Does weight training impede flexibility

Lina Spiralyne started this discussion · 4/4/2013

Hi Veeners! I'm getting questions from people wondering "if their many years of weight training (they are still training now) is preventing them from gaining flexibility", or "if it's possible to become very flexible while being fit like a gymnast". Well, I'm not sure of a very good answer. The only thing I know is that so many pole dancers are really strong and fit and at the same time very flexible. However, I don't know if perhaps they would have been EVEN more bendy if they only did the flexibility training and cut out most of the muscle work. Can anyone please help me with knowledge or experience in this matter:)?

13 replies

Smokegrey · 4/4/2013
I'm not trained in anatomy or physical training of any kind, but here's my 2 cents' worth anyway. :p Being strong shouldn't stop you from being flexible. After all, gymnasts and dancers and acrobats are among the strongest athletes there are, and they're pretty darn flexy. But if you're very bulky, getting into certain positions is going to be more uncomfortable than if you're leaner. So maybe it depends on the kind of weight training you're doing. If you lift really heavy to bulk up (think those dudes whose elbows stick waaaay out from their sides because the arms are so big), then I'm guessing you're going to have a problem with some kinds of flexibility, just because, y'know, your arm and your leg trying to be in the same space defies the laws of physics. Strength and flexibility work with each other, I think. Being too flexible without strength leads to injury and pain, because things that are supposed to oppose and support each other are out of whack. And if you have developed muscles, but don't have full range of motion, arguably you'd be unable to use the muscles to their fullest potential. Tangent: I also think that there's strong, and there's strong. There are dudes with big-ass gym muscles who can't actually seem to USE those muscles, because they've worked on the big showy muscles, but neglected to train the small ones. Then you get people like pole dancers who maybe don't look nearly as big and strong, but can do amazing things with their bodies. I guess that's why functional training is so popular now. :p Real muscles for the real world.
Rose Garden · 4/4/2013
I believe that weight training does not impede flexibility if you are disciplined. I can tell you from my experience that strength and flexibility do not translate the same from the floor to the pole. I have been a trainer for many years and am now doing crossfit. Just because I am strong and flexible does not mean I can do the splits on the pole.. :D I also know I can't crossfit and pole in the same day!
Veena · 4/4/2013
It can, impede flexibility if you do not stretch after your weight training sessions. I have been lifting for over 12 years now and know first hand that if I don't keep up with flexibility training I will tighten up. However, I have some of the best flexibility sessions right after lifting! I get some of the best results when stretching after strength training, this is why I feel it's important to do flexibility work when the muscles are very warm. When I do my weight training I stretch in between sets and then after I've finished lifting. As far as becoming bulky that is more of a genetic issue, I'm a tall, thin, endomorph so "bulking up" would be very hard for me. Shorter women tend to look more "bulky" because the have shorter limbs, it does not have to affect your flexibility though.
Lina Spiralyne · 4/4/2013
Thanks for your replies! Exactly, gymnasts are super strong and super flexible at the same time so I guess that as long as you are careful to stretch after muscle training, it will be fine for most people. Just like you Veena, I also have achieve the best flex-results after gymming. The muscles are warm which is the very best for going far into the positions, but also I think that it is because you can use the muscles more efficiently since they are into being used at that time. I'm talking about the kind of flexibility training which involves pulling a leg up against gravity and/or holdning it (scorpions etc) for example. Actually, and maybe I've mentioned it before, I'm usually more sore from doing flexibility training than from lifting weights or working on the pole. It does require strength to push further backwards into a cobra or doing split leg downward dog among a lot of other things! I love that kind of muscle soreness in my back for example. @Rose Garden: About you being flexibile but not being able to do splits on the pole-do you train only passive flexibility (like splits on the ground)? I thought it in that case could explain it, because all pole splits are aerial and requires the muscles to be activated.
abcollins1 · 4/4/2013
The simple act of lifting weights/strength training will not cause one to be inflexible. Most people equate being inflexible with muscle mass, because usually those who focus on gaining muscle ONLY will usually not focus on stretching or maintaining any flexibility. My husband is such a case, he NEVER worked on flexibilty but lifted a ton of weights, he is very strong and carries a good bit of mass, but he is so tight! I have been "forcing" (read as bugging and not taking no as an answer) him to do yoga and Felix Cane's stretching DVD wih me, and he is improving his flexibilty bit by bit. We both lift, but i have been working on flexibilty for a long time, so I am way more flexi than him. I am like veena, i usually stretch after lifting, and with the muscles being warmed up and fatigued, i get great stretches in. But it is something you need to specifically train for, and many people neglect.
Lina Spiralyne · 4/4/2013
Abcollins1: Haha, I laughed:) Poor tight guy forced to get acquainted to no one less than the rubberband Felix Cane, that's what I'd call "no mercy";). But I'm sure he's progressing. It is very possible that the myth about strength and flexibility comes from the fact that some only train one of them.
Runemist34 · 4/4/2013
When I took a Fitness trainer's course (to become a fitness trainer, though sadly I didn't finish the course!), they talked about strength training and flexibility. Basically, the thought was that if you trained very hard on building strength and bulk, but did not stretch, your muscles would shorten. I saw a picture of a bicep that was barely an inch and a half- scary! Flexibility training, however, will NOT take away your strength. Greater strength is achieved by lifting weights, which gives us tiny tears in the muscle tissue. Our body repairs the damage, and gives us a little bit extra, so it doesn't happen again! That's why we get stronger, and have to step up the strength training- and also why we remain at the same level if we don't train. Without any use of the strength, our muscles will atrophy (shrink), because the body realizes we aren't using those muscles to their full capacity (or at all) and will relocate the nutrients and building blocks to other, more useful places. Flexibility does similar things by elongating the tissues of our muscle, which is why overtraining on flexibility can be quite bad, the same as overdoing it on the strength. Thus, flexibility may change the way your muscle tissue looks or is used, but in a good way. Strength won't be lost!
Camkobo · 4/4/2013
I agree with what everyone else has said. We tend to equate muscles with being tight because typically the flexibilty training is negelected by heavy lifters. But along those lines, this is funny....and be sure to watch the last 10 seconds! https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=112644528924364
Smokegrey · 4/5/2013
Speaking of static stretching and strength, did anyone see this article? http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/04/03/reasons-not-to-stretch/ Thought it was an interesting read.
WellReasons Not to StretchTwo new studies provide additional reasons not to warm up with a stretch.
Sassafrassle · 4/6/2013
I've heard the same thing said about running (my other hobby;))and flexibility too - I guess anything where you're doing an activity that shortens/tightens muscles is going to seem the direct opposite of lengthening those muscles (ie. stretching). Like Veena and others say about lifting though, I find my best stretching happens after a good run because my muscles are warm so I can get more deeply into stretches. A couple of random other things - re lifting, it may depend on what kind of lifting you're doing as well as to the effect it has. Higher weights, lower reps presumably tightens more than lower weights higher reps (I can't give you a biomechanical reason for this but it makes sense to me!). Re gymnastics, you have to remember that gymnasts have been training both strength and flexibility since they were knee high to grasshoppers so really aren't the best templates for us regular folks!
Lina Spiralyne · 4/14/2013
Apologies for delaying in getting back, I've just had very little time over. Runemist, it all makes sense what you are writing and it was interesting to read. I think that unless we don't do extreme weight training (body building) we don't really have to worry. Some girl told me that she did body building and then wanted to do contortion and found that they weren't compatible. She said she got so much more flexible when switching to do weight training with low weights instead. But she also switched from doing 4-5 sessions a week to only 1-2 sessions. If she started to dedicate those 3-4 sessions that she lost to do contortion work instead (which I'm not sure of), then that should also be a part of the explanation I guess. Smokegrey, interesting article. I know I hear from time to time that stretching as a warm up doesn't help, which it pretty much what this article is also saying.
abcollins1 · 4/14/2013
High reps with low weights do not 'shape' or "tone" the muscle. It does work on muscle endurance however, which can be a good thing to add into the mix. If it did build muscle in any way, i would be huge, i teach muscle pump classes every week. But unfortunately high reps dont build anything but endurance. A person new to weight lifting may experience a small anount of muslce gain, simply because they are new and the body is adapting to the new work, but they will not build any significant amount of muscle. And for a normal person, that is not using some form of drugs, adding mass is a very slow process and it will not interfere with flexibility training. I think if you look at people who combine strength and flexibility you can see that being pretty muscular does not mean you have to lose flexibility. People like Tanji Johnson and Adele Garcia on the ladies end, are pretty muscular for women yet are still very flexible, you can you tube their routines. Then on the guys side, you can check out Steve Atlas, who does a ton of body weight work, carries a very decent amount of mass, yet is one of the most flexible men i have every met. Again, it really depends were your goals and focus lie. Most "bulky" gym dudes dont see the benefits of being flexible so dont put any focus there, The only drawback i can see is that lifting takes a lot of time and flexibility training takes a lot of time, both in practice and in the work. As with anything, splitting your focus in 2 directions is going to mean you are not optimaly doing both. So your flexi work may suffer if you are looking to add major mass, and your mass training may suffer if you are really trying to work on flexi. Its a fine line to walk beteween the 2.
LillyBilly · 4/15/2013
Regarding static stretching in warm ups - Thomas Kurz has been writing about the negative effects it has on the athlete's performance for years. His flexibility books deal specifically with how to develop strength and flexibility without compromising either of them, what kind of athletic abilities flexibility impairs, and how to determine when a certain type of flexibility can affect the athlete's performance negatively (iwhen joint stability should be preferred over range of motion for safety or form reasons). BUT If you read his books, be warned - his style is quite obnoxious...