Hi! I have been struggling with my flexibility for as long as I can remember.

I'm still very far from being able to touch my toes. What confuses me is that my lower back barely seems to flex compared to my legs, and I don't feel any stretch or discomfort there at all.

Instead, I only feel a very intense stretch in the areas I've marked in red in the image (the upper calves and the backs of my knees). It feels like those tissues stop the movement long before my back or hamstrings are actually stretched.

Because of that, I'm wondering if the usual advice for improving flexibility even applies to my situation. My experience seems quite different from what most people describe. Has anyone experienced something similar or has an idea what might be causing this and what I should focus on?

Hello community,

I have had great success with using the elephant walk to improve my forward fold. I love to build up the intensity by starting with stretching alternating legs, do the movement with both legs simultaneously, and moving into the forward fold.

Are there any similar exercises for different stretches? I mostly struggle with increasing ankle, and adductor flexibility.

Thank you very much in advance!

What helped you the most?

I have a forward head posture, rounded shoulders, and some degree of lumbar lordosis. My main issues are a tight neck and pecs, tight lower back, and tight inner thigh adductors.

What is the single best exercise, or combination of exercises, to address all of these? It seems that no matter what I do, the tightness and the feeling that my body is "out of alignment" never go away.

I regularly stretch my chest (pecs) and lower back, and I've been doing glute bridges, rows, face pulls, reverse flies, dead bugs, and reverse crunches, but nothing seems to provide long-term relief.

What has helped you the most?

I would say I'm fairly flexible in my upper body, but I can touch my hands to my toes, not even close. If I sit down on the floor with my legs and back straight, i can't even sit up. I get to an about 150-degree angle. If I stand up with my knee bent, I can get my knee to my chest no problem, I can also get my toes to touch my lower back without any pain or resistance. I'm a bit tight in my upper inner thigh as well, but not too an abnormal degree.

I wouldn't say I'm an unactive person, I do bouldering 3 times a week, go too the gym 1-2 times a week and do at home core workouts and a full body stretch rutine 5 times a week (truing to do it everyday tho)

I'm also a pretty restless person, so I rarely sit down for long periods of time without getting upp and moving around.

When I do hamstring stretches, I get a pain in the back of my knee and sometimes in my upper calf, rarely do I feel anything in my hamstrings

I feel like I'm doing this all wrong and I have no idea where too start. I don't even want to be able to touch my toes I just want to be able to sit up with my legs straight.

Full disclosure: I’m the founder of StretchWell, an assisted-stretching and personal-training studio in Belgrade. This is general education, not a diagnosis or a sales offer.
A lot of people treat flexibility as a test of how much discomfort they can tolerate. I think that is usually the wrong target.
Static stretching and PNF-style contract-relax work can both help improve range of motion when they are practiced consistently. PNF is not magic and it is not necessarily superior for every person, but it gives some people a useful way to explore end range with more control.
A simple contract–relax sequence looks like this:

1. Move into a comfortable stretch-not sharp pain.

2. Gently contract the target area for a few seconds at a low effort.

3. Relax, breathe normally, and see whether a slightly larger comfortable range is available.

4. Repeat only a couple of times; more intensity is not automatically better.

The useful question is not “How far can I force this today?” It is “Can I return to this movement consistently, with control, next week?”If a position produces sharp, electric, spreading, or worsening symptoms, stop rather than trying to stretch through it.
Assisted stretching can be useful when it helps someone learn control and comfort in a position they cannot manage alone-but a good session should build independence, not dependence.

I want to throw a spinning wheel kick but I can only land it about shoulder level. Anyone know any stretches or exercises to build up mobility?

tbh i feel like this whole community has been only about people asking for how to do this and fix that but i want a community where its only pure flexibility and no asking for stuff

im not advertising since advertising is asking smth and thats it

should i do it? or someone else?