UKC

I have terrible hip flexibility that I think would best be improved by a yoga or Pilates class. I want to go to actual classes as I don't think I have the motivation to do it at home watching YouTube. Can anyone recommend something suitable in Sheffield? Ta

In reply to Sam Beaton:

Hi Sam.

I had the worst flexibility when I started many years ago and was told to take up yoga.

What about this place?

https://www.yogaatthereach.com/

Sav

In reply to Sam Beaton: I'd grit my teeth and figure out something you can do at home.  Little and often is the way here.

I can make Youtube recs...

In reply to Sam Beaton:

What about this to start with?

https://youtu.be/nxSIdFvCsW4?si=zCm6z8pge1nWv2s9

In reply to Sam Beaton:

I’ve seen some great flexibility gains with barely ten minutes stretching a day. It’s easy -  as long as you put in the days. Lots of days. If you didn’t do some yesterday then do some today. Waiting until you find the perfect class won’t help. 

In reply to wbo2:

Yes please!

In reply to Sam Beaton:

I’ve done yoga in the past but generally can’t be bothered with classes nowadays. I have significantly improved my lower body flexibility in the last year though and it’s had a dramatic effect on my climbing. I used to be really inflexible in my hips and hamstrings.

I just do 4 stretches 3 or 4 times a week. They are (just Google them):

wide child’s pose

reclined pigeon left side

reclined pigeon right side 

forward fold 

The critical thing is that you must hold these stretches for at least 3 minutes each. Don’t push the stretches, control your breathing and relax into them. 3-5mins is a good rule of thumb. People generally don’t understand how long you need to hold a stretch for it to actually make a difference to your flexibility. Bouncing on your hamstring for 15secs does absolutely f-all!

Search YOGABODY on YouTube, I learned a lot from him (Lucas). He demystifies this stuff.

A yoga class could also be great though!

In reply to CragRat11:

I attended classes regularly but now I just practice at home and have stretching as part of my warm up including reclined pigeon pose and frog pose. I visit other cities quite a bit now so I done see the point of attending a yoga class regularly - I might just attend one on and off.

Sav

In reply to CragRat11:

The pose length is a good tip; I’ve spent more than a year doing almost daily yoga with a hip focus with almost no demonstrable gains! But each pose is probably at most 30-60secs. I’ll give it a go with longer. 

In reply to CragRat11:

Thank you - I have been trying to work on this, and didn't know poses had to be held for so long.

In reply to Sam Beaton:

The trouble with a class is it'll be 2 or 3 times a week and probably include mobility work for your whole body, so how much time are you going to spend working on your hip flexibility? The other thing to consider is what you're doing with the rest of your time, if you're sat at a desk training your body to be inflexible for 8 hours a day then you might make better progress doing little and often rather than just during classes.

I have made slow but steady progress over the last 6 months with 30-90 minutes stretching every night and sneaking in stretches throughout the day. At night the time includes a warm up and self massage (foam rollers, pressure ball, armaid). If you don't have issues with overall flexibility and it's only your hip flexibility then half an hour a night might be all you'll need to make good progress.

One of the biggest factors in increasing flexibility for me has been getting a semi regular sports massage. I need to take it easy for a few days after seeing him but I see the most progress within the 1-2 weeks after a session. It feels almost like he is giving me a greater range of movement and then over the following days I am trying to get my body used to using that range of motion till it sticks.

In reply to BusyLizzie:

I’ve been trying to improve my flexibility since the start of this year, particularly with regard to my ability to do forward folds as I think my tight hamstrings contribute to occasional lower back niggles. I don’t have any proper measure of any changes in flexibility but I feel more flexible and my back hasn’t played up recently. This is based on YouTube yoga routines (but without the woo) which use pose hold times of up to a minute. Most of the research I’ve read seems to suggest that this should be adequate, for example:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3273886/

I tried a Pilates class this week which covered lots of areas of the body. It revealed a couple of areas where I should improve my flexibility and confirmed my dismal ability on forward folds. It was also very boring. I can’t see me being able to stick with it, whereas my current yoga routine is just 20 minutes which I manage to make myself do straight after a run. 

In reply to Sam Beaton:

Have a chat to Sandra, who has just relocated to Sheffield, she can probably help you https://www.instagram.com/sandra_climb_and_yoga/ 

In reply to Thugitty Jugitty:

Interesting article, thank you.

In reply to Sam Beaton:

What do people think of Rox?