Settle an argument - can you form a straight line from knee to toe?

[GimmeAy]

Weird title I know. Apologies.
But myself and OH were just discussing my legs. Or more specifically my foot.
I was stretching my leg/foot out (as one does) and he jumped in horror saying 'Ew, that's disgusting?' After much questioning it transpires that I can bend my foot down enough with an outstretched leg so that it's just one straight line (hard to explain).
He tried it and his ankles won't go halfway near to a straight line with his leg.
Is it men? Is it me (dancer all my youth) or can everybody but him do it and I'm not a freak?

We all just checked - me and dh can both do it, and dd joined in too!

Photo of my flexible talents !

Isn’t that just pointing your toes? Of course I can as can most people surely?

FGS don’t tell me people are actually getting hurt and upset over not having the ‘right’ kind of ankle?? Give me strength...It’s obvious that whoever said that was being facetious!

no, not hurt or upset? Not sure where you got that from.
But it is common on these threads for people to go - Ugh they are not like me they are weird.
Which is rude.

I don't back down from that, it is rude.

Well no, as evidenced by this thread lots of people can’t do it.

It’s replying in the tone and context of the OP - he said it was disgusting. I’m sure he didn’t actually mean that his SO was literally disgusting. It wasn’t an actual dig at you or anyone else.

But whatever, this is so inconsequential that I’m bored of talking about it already.

Isn’t that just pointing your toes? Of course I can as can most people surely?

It is pointing your toes, but some people can point them further and bend their foot further.
When I ponit my toes my ankle doesn't go flat. Some people get a flat line over their ankle, and some can bend their feet quite a lot further than that, and put their soles on the floor!

I’m not sure it’s the right kind of ankle. It’s probably just tightness in the various muscles and ligaments around it. I can point my foot like the OP, as can DS2 (he’s always being asked to do this in Pilates for swim training).

I’m pretty certain, even without asking, that DH can’t do it. His legs are all bulky muscles and no flexibility. And then he wonders why he keeps injuring himself. 🙄

What's happened here then 😂🤦🏻‍♀️

Come back to say DH can do it too but he trained in marshal arts from young so pretty flexible.

Martial

This comes naturally to me, despite being extremely inflexible ie if I try to touch my toes, I can barely reach my knees! I did a lot of ballet in my youth...

I can’t do Asian squat either

Either my heels come up or I fall down. There’s no in between

I can do the straight leg thing.

I can also do the Asian squat, although it took a couple of tries first time to get the foot position comfortable. I don't even need to splay my feet, & I'm not thin, or have slim legs.

Yes, it's very comfortable. I often do it to stretch my feet out after walking. I'm overweight and inflexible, with bad joints.

Is this posts some kind of stealth 'move a muscle a day' .

I'm sure a lot of posters incl. family have been stretching and bending, atleast we have here 🤣.

I can do it easily. Never been a dancer and am older and chubby.

The foot position is completely to do with the amount of ankle flexibility that you have, even taking years of dance classes does not guarantee that you will achieve it. I'm a dance teacher and can do it easily, but both of my daughters who have danced since they were tiny, cannot.
My eldest is training to be a professional dancer and it is her biggest regret that her feet and ankles lack mobility (!) but she is not training to become a ballerina, so it's not a massive issue.

As for the asian squat position - I can't do this, I fall on my backside. I think it's because my knees don't bend as much as they should and so I fall over (sadly I can no longer grand plie either).

I can put my hands flat on the floor while bending over with straight legs but I’m hyper mobile.

My ankles do that but they are stuffed.

Is it like when you straighten your arm all the way out your little finger faces the ceiling cause your Arm doesn’t go straight but more of a wrong way bend

It creeps my DH out.

Yes. Ex Gymnast with a lot of ankle damage.

Same @ImInYourMindFuzz. I find it amazing that 17 years after I gave up competitive gymnastics, I’m still suffering with chronic joints issues, particularly in one ankle.

Not a hobby that I would suggest my children to take up.

I have hypermobility and Ehlers Danlos so one of the very few perks is that I can do weird flexible stuff nobody would ever expect (averaged sized tall 38 year old). I have really good mobility in my ankles so the flat line is instant and asian squats are easy and not uncomfortable at all.

My DC are both hypermobile, too, so we do a lot of sport to try and ensure we stay strong and supple rather than just supple.

DD has EDS and is weirdly inflexible in some directions. So her knees bend backwards to a horrible and damaging extent and her ankles roll way too far causing injury but she can't touch her toes when standing or sitting with legs straight out. Not even close. It's miserable for her.

You can also be hypermobile joints but not have hypermobility syndrome.

Yes I wouldn't say I have hypermobility as I think I just have slightly bendy elbows. Don't ever have joint pain.

@FudgeBrownie2019 how did you discover you had ED?