fortunefavorsthebrave asked: Do you have any tips on increasing strength and flexibility? x

Ok well this wasn’t a very specific question, so I won’t be able to answer it very specifically, but I shall try to, and if you still have questions feel free to ask again!

So firstly flexibility. Here are some important things to keep in mind when stretching:

  1. It’s very important that when stretching you are warm! Not just because if you’re not you’ll probably hurt yourself, but also because if you’re not warm your flexibility won’t improve as quickly. You can get warm by doing a variety of things including running, bike riding, skipping (jump rope), or an aerobic or zumba routine. Something I do (which I admit is a bit weird, but works really well!) is put on heaps of layers so I get warmer sooner.
  2. Hold your stretches for at least 30 seconds, because that’s the length of time a muscle requires to get lengthened.
  3. DON’T OVERSTRETCH. You have to learn to tell the difference between good stretching pain and bad, bad muscle pulling pain. Don’t stretch too much, because it just makes it harder in the long run, trust me. It’s hard when you get all enthusiastic, but just don’t take it too fast.
  4. Try to relax into the stretch, don’t tense up your muscles.
  5. A gentle stretch is better than pushing too far into it. Muscles prefer gentle coaxing.

Also, give this a shot, it’s worked really well for me: http://www.youtube.com/user/flexiblestrength/videos

I’ll finish answering your question about strength a little later, I’m super busy at the moment!