Benefits of Flexibility Development Training - Research Paper Example

 Benefits of Flexibility Development Training Name Institution: Flexibility Development in Athletics Introduction Every athlete requires flexibility in order to perform his or her athletic activities with ease. Due to a sedentary lifestyle, athletes are advised to train on a daily basis to maintain flexibility in their joints and muscles. However, flexibility development is insightful to the performance of an athlete. Over time, athlete creates body habits as well as posture habits that usually reduces joints mobility which can compromise body positions. Regular training and staying active helps an athlete reduce the chances of-of losing mobility in body joints . Additionally, flexibility development helps reduce the chances injuries such as hamstring back pain and ankle injuries. Therefore, increased flexibility has a positive relationship to athlete performance. Purpose of Flexibility in Training An athlete can only develop his or her flexibility if he or she trains regularly. The primary purpose of training is that it helps the athlete move his or her joint via its complete range of motion. Flexibility is arguably the most highly adaptable fitness that helps the athlete improve his or motion in athletics activities. Past studies show that the more an athlete carries out flexibility programs in the training reduces the incidence of injuries ("Flexibility Exercises for Young Athletes-OrthoInfo - AAOS", 2017). This is due to the increased ability to move unimpeded via a broader range of motion. But it is worth to note that an athlete should not carry out an excessive or unstable range of motion during flexibility programs to avoid the likelihood of getting injured. If an athlete carries out appropriate flexibility training, he or she can become more in tune with his or body. Additionally, it helps an athlete form an active relaxation which can help improve both physical and mental recovery. Benefits of Flexibility Development Training Flexibility training has the following benefits to the athletes: Enhanced joint health Flexibility training helps in keeping good help for joints. Regular flexibility workouts help in keeping body joints in their complete range of motions. If a joint lacks the normal range of motion may vary due to tight joints or over training, athlete’s performance will significantly suffer. If a joint is too tight or too flexible, it increases chances of getting injured. Therefore, flexibility helps an athlete keep normal limits in joints’ range of motion. Performance Flexibility helps athletes improve their performance on their daily basis. This implies that appropriate flexibility training will help an athlete perform better in athletics activities. For example, a sprinter will be able to extend a full stride when sprinting if he or she has flexible hip flexors. Therefore, flexibility development is good for better results. Injuries Appropriate flexibility will help athlete reduce the chances of getting injured while carrying out athleticism duties. This is because flexibility helps the muscles to be more pliable. Therefore, a regular flexibility training program will help an athlete strengthen muscles thereby reducing and preventing the like-hood of getting injured. Posture and balance The most beneficial aspect of flexibility training is to help an athlete improve his body posture and balance. Athletics activities necessities athletes with body balance to minimize stress on the spine. For example, javelin, high jumps, long jumps and short put sports requires an athlete with upright body posture and balance. Therefore, an athlete in these fields requires regular flexibility training in order to maintain body balance and posture. Relaxation and Stress Relief Despite helping the athlete to improve the performance, flexibility also helps one to relieve mental and physical stress. When carrying out flexibility training, you can refresh, muscles are relaxed, and you feel rejuvenated. Therefore, flexibility training programs play a vital role in helping athlete relax their muscles as well as refreshing to relieve mental and physical stress. Muscle Cramps, Aches, and Pains Optimum flexibility helps reduce inefficient movements that may cause back pains and aches in body joints. Additionally, regular flexibility helps in reducing muscle cramps. Athletes are known to be running on a daily basis which may lead to muscle cramps. Flexibility training helps relax muscles and reduces chances of cramps. Strength Flexibility does not help an athlete obtain a normal range of motion in his body joints but also makes the joints strong. For example, tennis players have to be strong to stretch when serving the ball. However, regular flexibility training helps them develop strong joints. Same goes to the javelin, short-put athletes has they need to have strong joints to perform well in their respective sports. In addition to joints, athletes can develop strong muscles which prevent them from injuries during their workouts. Approaches to Develop Flexibility Training Athletes willing to perform well in their activities need to add some qualities in flexibility training programs. Different activities require different muscular and movement contractions. Therefore, good choice of lifestyle, nutrition, and hydration, as well as regular exercises, can play a vital role in athlete’s flexibility (Identifier, 2017). One way to improve flexibility is by having a dynamic warm-up before holding of long stretches. Dynamic stretching before a workout is more beneficial than static stretching. Rather than beginning with lifting sessions, an athlete should start training program by having some body-weights movements such as jumping, squats, side lunges, lunges, and push-ups to prepare the muscles and joint for extra flexing. Besides, an athlete can warm the body, and he is mentally prepared for the workout. Additionally, dynamic stretching can help improve on a move to increase joint’s complete range of motion. A figure below shows an athlete warming up before he takes starts his workout. Figure 1: A male athlete warming up and cooling down before a workout Light static stretching is beneficial after an athlete as finished his workout. A longer duration stretching is advisable to help the athlete lengthen the muscles and joints which were tightened up during the workout (Peters, 2017). To increase flexibility, an athlete can also focus on relaxing hip flexors, chest, and lats. Figure 2: A male athlete lifting weights after a workout Prioritizing on the full range of motion is another key approach of improving flexibility. Despite the fact that partial ranges of motion can help build huge amounts of strength, it is important for an athlete to carry out exercises on reaching the full range of motion to reap flexibility benefits. For example, an athlete can go through full-depth squats to build hips flexibility. Additionally, an athlete may exercise the full range of motion by lifting lighter weights if he or she is learning new moves rather than loading up a bar which may in turn harm you. Dynamic and static stretching, as well as training through a complete range of motion, can significantly improve athlete’s flexibility, but adding massage on top that gives some extra benefits in breaking knots in muscles, joints and body tissues which restrict movements. Foam rolling massage help athletes prepare the body for the movement while the post-workout roll helps the athlete flush out any waste arising from the training. Besides, both rolling workouts help prepare the body for the next training program. While carrying out massage, ensure body muscles including calves, upper back, IT bands, lats, and quads are thoroughly massaged. Figure 3: A male athlete being massaged after training session After every training session, an athlete should take ample time to rest to relieve the body after a long workout. Relaxing also the body reduce physical stress. Walking, massage, as well as light yoga, are some of relaxing that can help an athlete reduce body stress. These activities help the body relaxed and also prevents joints and muscles from getting injured. During training, the athlete dehydrates from sweating and loses a lot of water in the body tissues. To increase the flexibility of body issues, it is beneficial to keep his body hydrated. Research shows that water forms a bigger part of the composition of our body muscles. So, in order for the muscles to respond well during the flexibility training, the athlete has to ensure they are working optimally. Therefore, the athlete should focus on drinking more water, during and after the training session to steer the performance. An athlete should also learn to breathe properly during flexibility training sessions. When lifting heavy weights, the rib cage is pushed too far for one to breathe properly meaning you does not engage your diaphragm. Therefore, the athlete should focus on belly breaths that are, ensuring belly moves up and down in each breath. Also, to increase flexibility while training athlete should take more than 5 minutes in each day to improve the breathing pattern. Conclusion Flexibility development training is vital in the overall performance of an athlete. Flexibility improves joints and muscle health as well as strengthening them. Flexibility training has numerous benefits which help the athletes perform better in his activities as well as keeping him strong and in good health. Following approaches such as dynamic and static flexibility among others can help the athlete improve his flexibility development training. Therefore, flexibility is paramount for optimal performance and health of an athlete. References Stretching: an illustrated guide - myDr.com.au. (2017). Mydr.com.au. Retrieved 24 March 2017, from http://www.mydr.com.au/sports-fitness/stretching-an-illustrated-guide Peters,. (2017). Training Needs Analysis: 8 steps to conducting a training needs analy…. Slideshare.net. Retrieved 24 March 2017, from https://www.slideshare.net/SallyPeters1/training-needs-analysis-8-steps-to-conducting-a-training-needs-analysisx Flexibility Exercises for Young Athletes-OrthoInfo - AAOS. (2017). Orthoinfo.aaos.org. Retrieved 24 March 2017, from http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/topic.cfm?topic=A00038 Identifier, P. (2017). Stretching and Flexibility: 7 Tips. WebMD. Retrieved 24 March 2017, from http://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/features/stretching-and-flexibility-tips#1 Read More