Flexibility: A beginner's guide

My top five tips to become flexible!

Hello! Welcome to my beginner's guide to becoming flexible! Allow me to introduce myself.
I am a contemporary dancer. I first became interested in dance when I joined an Irish dance club at the age of 7 and I loved it. I no longer do Irish dance but I discovered contemporary dance and wanted to become flexible in 2019.  I am now fairly flexible, I can do a lot of different tricks and am excited to teach others how to become flexible too!
I will add a question for you to answer at the end of every chapter.

Now on with the guide!

Tip 1 - Stretch daily
Stretching daily is essential to becoming flexible. I can confirm that stretching just once or twice a week will not work. Find yourself a stretching routine that is at least 10 minutes long, suited to your level of flexibility and one that you feel comfortable doing on a daily basis. If you are a complete beginner then it can be good to take breaks some days or do the routine every two days to avoid over stretching and soreness.

Tip 2 - Stay motivated
If you feel like you don't want to stretch one day then you need to find a way to motivate yourself to stretch! Think about what you will achieve if you stretch today. One day of no stretching can lead to several days of no stretching and then you might have to start all over again. Consistency is key to success!

Tip 3 - Warm up before stretching
Warming up before stretching can prevent you from pulling your muscles. I would suggest doing 3-5 minutes of cardio before a stretch routine. This can be jumping jacks, high knees, jogging on the spot or using a skipping rope. Exercise also helps to release endorphins (the happy chemical).

Tip 4 - Create a schedule
Decide what days you will stretch, how long you will stretch for, what you will stretch on that day (back, hips, hamstrings, etc) and what warm ups you will do. Remember to include one or two break days in there. Doing this can help motivate you as you already know what you will be doing for the day. It also might be fun for you to create a cute and fun little schedule for you to hang on your wall. :)

Tip 5 - Don't expect instant results!
It is not possible for a complete beginner to achieve a full split in one or two days! All the YouTubers that say this are wrong. Stretching often helps but I just don't want you to be disappointed when you see very little change after doing the first stretch routine. For me, it took me around 8 months to achieve one full front split but don't worry! Everyone is different and for some it might take a month and for others it might take longer than that (I also did not stretch often and consistently so it took a lot longer for me). Just keep stretching and have patience and you will eventually achieve your flexibility goals!

Thank you for reading! Don't forget to to give this a vote and comment any questions you have. I hope this helps and motivates you to stretch. I will post more tips, tricks and tutorials soon.

Here's a question for you to answer in the comments!

What is your favourite flexibility trick?