
