PE 116 Chapter Notes - Chapter 5: Collagen
19 Jun 2018
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What Determines My Flexibility? continued
● Individual factors
– Genetics: Accounts for differences in body
structure and tissue
elasticity.
– Gender: Although females are often assumed to
be more flexible than males, this may be true
only for specific
joints.
– Age: Physical changes related to aging at some
point start to affect the body's ability to
move.
– Body type: Typically affects flexibility only at
extremes (e.g., excessive amounts of muscle or
fat).
● Individual factors
– Activity level: Inactivity can result in low
flexibility levels.
– Health status: Certain medical conditions may
affect joint health and range of motion (for
better or for worse).
● Collagen: When this primary protein of connective
tissues is compromised by poor health or medical
conditions, loss of motion can result.
How Can I Assess My Flexibility?
● Sit-and-reach test
– A common measure of flexibility
– Measures lower back, hip, and hamstring
muscle flexibility
● Range-of-motion tests
– Evaluate your joints range of motion as
compared to that of others
How Can I Plan a Good Stretching Program?
● Set appropriate flexibility goals.
– Consider what you want to achieve:
Maintenance? Improvement? More comfort?
– Use SMART goals:
● Specific
● Measurable
