Science of Flexibility and Mobility | PART 1 | Sarcomeres & Sliding Filament Theory

[@ShapeshiftWellness]

❓ QUESTION OF THE DAY: What is one thing you really want to learn about flexibility?

[@johndoe2]

How breathing lets our brain allow us to stretch further!

[@mcmerry2846]

Can you create more sarcomere?

[@Bhosadilal]

If stretching in yog-asana is not that important, then why bother with static stretching? Pls inform the need and importance of stretching fie a healthy person with perfect posture. A great and informative vdo. Thanks for posting.

[@wild_cub_times]

How to get controlled flexibility like gymnasts for dummies :3 And does it hurt? O-O

[@MrDemodeamo]

This video needs an award......oh my god the simplicity............

[@ShapeshiftWellness]

Haha, well I'm glad you liked it!

[@ufuk666]

I've been receiving my training to be a personal trainer and I've seen many videos regarding anatomy, muscle structure, etc... This is by far the best and most clear video ever. It really is a life saver. Thank you!

[@ShapeshiftWellness]

Great to hear! It can be a lot simpler than we sometimes make it.

[@rafaelvoss6639]

What a great piece of content! Gonna watch part 2 right now. =D

[@ShapeshiftWellness]

Hope you enjoy part 2!

[@jcohen1005]

I'm a 500 hr Yoga teacher who likes to discuss some of the "misconceptions" of what Yoga can and can not do with my students. This is the most informative video that I've seen regarding muscle length and terminology. Your posts are some of the most interesting and thought provoking that I've come across. Not sure if you offer workshops or video's to Active Mobility Techniques, but I will start to review your website more often. Thank you very much. Jay Cohen, N.E. Ohio.

[@zxwmabcdef5439]

I would look at range of motion before you run into yourself. A tennis guy told me elbows go 180 degrees. I have about 115 degrees then I run into myself.

[@arwasaifee3371]

I would’ve not been able to draw that brain with even a pencil. So good job. 👍🏽

[@ShapeshiftWellness]

To be fair I see images of brains basically every day so it's fresh in my mind, but thank you!

[@lehlohonolomafereka1464]

Explains it well but it’s inconclusive. You are telling us what the problem is but not really giving us the solution. My brain isn’t communicating with my muscles... okay, so how do I then do that. Or train it to communicate. This was so frustrating at the end because I was looking for an answer.

[@ShapeshiftWellness]

Thank you for the feedback, I'll make a Part 2 for this video that offers solutions! Great suggestion.

[@alexatanasov1658]

@@ShapeshiftWellness Has part 2 come out?? = )

[@ShapeshiftWellness]

@@alexatanasov1658 Part 2 is out! kzbin.info/www/bejne/p2Wmp2huiqucgMU

[@YuTubeAccount4]

The Anat Baniel Method Neuromovement or the Feldenkrais Method is that process!

[@ncallmegeo]

@@ShapeshiftWellness gosh all these un educated athletic trainers and athletes themselves need to see this content 🤦‍♂️

[@juliesimpson2122]

Absolutely brilliant. What a fantastic explanation. Thank you so much

[@ShapeshiftWellness]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@dhanashreedate660]

That was amazing. Could you please make a series about how anatomy works in different asanas? Thank you very much. 🌈

[@ShapeshiftWellness]

I'm glad you liked it! If you really want to understand all about anatomy during yoga, I'd suggest you consider looking at my Functional Movement Anatomy - Essentials course! It teaches you everything a yoga teacher needs to know about anatomy. www.shapeshiftwellness.com/courses/functional-movement-anatomy-essentials Otherwise take a look through my past videos, I've got a number of videos breaking down the anatomy of yoga poses! I also have a FREE shoulder anatomy course in the free area of my website: www.shapeshiftwellness.com/courses/free-resources

[@larymahailloux8377]

It was a bit complicated to follow but i understood most of it thank you! Great knoledge!

[@ShapeshiftWellness]

Lary mahailloux Thanks for watching! At this point I should probably make a follow up video for this subject. I think I could make things more clear.

[@blakehofmans8486]

Thanks so much, I used to try to static stretch for hours sometimes and make no progress even after months, now I know strength training is the way to go :)

[@ShapeshiftWellness]

When you start strength training, make sure to follow a good program and use your full range of motion according to the exercise. Be patient, and develop both strength and controlled range of motion slowly over time.

[@PinkeySuavo]

@@ShapeshiftWellness shouldn't static strech actually work? While slowly progressing? Like showing the brain "look, it's fine, just go a little bit more, it will be okay"

[@HealthorHoax]

@@PinkeySuavo Yep, static stretching does have that effect. Personally I think that in most cases, active stretching and strengthening through a full range of motion has more robust benefits, but yes passive static stretching does that too.

[@mcmerry2846]

Because you have to train and periodise flexibility Training as well. Reps(time), series, frequency... Using the active or NPF methods.

[@s.7184]

Gymnasts do a lot of static stretching in order to be able to do the controlled jump split etc

[@tom.sagona]

I believe any quality gymnastics teacher will coach their students not to force or tear their muscles, but in stead to relax the mind and allow the muscles to slowly “unravel”. Slow your body to embrace the stretch at its own pace. It feels like tension is releasing slowly within the muscle itself. In truth, however, the brain is actually slowly accepting that the body is able to control itself within that range. By consciously focusing on breath and relaxing the mind, the muscles also relax. But the video is correct, you are training the brain more than the muscle itself.

[@tom.sagona]

The key is to maintain a balance between strength and flexibility throughout the entire process, so that the muscles learn how to function within the increased range in a way that is strong and supported. This takes far more time and practice than simply allowing the muscle to unravel without being supported.

[@cevxj]

my life, a lie. Also, people need to stop apologizing for math, we're all taught math and khan academy exists.

[@ShapeshiftWellness]

Fair point about the math, we should all know the basics.

[@EmilyJeanVoice]

Right?! What have I been taught??

[@elsacohen490]

Hi! Thank you so much for this video 🙏 I’m a dance student and I just shared this video to my mates because we are all looking for ways to get more flexible. Could you do a video on how to teach your brain/ do active stretching in order to get a wider range of motion? It would be so useful! Thanks :)

[@ShapeshiftWellness]

I'm glad it helped! This video may be useful as well: kzbin.info/www/bejne/h4SwooyteaqerLM

[@paperwork9104]

Very easy to follow, but i have since found a article in the "national library of medicine" titled "muscle growth and exercise" that says "The growth in length occurs at either end of the fibers and results in addition of new sarcomeres" so the fibres do grow in length?

[@ShapeshiftWellness]

Yes it is possible to add "sarcomeres in series" as well as "sarcomeres in parallel". The proteins themselves do not actually "stretch" though, and most flexibility improvements are largely neurological rather than physical, which was the main point of this video. Part 2 explains it better: kzbin.info/www/bejne/p2Wmp2huiqucgMU

[@sweatyhands5738]

I’m curious as to wether passive stretching allows no control or may still allow for some control because I’ve seen some people static stretch and have control over the extra range of motion. How does this happen?

[@ShapeshiftWellness]

Static, passive stretching is pretty much useless. I'll cite an article here for you to back that statement up: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31845202/ I made a video on the difference between active and passive ranges of motion that may help explain these concepts, I hope it helps: kzbin.info/www/bejne/h4SwooyteaqerLM

[@EmilyJeanVoice]

Seriously loved this video. Been having this discussion in regard to strength training and muscle "tightness"/injury....my mind is like WHAAA, tell me more.

[@ShapeshiftWellness]

A lot of common ideas of how muscles work are more myth than reality. It's so fun to explore what's REALLY going on in there!

[@viktoriabobek7053]

This is so interesting . Thanks a lot for breaking it down 😊

[@ezfit3367]

That's not correct according to science literatures. Muscles are able to increase length by several mechanism, including adding additional sarcomere to the terminal end. Other mechanism such as decrease stiffness of connective tissue may also occur. Was going to leave some links, but youtube always blocked my comment if there are links.

[@ShapeshiftWellness]

You're absolutely right that it is possible to add sarcomeres both at length and in-series. That said, that's not how most gains in flexibility occur. The factors that influence flexibility most significantly are increased stretch tolerance (pain tolerance) and decreased muscle spindle reflex. In other words, neurological components have a more dramatic influence than sarcomerogenesis.

[@OldSchoolCalisthenics]

very good. can I dare to ask for the name of the software you use? I would love to buy it

[@ShapeshiftWellness]

The software for the 3D anatomy models is "Complete Anatomy". Best app I've seen. 3d4medical.com/

[@xavierthweatt9106]

What happens to the joints when you do a split?

[@BlissNStretchYoga]

This is such a wonderful video

[@ShapeshiftWellness]

Thanks!

[@isaiahmiller6223]

How would you suggest a beginner start to increasing active flexibility ?

[@ShapeshiftWellness]

A general bodyweight strength program through your full active range of motion is a great idea. Or you could check out my guided class library for yoga classes that achieve this result! www.shapeshiftwellness.com/courses/guided-class-library

[@brunoelr5420]

What books do you recommend on stretching and mobility

[@Danger_Kitten_30-06]

As an A&P student wanting to gain flexibility I really appreciate this

[@ShapeshiftWellness]

We need more A&P in our fitness, yoga, and health in general. I'm glad you liked it!

[@Danger_Kitten_30-06]

I don't know if I'm allowed to do this but I would be curious to see animations and explanations of these concepts kzbin.info/www/bejne/Z3vKc6Ntmb1nd7c

[@ShapeshiftWellness]

@@Danger_Kitten_30-06 Can you be more specific as to what you'd like me to cover? I'm happy to make a follow-up but she covered a lot of topics, so I'm wondering if there was anything in particular you want me to address?

[@gamerrapter]

Keep up the good work brother. God bless

[@ShapeshiftWellness]

Much appreciated, thanks for the positive words!

[@shiba_mandu]

Thank you for this diagram and simple explanation

[@ShapeshiftWellness]

You are welcome!

[@mcmerry2846]

Do you a video about joint *mobility* ?

[@ShapeshiftWellness]

Lots of them! Can you be more specific about what you're looking for? Here's one comparing mobility to flexibility: kzbin.info/www/bejne/eX6naGRmgbqgh68

[@mcmerry2846]

@@ShapeshiftWellness developing ROM

[@GarwoodNick]

Awesome video

[@ShapeshiftWellness]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@tom.sagona]

As a person who enjoys yoga, this video made a lot of sense to me. However, I think it may be wrong to lump all practitioners of yoga into one category. The people you describe are unfortunately very common, but they are also doing it wrong. The original school of yoga, as you mentioned, was more about mindfulness. The focus on mindfulness allowed them to have exactly the kind of brain control over the muscles you describe, and that is what allowed them to perform feats of “flexibility”. Those feats were achieved through decades of mental discipline, not forcefully or physically “lengthening” the actual muscles. It should also be noted that these yogis were dedicated to mental and spiritual practice, not strength, speed or stamina. It’s entirely possible that their muscles were weak, as the video describes. They were certainly not exceptionally muscular or athletic. The new school of yoga incorporates all of the science you mentioned, and focuses more on dynamic and active range of motion within individual limitations, to maximize the body’s potential without harming it, and build awareness of the body (a mental or “brain” connection to the body and muscles). The conscious connection to the body is the primary benefit, increasing the brain’s level of control over the movements we make. Anyone who practices yoga with the goal of becoming more “flexible” is misguided. Anyone who feels the need to compete against fellow yogis to stretch the longest or deepest is harming themselves. These people are not a good example of the purpose and practice of yoga. If anyone reading this practices yoga, I would urge you not to misunderstand what I believe the video is trying to say. If “stop doing yoga” is the message you received, I would encourage you to go back and view the video again, this time listening from the perspective “stop doing yoga wrong”.

[@ShapeshiftWellness]

If "stop doing yoga" was the message you heard, it was not my intention. I'm a yoga teacher, after all! I love yoga. However, we can modify common modern postural yoga to be more beneficial and promote not only mindfulness, self awareness, and control, but also physical strength and coordination. I don't like the way yoga is typically taught, but I LOVE yoga when taught intelligently.

[@insaneyoungster6223]

I was looking for the chemical and physical properties of a flexible muscle vs a stiff muscle?

[@ShapeshiftWellness]

For the most part, the difference is neurological (electrical), not structural. However, it can be due to viscoelastic changes, and fascial tension as well.

[@gkashyap67]

Great expectations thank you sir for this information

[@ShapeshiftWellness]

Always welcome

[@hoxamhoxam4128]

so what should we do i didnt catch it?

[@jiggalojuggs2184]

@Shapeshift Why does my orthopedic sport doctor say that I'm tight? Also does stretching help with injuries? If it doesn't why is it in physcial therapy?

[@ShapeshiftWellness]

Everyone in rehab and sports and PT likes to think that people are "tight". Most of the time this is complete BS. Stretching does not help injuries. Being flexible does not prevent injuries. Here's a link to a great bit of research on why flexibility isn't important and why static stretching doesn't need to be a regular part of a physical fitness routine: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31845202/ Basically, this is an outdated idea that is not supported by the literature. It's an old myth, it's dogma. I'm even being taught this currently in school despite overwhelming evidence that it's totally untrue. Yes, a person can have limitations in mobility, and yes we can seek to improve them. This takes a personalized assessment relative to the person's goals and activity demands, and there are much better ways to gain mobility than static stretching.

[@ConstructiveMinds100]

This channel should be called SMART ARSE

[@TheLivirus]

@@ShapeshiftWellness The model that muscles are "tight" or "short" has caught on because it seems to agree with our lived experience and has proven useful to explain causes of and prescribe remedies to problems. I think you debunked this model pretty convincingly, but I don't think you effectively showed how the model you suggested is more useful. For example: if flexibility is about training the brain to allow muscles to extend closer to their point of failure, it seems to me that flexible people should be more prone to injury, contrary to what is generally accepted.

[@ShapeshiftWellness]

@@TheLivirus Actually, more flexible people *are* indeed more prone to injury. The idea that stretching or being flexible prevents injury is false. Here are a few citations to back that up: bmjopensem.bmj.com/content/5/1/e000620 bmjopensem.bmj.com/content/4/1/e000366 bjsm.bmj.com/content/48/11/871 pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20601606/

[@TheLivirus]

@@ShapeshiftWellness Thanks for the links. The first article is about patients with reconstructed knee. I wouldn't generalize from that. The second article contradicts your narrative by concluding "no significant association between hypermobility and sports injury (p=0.66)" and "significant increase in joint and ligament sprain among the non-hypermobile (NH) group covering all sports (p=0.03)". Third article reviews publications and conclude that stretching did not help prevent injury, however it does not conclude that it increases risk of injury. Fourth article reviews publications and conclude that "sport participants with generalized joint hypermobility have an increased risk of knee joint injury during contact activities but have no altered risk of ankle joint injury." It makes sense that a hypermobile knee is more prone to injury in contact sports. My general impression is that the articles tell a far less certain and more complicated story than yours. I don't know what you know, but I wouldn't advice people not to stretch in general based on these articles.

[@TheFarral]

and what about lenghts hypertrophy, and titine with elastics capacity?

[@GregoryMorales-uo6ze]

I respect the research the only thing you didn't mention is that you can gain control over muscles after they have been trained to be flexible with the right strength training needed. You can also gain a lot of strength and build muscle in a limited ROM strength training routine which could also make the brain decrease and shorten the range of motion to extend and contract the muscles within a limited range like (the limited ROM of ongoing strength exercises) which can make them feel tight and the opposite can also occur as well like you show us in the video they both can have negative effects on our bodies however either extreme can be corrected or balanced with either stretching or strengthening. Hope this helps others so they know not to be too worried for either one cause they both could be corrected if one is imbalanced without the other. Sometimes it's ok to do either extreme depending on your goal and how fast you want to get there or how you want to train in either case. Just be careful with both and make sure that with either extreme you warm up first and try to eat enough protein to repair and recover the muscles for either situation like stretching and/or strength training. Hope this helps ( :

[@ShapeshiftWellness]

I agree and I talk more extensively about using strength and mobility in appropriate ways in other videos. Thanks for your contributions here!

[@ixlguy]

Great topic, great content, I support your attempt. I suggest you listen to it yourself and consider cleaning it up.

[@ShapeshiftWellness]

Did you watch part 2? kzbin.info/www/bejne/p2Wmp2huiqucgMU It's newer and better in my opinion. Are there any particular aspects of this video you feel need improvement? I'm open to feedback if you can be more specific!

[@RaymondBurton]

You’re links in description are not clickable from my phone. I would love to know what loading parameters or stimulus teaches the brain - is that in your course?

[@ShapeshiftWellness]

Hey Raymond, I'm just now seeing this comment! Yes in my anatomy course online I speak a lot about active mobility and how this teaches our body to control our full range of motion. The really short version is that focusing on ACTIVE loading where the muscles themselves are controlling the motion (rather than having gravity stretch you out) will lead to active neuromuscular changes. Passive stretching isn't very useful in my opinion.

[@RaymondBurton]

@@ShapeshiftWellness Thank you. I'll sign up for the newsletter to understand better.

[@noobyplays7679]

My dumbass thought my muscles had to be more loose and more long to be flexible. Great video

[@nomnom625]

Wow haha it did confuse me.. thank you for the information!! Im a yogi, and I wanted to ask, which kind of functional flexbility training there is ?

[@ShapeshiftWellness]

Rewatching this now I can see that this is a LOT of information! Haha... Anyway there are lots of mobility trainings out there, and I have my own guided class library where you can learn how I personally like to adapt yoga to be more functional for the nervous system and give you active control of your full range of motion. It's on my website. Also check out "Functional Range Conditioning". Those guys are absolutely fantastic and they offer trainings that yoga teachers and personal trainers love to take.

[@vanillasky18]

hi, what i doing is PNF stretch in yoga,kinstretch and gyrotonic to keep flexi n healthy. hope it can help you

[@onepunchman5501]

Working through full range of motion through strength training exercises, aka “stretching” with resistant through exercise, something active that engages a stimulus to your muscles not something passive like static stretching

[@arelytorresdelfin-yinyoga4508]

Hi, I would like to share something with you. According with the fascia research in the passive stretch the tension that you feel is not in the muscles, it is in the deep fascia (aponeurotic fascia: you know the envelop the cover the compartments of the muscles). I know that you are not fan of yin yoga but in yin yoga we are not looking for a deep stretch in the muscles o tendons. Not for who has studied with Paul Grilley. In the yin practice the sensation in the joints should be very very veeery gentle, is more like a sweet massage, obviously we can not separate the fascia of the muscles but the target is the fascia, deep fascia. We move slowly to come into the pose and try to keep the muscles relaxed. But I know that for many people outside Yin yoga is for a stretch in the muscles, etc. The idea that yin yoga is in the constant pursuit of the full range of motion is false. By the way, I admire your job, and in this week I hope to start your anatomy course. Are.

[@ShapeshiftWellness]

Thanks for the input! There are certainly times that attempting to remodel the fascia is appropriate. However, clinically speaking, most of the changes in flexibility that occur after stretching are due to neurological changes like decreased pain threshold, and decreased stretch reflex. Usually it is not due to true fascial tension. However, sometimes we do need to target the connective tissues, but cell biology and mechano-biology teaches us that the fascia and fibroblasts respond much better to active, controlled motion rather than deep passive flexibility. There's a time for both, however.

[@arelytorresdelfin-yinyoga4508]

@@ShapeshiftWellness Thanks for replying!

[@nolannahdee1477]

new subscriber good job

[@ShapeshiftWellness]

Thanks for subbing! I'm glad you found this helpful.

[@ghaywoood5]

If what you're saying about flexibility being useless is true, that makes me kind of sad. However, even if it's useless I see it as a fun hobby and it may facilitate other hobbies like rock climbing, calisthenics, gymnastics, martial arts or other athletic activities. It may be risky but so are other hobbies. And this one's free! Also, would increased flexibility not help as we get older (70+), or is that more of a bone issue?

[@ShapeshiftWellness]

You need enough flexibility to accomplish the movements that your life demands, but you don’t need extra. A gymnast NEEDS a lot of mobility, and without it, they’d get injured trying to do the splits in for example a floor routine. In contrast, an Olympic sprinter NEEDS to actually be not flexible. They actually NEED to have “tight” hamstrings, otherwise they’ll be bad at sprinting, and be more likely to get hurt because they lack elastic recoil. If a sprinter tried to become more flexible, it would be bad for them. So if your life demands a certain level of flexibility, you need that exact amount of flexibility, but not more. Like Goldilocks. Just enough but not too much. Excess flexibility is a liability. Also, what you really need is MOBILITY (active controlled motion), not flexibility. I have a video on this.

[@ghaywoood5]

@@ShapeshiftWellness Do you mean the aROM vs pROM video? That was still a bit confusing because you mostly showed passive examples. And it's hard to look up mobility exercises because mobility is usually grouped up with flexibility in videos, so I'm assuming that the exercises they do will also be passive. I'm guess I'm also still confused about flexibility vs mobility.

[@ShapeshiftWellness]

@@ghaywoood5 That one is good, but here's another: kzbin.info/www/bejne/eX6naGRmgbqgh68

[@111soreal]

Well tell us how to get flexible

[@ShapeshiftWellness]

I have. bunch of videos talking about different stretching techniques and looking at research on the topic, please explore! Also, I'm working on a course to summarize the best research on that question.

[@EmilyJeanVoice]

Ok so what would you say to something like this: "Injuries were caused by me not stretching at all in nearly a year of me weight training! To say all my muscles from neck down were tight is an understatement!! I'm now stretching twice daily, sports massage once a month & my tightness is 100% better. Tight muscles will lead to injury somewhere in your body." Honestly this is what almost everyone believes, it's what we were all taught! So I'm having a hard time re-wiring my brain right now lol. Help!

[@ShapeshiftWellness]

Emily, you're 100% right, this is a SUPER common feeling! First off, it's important to note that not all weight training programs are created equal. If a person does weight training, and they are very intentional about training their body in all directions, all major muscle groups, with lots of variation, and through their FULL active range of motion, then they will probably not end up feeling "tight". The reason so many people end up feeling tight is their workout program is crappy. They train the same areas in the same way all the time, and they do it in a very small range of motion. This is an easy fix. For example, take my most recent video. It shows that a common weight lifting exercise can be viewed from a mobility perspective as a GREAT way to increase hamstrings flexibility, while still getting the benefits of strength training: kzbin.info/www/bejne/iKG9gXWdi5mqhc0 Does this help at all?

[@EmilyJeanVoice]

@@ShapeshiftWellness Thanks for replying! I guess the thought process that is in question here is whether stretching is an important tool for "tight" or overworked muscles. Given that programming is a-ok, or perhaps no program or training involved at all. In my experience, stretch is often the go-to suggestion. We know it temporarily feels better. And we know everyone complains of sore or tight muscles at some point. Ah the elusive "trigger points" lol.

[@tw3638]

What program was used for the muscle modeling?

[@ShapeshiftWellness]

Here you go! 3d4medical.com/

[@chowwk2981]

what is the difference between mobility and flexibility?

[@ShapeshiftWellness]

Here's a video on exactly that question: kzbin.info/www/bejne/eX6naGRmgbqgh68

[@danilocoutodesouza997]

Ok, but how do the gymnasts get their flexibility? I've seen some of them doing passive stretches a lot,

[@ShapeshiftWellness]

Your comment/question has a lot to unpack that can't be summed up here, such as how they do a lot of strength training as well, but also how this begs the question of whether or not the flexibility gained through strictly passive means is useful flexibility, or even desirable? It also makes a person wonder if the extreme hypermobility gained by gymnasts is desirable for human health at all, or is it actually a risk factor for injury? There's a lot of interesting research on the topic.

[@dillongreaney4265]

Why can a person who is "stiff" or not conditioned in mobility injure themselves from "over stretching" if there muscles have the ability to elongate even further with training. For example, I trained in gymnastics as a kid and I could do the splits. If I was forced into a splits position now I'd probably tear soft tissue (or would I?). Why is that?

[@ShapeshiftWellness]

DIllon Greaney Great question! Your connective tissues and your muscles adapt to your regular activities, so even if you could do something as a kid, you may not be able to safely do it later on if you stopped regularly doing the activity. Being stiff means a couple things. First it means your muscle fibers don’t want to become long, since they are controlled by your nervous system, and if you don’t regularly explore your mobility with active control, then your nervous system has sort of a “fail safe” mechanism in place called the “muscle spindle reflex” where if you stretch too far too quick your nerves basically slam on the brakes. Imagine slamming on the brakes in a car going really fast... it’s not great. Tissue gets damaged. So you have to slowly teach your nervous system it can handle more mobility by training it regularly over a long time. Second, your connective tissues (fascia) are like stretchy bags around your muscles. Think of the difference between trying to do a deep squat while wearing gym shorts, versus doing a deep squat in blue jeans. If the pants aren’t stretchy then you are going to tear them. Same for muscles, which are “wearing” bags of fascia, sort of like the blue jeans in our analogy. If the fascia isn’t mobilized regularly,it becomes less like gym pants and more like blue jeans. Does that make sense?

[@dillongreaney4265]

@@ShapeshiftWellness It does, thank you!

[@Rotaks]

My wife is NATURALLY soft/flex and I'm naturally stiff/hard. When we compare, even her skin is like...play-doh. Sotf and stretchy. My is like skin of crocodile. Hard, stiff and thick. People say "Oh, because you' not training enough and she trains Yoga". But IT IS NOT TRUE. From when I was...14 years old I did: kickboxing, acrobatic, capoeira... And she started Yoga because it was EASY for her. But, in order to scientifically prove, that IT IS NOT ABOUT TRAINING but all about genes, we have 2 kids :) And the first one got my face, and more my genes :( FROM THE BEGINING (1 year old and so one) he couldn't sit flat on the floor. He always got rounded spine. He can't reach his feet with straight legs, etc. The other one looks more like my wife and FROM THE BEGINING he sits on the floor flat with STRAIGHT spine. And when he sist like that, he can KICK OUT a hat from his head with straight leg! The different between them IS HUGE. So, why none of doctors or scientist don't mention about HOW MUCH your flexibility depends on YOUR GENES.

[@ShapeshiftWellness]

@@Rotaks You are 100% correct! Genetics will change the collagen composition in your connective tissues. People with hypermobility tend to have more elastic collagen and other proteins in their skin and joints and fascia. So they don't ever have to train for it, they are just naturally flexible. Because of this, as well as many other reasons, flexibility really isn't a useful goal for a person's health. If you happen to be naturally flexible, that's okay. If not, it doesn't matter, you don't need to improve your flexibility. It won't make you healthier or anything. Great point, thanks for commenting.

[@Rotaks]

But, I think fexibility is important for a man health. I got problems with my lower back spine (discopathy etc.). My physical therapist said that I need to improve my flexibilty (gluteus, hammerstring). Because, when I do things that requaires to bend, I do it with "rounded back". So I always squeeze disks in "harmful way". So I think there is some level of inflexibilty that cause damage to your health (?). When I lay flat on my back, and I lift my leg straight, I can't reach 90°. Maybe 35° and then I start to fill "tension".

[@a_l_i1405]

Do you think splits are harmful?

[@ShapeshiftWellness]

That really depends. Being able to do the splits does not make a person healthier, that's for sure. Flexibility isn't an indication of good health. So I'd wonder: Why would someone WANT to do the splits? What's the point? Many people become addicted to intense stretching. That addiction could be harmful, and compulsively stretching usually means you aren't training your strength, stability, balance, coordination, and reactivity, which are all very important. SO it's likely a person who is overly focused on doing the splits is creating a body that is too flexible, and not strong enough to CONTROL their flexibility safely. Since this is super common for yoga students, I'd say that in general yes, working for the splits using passive stretching is probably going to do more harm than good. There are some situations in which I'd say doing the splits is actually necessary to prevent injury, but that's only going to be the case for high level gymnasts, figure skaters, and other professionals. That's not the case for the general population. Simple answer: Training to do the splits is useless at best, and likely harmful long term because it makes you into a noodle. Don't be a noodle.

[@a_l_i1405]

@@ShapeshiftWellness I need splits in Taekwondo for higher kicks. Should I continue? It is commonly said that flexibility is helpful in preventing injury and increasing blood circulation

[@ShapeshiftWellness]

@@a_l_i1405 Let's put it this way: Whatever range of motion your sport demands, you should be able to do it with full control. I train martial arts myself, and I can throw a kick pretty high at full speed. I can definitely kick a person's head, however if I were to try to HOLD my leg up at the height of a person's head, there's no way I could do it. I don't have the strength to HOLD that position. I made a video explaining this topic in depth, and I think you'll understand what I mean and how to train safely for your activities if you watch it: kzbin.info/www/bejne/h4SwooyteaqerLM Also - flexibility has nothing to do with blood circulation.

[@livitycore4236]

What should I do as a beginner? I am a Basketball athlete.

[@livitycore4236]

What should my routine be?

[@ShapeshiftWellness]

Are you asking what your routine for flexibility should be? If so, you really don't need one. Stretching isn't necessary. It doesn't prevent injuries or reduce muscle soreness.

[@federicobarrios3227]

Great! that lack of consciousness or control over flexibility is mostly due to 90% of the asanas are modern and do not belong to ancient yôga. They were added in the early XX century from european gymnastics.

[@tanta3343]

I appreciate you taking the time to try to explain this information. Your intention is very generous and commendable. But the explanation is very confusing, like you don’t fully grasp what you’re trying to impart yourself. Constructive criticism would be to simplify your presentation and get it much clearer and concise in your mind before trying to teach. Thanks.

[@ShapeshiftWellness]

Is there something in particular that you think I am missing or improperly explaining? Other than making up fake numbers about the length of a sarcomere simply to express a point, the information presented was accurate. Please elaborate.

[@aidanware2164]

How do you get the gymnast flexibility

[@ShapeshiftWellness]

To become as flexible as a gymnast, a person has to train rather aggressively from childhood. Intense training literally changes the shape of bones as they develop. Personally I think that type of flexibility is useless at best for most people, and harmful when people forcefully try to gain it. The one thing that gymnasts are really good at though is having GREAT strength and control over their movements. You can gain that strength and control by simply strength training through your full range of motion.

[@aidanware2164]

Shapeshift Wellness thanks 👍

[@courrierdebois]

The flexibility gained from hatha yoga is a side effect, not the true purpose. Unfortunately, most practitioners, the Shapeshift Wellness guy included, are completely ignorant of the union, the glandular health and the incomparable strength that Hatha Yoga can bring about. I'll subscribe for the time being to see if there is ever going to be a part two that isn't just a rehashing of old info.

[@ShapeshiftWellness]

@courrierdebois Thanks for your comment. In other videos I've talked about the depth of yoga beyond flexibility, for example, you may enjoy this video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/eX-cdYWQpc9ng6s As for the glandular health claims proposed by Sri Yogendra, Kaivalyananda, and then by Iyengar and Jois, well those claims have since been debunked by the medical sciences. Read about it in Elliot Goldberg's book "The Path of Modern Yoga". If you have a specific request for a future follow-up video, I'm currently taking requests and can make a video directly addressing anything you like. Thanks for your input!

[@julianmartinez3048]

I train karate. I've never in my life been flexible but through training I was able to gain a little bit. But it's hard to get and easy to lose if you stop training for some months. And as i get older it gets harder to regain. I would like to know the best approach (active, passive). I was told that you can get good results through passive stretching. Obvously the point of flexibility it to have a proper kicking techique, so what is the best approach to it?

[@ShapeshiftWellness]

Yep, our bodies change according to what we do with them on a regular basis. If you want to be able to do something, you need to keep it up regularly. Passive stretching gives you passive results, meaning it gives you flexibility that you don't have active control over. Ideally you would want to have ACTIVE range of motion which you can control, especially for kicking in karate. You need your muscles to control the motion, right? Check out this video explaining the difference between active and passive ranges of motion, and how you can train actively to increase your controlled mobility. I hope this helps! kzbin.info/www/bejne/h4SwooyteaqerLM

[@zciwara6100]

Soooo basically flexibility is good as long as you have the strength to support it. If you don't have the strength it's better not to increase your range of motion... at all. Did I get it right? But then, with this theory, I don't get why we have to stretch before exercising...

[@ShapeshiftWellness]

Zciwara The goal should be to have active control over whatever ranges of motion you choose to explore. If you can’t control it, maybe it’s not so smart to keep doing it.

[@yinianlin1552]

Stretching before exercising can decrease the chance of injuring yourself. As a figure skater, stretching before and after skating helps a lot with not getting injuries.

[@ShapeshiftWellness]

@@yinianlin1552 Actually that's not true :) Stretching before exercise does NOT reduce injury rates! Here is the research to prove it: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18785063. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31845202

[@yinianlin1552]

Shapeshift Wellness even if it technically, “doesn’t help reduce injury rate,” as an athlete stretching helps me and a lot of other of my ice skating friends preform better on ice. Not saying I doubt your scientific reasonings, it’s just if you’re gonna be doing positions that require a large amount flexibility, stretching before can help you avoid unwanted soreness or muscle tightness :) Think about the athletes POV

[@Danger_Kitten_30-06]

Is everyone physiologically capable of splits?

[@ShapeshiftWellness]

There are people suggesting that everyone would be able to do the splits if only they did it from childhood and never stopped, but I wholeheartedly disagree. People just have different genes. Some people's family like tends to have certain bone structures or connective tissue properties, and its the reason we see that for example Scottish hip joints tend to be very deep and prone to FAI, while Polish hip joints are often more shallow and capable of super deep squats. There's no way that everyone can do the splits, even if they tried from birth. Yes, most people could be much more flexible as adults if they moved through their full range of motion daily since childhood, but most of us wouldn't be THAT flexible.

[@oliverskjnnemand5222]

super nice and factual! At least, I think it's factual - i can't check since I don't know anything. That's why I'm here.....

[@ShapeshiftWellness]

I appreciate that! I promise this is coming straight from textbooks on muscle physiology :)

[@Sarah-vh2gi]

I want to know how gaining flexibility works i dance but I had no natural flexibility I stretched all the time every day and now I’m able to lots of things like oversplits

[@ShapeshiftWellness]

Sarah 12345 Is there something you wanted to know that I didn’t talk about in this video?

[@Sarah-vh2gi]

Shapeshift Wellness you might have talked about it I didn’t rlly understand it I’m only 12 but why does ur body gain flexibility

[@ShapeshiftWellness]

Sarah 12345 Basically your body gains most of its flexibility because your nervous system is in control of your muscles, and over time through movement and stretching your nervous system allows your muscles to relax more. Most of the increases in flexibility we make are from getting the nervous system to relax our muscles. Also, our connective tissues, ligaments, tendons, fascia, etc.. get more stretchy over time if we keep training.

[@Sarah-vh2gi]

Shapeshift Wellness ok ty

[@brandeeno2846]

Yeah, idk about this one. So if I’m enlightened and believe I can do splits then I can do splits right away? No, I am going to tear my muscles, damage tissues. Misleading video.

[@ShapeshiftWellness]

I rewatched the video to see where I said this, but I don't think I did actually say that. You may be missing the point a bit but perhaps I didn't provide enough context, so here's the context: There are two types of barriers to flexibility: Neurological, and mechanical. This video talks about sliding filament theory and how most of us aren't actually using the full safe range of motion we already have. This is because our nervous system stops us from stretching further, mainly due to our muscle spindles reflexively contracting to limit motion. This neurological barrier is the first barrier to flexibility that we encounter, and it's easy to overcome with things like PNF stretching, or PAILs/RAILs. The next barrier is mechanical. So yes it's true that there can be physical barriers from a lack of tissue extensibility ("stretchiness"), but most of us aren't actually hitting those barriers. Most of us are only encountering the neurological barriers and we never overcome them. If we do, then yes we can work to remodel fascia and muscle tissue to allow for even greater ranges of motion. This updated video explains this better: kzbin.info/www/bejne/p2Wmp2huiqucgMU

[@bbraithwaite772]

mind/ matter

[@ShapeshiftWellness]

A lot of it, yes. It's cool however that we can use the reverse path and influence mind through our matter.

[@bbraithwaite772]

@@ShapeshiftWellness awareness helps, so many distractions goin on ppl cant "hear" what their bodies are doing/ need

[@1992ilikepie]

The philosophy that muscle length is a matter of sensitivity does not stand to reason, or even to current (in the last five years) science. You said yourself that making your body believe it is able to stretch is matter of control, aka strength, which is a change (to a degree) in the muscle cells. So we can agree there is a change in the muscle accompanying the process because sensation plays a role. Fundamentally, we watch peoples resting muscle length change due to growth all the time. Children! Teens! Some adult grow in height into their 20’s. Do their hamstrings muscles not literally increase in length as the femur gets longer? Is the muscle, despite having same (about) number of fibers at birth not growing in length or is that just an illusion? No! We add new nuclei, sarcomeres, there’s other things to it. It’s a hard thing for science to get at because we can’t exactly slice some human muscle to look under a microscope then look 6 months later after they underwent a flexibility program or grew 5 inches. And if we get half a foot taller, the change in the muscle is so minute as it’s spread through their legs and trunk. But the heart is very revealing in studies of how a small change in length and thickness of a muscle can affect it’s performance. You may think, we’re not children and so we stop growing. But the amount of growth necessary in length is small to be flexible, and we do even as adults have the ability to grow muscle in small amounts, it’s just that it takes a lot of time and work

[@ShapeshiftWellness]

It is a fact that most forms of stretching do not influence muscle tension or muscle length. They only change pain tolerance. There is tons of research on this. Yes, human growth and development involves muscle length changes, but this is a special case and has nothing to do with stretching. It is possible to alter muscle tone and length slightly with extremely long periods of stretching (2min at a time or longer). Anything shorter than that just changes pain tolerance but does not make structural changes.

[@rockymckay1705]

This doesn’t sound right but I don’t know enough about stretching to dispute it

[@ShapeshiftWellness]

Is there something specific that I said which doesn't sound right? I'm happy to explain more or clarify.

[@rockymckay1705]

Shapeshift Wellness it’s pretty much the opposite of everything I’ve learned about muscles. Like adaptive shortening of muscles, the studies that show that stretching increases flexibility, what you’re saying just doesn’t make sense to me

[@ShapeshiftWellness]

@@rockymckay1705 If you're wondering about the usefulness of stretching and flexibility, here's a wonderful article summarizing the current literature on it: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31845202/ Basically, stretching is useless. Yes it does increase flexibility, but it also makes muscles weak, makes people less strong, less powerful, makes them perform worse, increases injury rates, and many other things. But this video wasn't really about all that, it was just about how sarcomeres work. That' just physiology.

[@karnn607]

Sadly you never saw real yoga, it's very different than the commercialized one.

[@ShapeshiftWellness]

That's correct, yoga is traditionally very different than the mainstream, commercialized version of modern postural yoga.

[@andjelinamilosevic247]

so much talking, yet so little info. now,actually, I know less.

[@ShapeshiftWellness]

I explained sliding filament theory as it relates to stretching and contraction. What would you have preferred I discuss? What do you think I missed?

[@DJRAJEE]

i understood everything lol

[@robinantony2454]

Actually muscles can lengthen with more sacromeres laid down in series and you forgot about the titin filament and it's role in your outdated version of Huxley's sliding filament theory. You can fool the public but your video is not correct!!!

[@ShapeshiftWellness]

Yea yea yea sarcomeres in series and sarcomeres at length. Even so, most flexibility changes have nothing to do with sarcomerogenesis, it has a lot more to do with pain tolerance and neural inhibition. These videos can't include everything, I have to pick and choose what is most important for people to understand.

[@AA-zq1sx]

1) You explained nothing about how to best to gain flexibility. This video was utterly pointless. 2) Saying that learning the splits damages your joints, and that you shouldn't do it, is utterly idiotic.

[@ShapeshiftWellness]

This is about the physiology behind how muscles contract and relax. I have plenty of how-to videos. I also have tons of videos explaining the difference between active and passive ranges of motion and how flexibility can be either helpful or risky, depending. There is no value to becoming intentionally hypermobile, unless your sport or daily activities require it, in which case it is necessary. I can't put all the nuance of flexibility research into a single video.

[@AwolProductionsENT]

Pseudo science. Muscles are restricted in a rigid contracted state because of muscle imbalances. Overlapping muscles can knot up, thats why they wont stretch when you hit that wall, so to speak. Its like untangling cords, you wont untangle cords by pulling on them. If anything that will make the entanglement worse because theres a method to it. Muscles work the same way. Theres a method to stretching, and alot of people stretch wrecklessly and improperly instead of wholistically and methodically. Cardio is another good way to correct muscle imbalances. Movement in general does, depending on the range of motion. Sprinting targets a larger range and depth of muscle imbalances than jogging or walking does for example. That is why you hear cracking while exercising or during a physical therapy adjustment because that tension is being released in a hands on practical way. Ultimately its force/pressure that releases restricted muscles. Has nothing to do with your brain signaling theory. Its purely physics and structural biomechanics. Muscles can and do lengthen elastically when you loosen up the knots. The less active you are over time, the muscles shorten. Thats why elderly people get shorter over time because their contracting muscles are pulling on the spine and connective tissues which causes disc compression, degeneration, and poor posture. When you stretch youre supposed to stretch legs and arms. Posterior and anterior muscles. Youre supposed to shift your weight around by changing your positions. This is why yoga is so effective because the different poses and different stretches involving sitting positions, lying positions, and standing positions which shifts your weight around to allow different ranging depths of muscles to be targeted.

[@ShapeshiftWellness]

This entire channel is dedicated to dispelling pseudoscience myths, so I must say I resent you saying I'm spreading "pseudoscience". You are incorrect about the physical structure of muscles and how mobility works. There is no such thing as a muscle "knot". Muscle fibers do NOT become "tangled". This is a false and outdated notion. It is true that the elasticity, extensibility, and viscosity of the extracellular matrix (fascia) can change, which can present restrictions to mobility. We can change those factors through exercise as you mentioned. However, we are not "untangling cords". That is objectively false. Please watch the next video in the series. It explains the basics of muscle spindle reflexes, and the golgi tendon organs. These are the neuroscience explanations for how mobility is restricted by the nervous system: kzbin.info/www/bejne/p2Wmp2huiqucgMU

[@AwolProductionsENT]

@@ShapeshiftWellness agree to disagree i guess. theyre not literally tangled. Theyre tangled in the sense of overlapping. So if fibers are contracted and constricted, they restrict the flexibility of others because muscles are inextricably interconnected and interwoven whether directly or indirectly. The body should be approached as a whole, not separate parts. Go look at that anatomical diagram of muscles you displayed in your video one more time. The muscles that enable limbs to twist, contrast from those that enable limbs to bend, and they overlap. Its not rocket science. Youre turning practical knowledge and wisdom of biomechanics into unsubstantiated pedantry. Theres a reason why theories have to be tested and applied to be valid. If knots dont exist, how do you explain muscle tightness and pain that intersects to a point? And how do you explain the hindered circulation and temperature changes at these points?

[@ShapeshiftWellness]

Are you talking about "trigger points"? Trigger points and muscle "knots" don't exist. See this academic review (for starters): pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25477053/ Here is research on how golgi tendon organs play a role in modifying flexibility: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15079994/ Here's an interesting trial where tissue extensibility didn't actually change, but flexibility did change simply due to desensitization. Basically, people got used to the pain of stretching (that's a neural adaptation): pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19696119/ Here's a nice short article summarizing what trigger points are, what they are NOT, and how muscle "knots" aren't what you think: bjsm.bmj.com/content/49/6/348.long There's the scientific research. I suggest you continue to study. You clearly know more than the average bear, but you also clearly don't know enough to know why these common ideas are outdated myths that have been widely debunked. Good luck with your ongoing studies.

[@DorAmram]

When you described "dividing/multiplying by 2" as "too much math" I stopped taking this video seriously.

[@ShapeshiftWellness]

People often get confused easily by numbers, even when they are simple. I hope the main message of the video was useful for you, and that you didn’t get distracted by a silly tangential point in the video that has no real bearing on the central theme.

[@abdelhalimguergour2614]

Sarcomère bigger than 10nm, that's so wrong go fix your informations.

[@ShapeshiftWellness]

I believe in the video I said something like "I'm just making up a number, the point is they are really small". If that's your biggest complaint about the video I'm happy :)

[@abdelhalimguergour2614]

@@ShapeshiftWellness yes but you should know the sarcomere length you said it's bigger than 10um while a sarcomère in a rested state is around 3um, I enjoyed the video but that bugged me 😂.

[@ShapeshiftWellness]

Abdelhalim Guergour Honestly the fact that I even picked the right level of magnitude is more than good enough for just making this up off the top of my head without notes in front of me ;) Besides, the exact size isn’t relevant for the point of the video.

[@abdelhalimguergour2614]

@@ShapeshiftWellness don't get me wrong, I still enjoyed the video, I guess I'm kinda nitpicking, still just meant that there's room for improvement.

[@ShapeshiftWellness]

@@abdelhalimguergour2614 Fair, lately I'm using more notes when recording videos. It's good to be precise and accurate.