Yoga or flexibility advice.

I know that as I get older (52 now) I should be doing more to improve my flexibility.

I’ve had a few goes at starting yoga, mainly following Adrienne on YouTube but also a couple of group classes but struggled to stick with it. Think that’s mainly because I’ve found it a bit slow and boring so haven’t stuck at it long enough to see any benefits.

I know it would be good for me but just can’t commit to it. I think I’d prefer to do at home via YouTube than classes. I know everyone raves about yoga with Adrienne but find her a bit too “nice’ and as above sessions pretty boring.

Interested to know experiences of people who do yoga, did you struggle initially? How long before you saw benefits? What made it stick for you? Any online recommendations? Basically any hints or tips that might help it to ‘click’ with me.

Or is there anything else I could try to improve my flexibility and mobility?

Do Pilates, you’ll feel like you’re actually gaining benefit.

Also find a decent circuits class (and focus on form rather than reps). Or, if you can motivate yourself, do ‘weight lifting’. Meaningful strength > everything else.

There’s a chap called Tom Morrison who keeps popping up in my Facebook feed. He offers something called the simple mobility method. From the few if his other videos I’ve seen, he seems to talk sense. Keep meaning to give it a go.

Find a different yoga instructor. Also, there are several different styles of yoga.

It took me ages to find the right instructor for me; I now look forward to classes with my young, fit and tattooed-up instructor. I’m always the oldest, and always the only bloke there 🙂

I practise Vinyasa yoga. That’s a flowing style that definitely increases strength, flexibiity and posture. I certainly feel it after a session!

It took a while to get into it and feel I was getting it kind-of right. Small class in person helps. They can see what you are doing. Adrianne is lovely but sadly no feedback in her classes, she isn’t going to arrange you into the correct position. I find yoga good for stress as well as stretching. It’s been very helpful.

What about trying martial arts classes? Often they will have a focus on mobility/flexibility but you’ll also get to punch and kick things 🙂

cam to say Pilates but beaten to it

What made it stick for you?

I can’t follow you tube or similar app-based programs and classes are never going to work for me so I was also struggling with stretching but also feeling the negative impact of desk job, late 40s and plenty of road miles. I read some of a good book about habits and it suggested habit-stacking, i.e. do one thing as part of or linked to a daily habit you already have. When it comes to flexibility, consistency beats intensity so a short daily habit may be better than a long once-a-week class.

So I started to do a series of stretches while I wait for my coffee to brew every morning, then one more go while I wait for it to cool. That’s only 3 or 4 mins a day but over the last 9 months or so the difference in on-bike comfort has been very noticeable. I used to struggle to get within 2-3″ of touching the floor, now I can get my knuckles on the floor most mornings. I just do hamstring, hip flexor and back stretches, not the same set every day, just 1 or 2 of 3 main areas. These days I feel like my road bikes fit so naturally whereas a year or 2 ago they were starting to feel a bit long and low.

Basically you just don’t need it to become a big ‘thing’ to do or have something to follow, just do something often and keep at it.

I started yoga to try and help with injury prevention, but then I injured myself doing yoga. Same net result of injury/physio/rehab x many weeks/per year as usual. Now switched back to regular climbing, although I have a shoulder injury that I am currently treating from that too.

I tried Pilates a few times and never ‘got’ it.  Did Yoga classes at lunch at work for quite a few years in a number of different styles.  Now usually do a session a week by myself.

My recommendation would be to mix it up a bit.  If you go straight into a flow class you don’t know what the poses are and don’t have time to get them ‘tight’ – you’re forever trying to catch up with the class.

Iyengar is all about precision and I found it really good (especially if you have a hands-on teacher who corrects your poses) alongside some kind of flow class.  When I started I’d done nothing but cycling for years and could barely reach my knees let alone the floor on a forward bend and had shoulder problems from days at a desk using a mouse.  I reckon it was 3+ months of once/twice a week to make a real difference.

Also find a decent circuits class (and focus on form rather than reps).

Also this – a circuit session is fairly equivalent to yoga for me in keeping flexibility.

I do the “Yoga with Abi” series… on YouTube designed for MTB’ers  (I think they first appeared on Pinkbike) Well I say that, I mostly follow just a couple of her videos “Yoga for MTBer’s with backpain.” and one that I think is called “post ride routine”

The back pain one is 25 minutes long, but’s its pretty steady paced and once you learnt the routine and if you aren’t bothered by the mindfulness sections, then you could knock it back to 15- 20 minutes. It’s very steady and its 10 or so gentle (unkind souls would call them dull) routines that encourage you to be more flexible, the other is much shorter and I use it after a long day in the saddle to stretch out.

I do them at home, I don’t want to schlep down to a class, and even I can set aside 25 mins to fart about on a mat. Just get into a routine, strip down to your pants and teeshirt and soon you’ll notice that your bridge is just a bit taller, you can sit cross legged, and you can get your shoulder to touch the ground without wincing after all…

I normally do a yoga session after/at work once a week for circa an hour and then try to follow a shorter youtube session for 10-20 minutes most days. I noticed a real benefit pretty quickly, and notice if I slack off  pretty quickly.

I don’t need it to be exciting :-).  I like that it’s relaxing and slow, and you need to hold position.

I try and use this Mady routine a couple of times a week, and if I ‘forget’ (or can’t be bothered) I do notice my body gradually feeling stiffer.

Recommended!

I’m your age / flexibility. I do a weekly class for about 5 years, although I’ve needed to skip it for the last 3-4 months for other commitments. I don’t know what kind of yoga it is? It’s called ‘flow for all’ or some such.

Initial struggle? Well no and yes. No because the instructor caters for all abilities, so there are options for everything. Yes because, even though its less about doing it ‘right’ and more about ‘right for you’, you still want to get ‘better’ at it. Also it will take you a few times to get used to some of the sequences the instructor favours so prepare to find yourself wondering wtf you are supposed to do at times.

Time? about 6 weeks noticed the difference. Stuff like bending down to get something out the cupboard under the stairs is all of a sudden easier. Don’t think it is about flexibility, that’s actually not the main thing, think more about  strength, balance, composure, focus.

Hints? Do a class. I tried app/book/video and its nowhere near as good. Plus if its a class at a set time, you have the added incentive/routine.

On the down sides ……..

There is a ton of spiritual woo to wade through. To be clear, if you see it as just physical exercise, you are missing out on a fair bit. However, sometimes you just need to let it go in one ear and out the other. This is heavily instructor dependent.

Unlike cycling, middle aged white men are the minority demographic. Not really a down side but that’s how it is is. Where I go there is actually a good mix.

So I started to do a series of stretches while I wait for my coffee to brew every morning, then one more go while I wait for it to cool. That’s only 3 or 4 mins a day but over the last 9 months or so the difference in on-bike comfort has been very noticeable. I used to struggle to get within 2-3″ of touching the floor, now I can get my knuckles on the floor most mornings. I just do hamstring, hip flexor and back stretches, not the same set every day, just 1 or 2 of 3 main areas.

What stretches do you do?

IME what I get out of yoga and how much I enjoy it is completely down to the teacher, although I am hugely lucky to have access to an exceptionally brilliant and extremely popular teacher.

Of all the things I do, cycling, yoga, qigong, tai chi, circ train, and hiking, an hour spent doing yoga is easily the most beneficial way to spend an hour.

There are a lot of yoga teachers about so I would recommend to keep trying until you find one that suits you. And I would expect to see and feel noticeable improvements within a month of doing it several times a week.

I do four or five classes a week but I never do it a home. I simply lack the self discipline to do it for an hour on my own, but more importantly I would never push myself anywhere as much as my teacher makes me – it is amazing how you don’t give up when you are in a class of 25 mostly fit women!

/\ pilates, I’m only a few years behind started after ardrock last year, 2-5 sessions a week (average 3 x 45mins), i’ve had 6 or 7 different instructors, they are all so different, so mix it up, till you find one or two you like, sometimes i dont feel like i’m improving in class, but on a bike I definately see the benefits of core and stronger legs and my cornering / balance feels so much better.

wish id started earlier.

Abi mentioned above did all the videos for the Wahoo SYSTM platform, i find it great, large number of turbo trainer work  outs, lots of body weight strength work and the yoga videos, i  have found it has really worked especially the core work.

I tried getting into yoga/stretching/flexibility for years but was struggling, maybe much like yourself, until I picked an easy youtube routine and just keep repeating that same routine.

Guess I did it 20 odd times and it got me over the “stress” of flowing the instructions and getting into the next position. In this way I could concentrate on the actual stretching and enjoy it. I did similar with other routines (although after that first routine I found other routines easier to get familiar with) and now just do my own thing for 10mins almost every morning…. I always feel better after that tens mins than before it.

Something else that has helped massively was realising it really is NOT a competition. It’s not a competition with anyone else or indeed yourself….  Breath, relax your face and be kind to yourself.

Enjoy.

Oh don’t forget to add some balance work into your routine, that’s important too for later life.

Another Pilates fan here – in fact I’ve got so much out of it I feel as though I’m advocating for a cult in my enthusiasm for it at times 😀

I’m late 40s, last year most joints were aching and I was shuffling around like a pensioner at times.  Within a few sessions (1 a week) most of the aches were gone and now (9 months later) I generally feel a couple of years younger.

* I feel I hold my body in a better position on the bike through general core improvements

* My general arm and leg movement is improved

* An old shoulder injury has cleared up – one simple example is that I’ve not being able to close a spring-loaded umbrella for 9 years, but now I can.

* I’m shit at stretching before/after exercise, and this mainly feels like a thorough body stretching session, as well as reawakening muscles that have become lazy

I’m the youngest person at the class I go to, and one of very few males, but the instructor tailors the exercises to each person, so the couple in their late 80s do a more simple version, whereas I get told to hold my body in a different way which makes me work harder.

I def find being in a class (usually face to face, but occasionally over zoom) is better than YouTube, as you know you’re doing the exercises correctly, or aren’t tempted to not bother.

Best thing I ever* did – wish I’d taken it up years ago.

* hyperbole alert, but you get the idea

I too came to say pilates. One session a week sorted me. My instructor was a physio who worked in the NHS, so would advise/tweak each of us if we had any issues, so really effective

Yoga is about more than just stretching. There’s a mental aspect to it as well. I got into it just a few years ago, partly as something to do at home during Covid, partly after suggestions on here during one of the Hundred days of exercise before Xmas threads. I usually find something by Kassandra on YouTube, though I’ve tried Abi, Adrienne, Kat Meefan and a couple of others.

I also do some more directed stretches following the Run better with Ash channel. As you can imagine, these are mainly, but not only, aimed at leg mobility and strength. The sessions tend to be shorter and there’s less of the mental aspect.

As already said above, it can help to be repeating a familiar routine as you need to give less thought to each movement so can concentrate on getting the best from it rather than worrying you’ve not understood the instructions.

“Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga”

=

dynamic and athletic

What stretches do you do?

Don’t know the names for them sorry, just basic stretches found in most online guides and some of what a physio I saw a few times recommended. Touching toes and doing that with a bias to one side or the other, on a mat with an arched back pose then into a prostrated reach/kneel stretch, the hip flexor stretch where you kneel on one knee hands on hips, or do similar with a straight back leg and reach up to twist at the same time. I’m sure there’s loads more I could be doing and most weeks I’ll add a few other stretches you’ll find on any online ‘solve your cycling hip flexor / back issues now’ guide but so far the simple regular repetition of the basics seems to be effective.

I think the next step would be to have a set of short routines in a weekly cycle, to very it all a bit more now that my basic flexibility and posture is better.

you need to find the style that suits you, have a look at some Ashtanga and Vinyasa videos. These are dynamic, continuous moving styles and are far more challenging rather than boring. Ideally you’ll need to find the right class with the right instructor to get you going or you might not  be able to get the alignments right and could possibly end up injuring yourself.

I started off with Satria back in 2011 which is basically the yoga form of the Indonesian combat art Silat. I was lucky to find it in the town where I live as there’s not many classes around at all. I then went to a few Ashtanga classes and Vinyasa classes and after a while you begin to realise how the body moves and which moves work best flowing from one to the next, and I started working out my own routines using a combination of all three styles.

There’s loads of videos out there to give you an idea – you might also want to have a look at animal yoga.
As already mentioned above, circuit training is also good for varied movement, and also old school military style PT classes, like BMF and Forces-Fit. have a look at those.

I too came to say pilates. One session a week sorted me. My instructor was a physio

similar – I’ve picked up exercises and stretches over the years from physio on shoulder and back, and done a year or so of weekly pilates – just a handful of us (all mtbers) with a really good physio telling us what to do. I’d say just two things:

– it’s pretty individualised, your individual biomechanics and problems you may have picked up. And one set of exercises may not work the same way for everyone. Applies with individual exercises – you’re moving your leg in the air same way as everyone else, and the instructor gets you to shift your hip some infinitesimal degree, and suddenly it starts to hurt where it’s meant to. I don’t think you’d be likely to get that in a large yoga class.

– you do actually need to do the exercises more than once a week, as  others have said. Learn what you need and then keep doing it. Some back, hip and shoulder stuff I do probably most nights to some degree and they do seem to work,

I’ve been doing Ashtanga yoga for around 6 years. In that time my mobility, flexibility & balance have improved massively.

Don’t expect to be good at it right away, as they say it’s a practice and you bloody well have to practice at it.
Unless you start when you’re young and flexible it takes a few years to turn an old ridged body into something a little more bendy. But it’s worth it!
For reference I’m 56 it’s probably the most single thing that’s kept me riding my bike.

I’ve been to a few yoga classes since I fractured a vertebrate a few years ago (BMX whoopsie ?), but didn’t really find one I “clicked” with until the end of last year, when a proper studio opened near home. It’s a very different experience to “town hall yoga”.

More by luck than good-planning, I’ve had a few 1-to-1 classes, particularly early on, which really helped boost my confidence. I now generally go twice a week, on a Monday for a “runners and cyclist” yin yoga class, which is great for weekend-ride recovery & I find yin very good for my mental health too. Later in the week, I do a more conventional flow class which I really should wear my Garmin for sometime as it’s hard (hot) work.

Within a couple of months, I living life in a much more active way without pain, which I hadn’t been able to since I hurt myself. I feel like progress comes in fits & starts now. Sometimes I feel I’m not progressing, then do a pose & haven’t been capable of before without really thinking about it – also good when your instructor recognises & comments on this ?

I’m lucky to have a local studio, but even then I have my preference of instructor. Find the right instructor & class, the rest will follow.

Thanks all, appreciate the advice.

Looked at a local yoga class but it’s £12 a go which seems steep. So will perhaps try another you tuber – quite like the Abi ones  mainly because they just show the exercise without annoying voices or the hippy stuff!

Also thinking about doing a local circuit session so might give that a go as well.

Yogalates is what I do, as a consequence of my physio also being a Yoga and Pilates instructor. I went in originally for physio but ended up learning quite a variety of Yoga and Pilates, it has not been cheap as that was 1:2:1.

Some of the yoga stuff is as physically difficult as any if the Pilates stuff. Definitely not all stretching.

I’ve stuck with it as the end result is I get to keep hill running etc. It also helps that I’m in the routine of getting up and doing 30 minutes or so 3 or 4 days per week being dont by 7:30am. As such it doesn’t get in the way of anything else. And the ******** ******* cat gets me up by 6am anyway.

I have got into utube yoga massively over the last couple of years. It’s now become a habit and one I really enjoy and miss if I don’t do 2 or 3 a week.

I tried a few people before settling on Jessica Richburg and Adrianne. I found Adrianne quite annoying to begin with as she chatters a lot and so it’s not very soothing or medative but now I’ve found a set of vids of hers I like and repeat over I tune out and know most of the moves. The reason I keep doing it is because I feel great afterwards. Much more flexible, comfortable and because I do one of her core routines that is more pilates I’ve noticed a huge difference in my core strength and tone. My posture is better, back pain is better, more comfortable on the bike, sitting on a stool at the pub or cross legged on the floor all of which I struggled with. I always do it 1st thing in the morning before breakfast too so that way it’s done. Takes some time at the start trying different vids until you find some routines you like. Core and restore, Fresh start and Date night are my favourites

I tried pilates and she was a rubbish teacher.
Yoga was better but they spent too much time breathing.
I’d like to do some of those exercises Chinese people do before going to work.
Stretching but also exercising.

I’d like to do some of those exercises Chinese people do before going to work.

Qigong. It’s fairly boring imo but great if you can stick with it. Qigong focuses at least as much on the breathing as yoga although unlike yoga it never focuses solely on the breathing. It doesn’t really involve that much stretching