Is flexibility lost forever ?

[RhiannonW]

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON Aug-27-02 AT 01:19PM (Est)[/font][p]Cathe and Educated Crowd,

For the past several years I did not do any stretching after my workouts. I didn't realize how important it is. I was always flexible, so didn't think I needed to do that. Obviously now I'm not nearly as flexible as I was several years ago. Can I get back to where I used to be if I start stretching now?

Is flexibility dependent on a person's age, or dependent on how much stretching they do? For example, would a person at 25 yrs and a person at 35 yrs have equal flexibility if they do the exact same stetching?

Lastly, if I'm trying to mass build will stretching defeat that in any way? I've heard stretching lenghthens muscles, but I want to bulk some of mine(mostly lower body).

Thank you for any input!

[Cathe Friedrich]

Hi Rhiannon! Be sure to no longer ignore stretching. It is it one of the five components of physical fitness. But don't worry, if you work hard at it, you will get your flexibility back. Just start slowly and gradually so that you do not injure yourself.

Weight lifting contracts and shortens muscle fibers, therefore reducing their range of motion. Stretching restores the flexibility back to the muscle. While stretching will not hinder you ability to develop lean muscle mass, building lean muscle mass without including stretching will definitely affect your flexibility.