Inquiry – March 2

Hi All,

Well I’ve successfully increased my sit-and-reach score from 14″ to 16″! If you recall, this is the test where the individual sits with their legs flat, straight forward, and about 12″ apart. A measuring tape is placed between the feet parallel to the legs. The 15″ mark is lined up so that it sits exactly at the line of the heels. The person stretches forward and reaches as far as they can with their hands to try and touch beyond the 15″ mark. It’s exciting for me because my baseline score was below average for my age and now, only one month later, I am already into the “slightly above average range”. I had originally planned on having a goal to do the splits but that was definitely too lofty. It took my partner – who was already exceedingly flexible – around 6 months to achieve that feat.

My last post broached the idea of using other tools beyond stretching to improve flexibility. Unfortunately there aren’t really any other “get flexible fast” tricks out there. Many sources recommended using a foam roller seen in the video below. I checked out a couple of physiotherapy websites and a number of them described the use of a foam roller to increase blood circulation to muscles as well as loosening the myo-fascial tissue around the muscles. I did not do a deep dive into the research surrounding the topic so I can’t say how effective this really is.

The other tip that many people suggested is to simply stay hydrated. There is some actual scientific research to back this. Luckshita et al. found a significant positive correlation between daily water intake and hamstring flexibility.

All in all, I am very happy with my progress!

Brad

Luckshita, Singh, S., Kaur, S., & Sharma, N. (2025). Influence of leg length, trunk length and hydration levels on hamstring flexibility among school going adolescents: An observational study. Journal of Clinical & Diagnostic Research, 19, 228.