Can middle-aged and elderly people still practice flexibility training?

Of course it can be practiced. As long as the method is correct, not only will it not hurt the body, but it can also effectively solve the daily minor troubles of many middle-aged and elderly friends.

Many people have advised me not to touch these things before, saying that bones are brittle and tendons are hard when people are old, and they are prone to osteoporosis, and stretching is not worth the loss. I believed this a few years ago, until I saw 71-year-old Uncle Wang from the same neighborhood. He had to squat down to pick up something. I stood up slowly while holding on to the wall. When it got serious, I had to sit and lift my feet to even tie my shoelaces. I practiced flexibility training with a community sports instructor for 8 months. Now I play with my grandson on the slide, and he can squat up and down very steadily. The old waist protrusion that has troubled him for five or six years has been reduced.

Of course, the objections are not groundless. I have personally seen a man in his 60s who was taught how to press his legs through a short video. When he got up, he put his legs on a waist-high horizontal bar and pressed down hard through gritted teeth. As a result, he directly strained the ligaments on the back of his thigh. He had to lie down for more than a month before he could go out normally.

This is really not the fault of flexibility training. Many people equate it with "splits, lowering the waist, and stretching muscles." The goals of middle-aged and old people training are completely different from those of young people. Young people may practice to challenge the difficulty of hip-hop dancing or yoga. What we want is freedom of movement. It is like a rubber tube that has become stiff after being left for a long time. If you bend it hard, it will definitely break.

I have specifically asked a rehabilitation practitioner in the community before. In fact, our muscles, ligaments and other soft tissues have room for plasticity no matter how old we are. However, as we get older, we need to warm up longer and stretch the force lighter. Don't pursue pain. Stop when there is a slight feeling of soreness. Holding for twenty or thirty seconds at a time is enough. Now before I go out for a walk every morning, I stretch my legs and shoulders for 5 minutes using the fitness equipment in the community. I also put my feet on a low stool and press lightly for a while while watching TV. In the past two years, I have not had much pain in my shoulders while carrying ten pounds of groceries upstairs. The numbness in my legs when I stood up after squatting for a long time has also disappeared quietly.

I really don’t need to listen to those people who knocked down a boat with a pole, and I don’t have to compete with young people who can press their legs lower. Isn’t it better than anything else to be able to tie my shoelaces comfortably, to have the dishes at a high enough height without stretching my waist, and to go for a long walk without getting stiff all over?