Flexibility - anyone transformed themselves?! Aiming to touch my toes in 2021

[bytheby]

Pretty please help a girl out.

I am 36 and have never been able to touch my toes. It is my new years resolution! I feel like lack of flexibility is holding me back exercise wise and I know it is only going to get worse if I don't address it.

I have been looking online but I'm struggling to work out what my problem is. I suspect hamstrings but please please enlighten me if you have tips or have transformed yourself. If I try to do the stretch in the attached image my back just doesn't fold forward at all - I can barely reach past my knee. I know everything is connected but, to me, it feels like it is more my pelvis area that is restricting me. Who knows!

A bit about me in case relevant. I have never been into fitness but this year have found my groove and have been doing workouts at home - mainly strength and resistance training - abs are starting to show!
I've never been overweight - getting fit is purely about health for me.

Good luck with getting to the floor!

I would absolutely recommend a youtuber called Madfit and stretches for the inflexible. I have seen a big difference. I would say if you struggle dont worry. Just do the stretch as well as you can and you will get more flexible, it just takes time and repetition

I've been trying to work on my flexibility lately.
The YouTube channel Journey to mobility has some good videos. Beginner friendly, some are only 5 minutes, there are videos for different areas. I'd definitely recommend it.

I am not an expert but I would say - why not pick another goal? I think you can really hurt your joints trying to do something your body can't achieve.
I can't sit on the floor with my legs straight and my back straight - when I did yoga, I needed two blocks to sit on to straighten my back. From then, I could lean forwards somewhat, but only a little bit. You must not curve your back.
I still managed to hurt my hip with yoga, and I stopped stretching altogether, my joints are not good for that (found our hard way). I now do weights and HITS. I think you should consider which aim to pick and why

Slow, steady and consistent. I have hit oversplits in the past. I am fairly flexible but suffer with tight muscles. I am at high risk of injury if i am not careful.
For me the specialists have banned yoga and encourage pilates instead. Rather than increased flexibility, it is the strength in the flexibility they are trying to promote.
But mostly it is slow and a little every day when properly warmed up. And the warming up process and cooling down process is part of the process to help reduce risk of injury.
It is possible to increase flexibility but it is not a fast process and it really really is use it or lose it.

I have hit oversplits in the past. I am fairly flexible but suffer with tight muscles. I am at high risk of injury if i am not careful.

See, this is why I ask, Why?

I used to be able to do oversplits, but they're crap for your knees and hips unless you do them very very correctly, not just banging down to the floor.

Think about mobility. Daily functional movement and joint health. Does it help your back to stretch out by doing a forward spinal roll standing? Does it help your back stretch out to do the yoga Plough pose (my favourite)? And so on.

Why do you want to touch your toes? If you think about why, you can then work gently and effectively. But no banging down into static poses.

Think mobility, not flexibility.

QueenoftheAir if i do not strengthen my flexibility i dislocate joints and cause muscle problems. It is medically caused and monitored. I have not been consistent in the exercise routine in covid lockdown and thus i am stuggling with injuries and problems. Unlike most I am at more risk from not working on the flexibility than to work on it. I rarely hit oversplits on the ground. Generally only aiming to hit it with one leg high in the air. Strength not just flexibility. Takes forever to build and easy to lose. Slow and little often.

People that want to hit splits or make massive changes in a week concern me too. It is probably going to take a year and half min to undo the damage of not working on this for the last year. There is no quick fix.

Why do i want to hit over splits? because i have less hip and back and leg pain when i have the strength and stability of the joint to do so.