It’s time to celebrate! You’ve made it! Today’s the last day and our last two benchmarks!
Don’t worry though – we’ll send you one more email tomorrow containing a full download of all of the benchmarks we’ve included over the last 5 days so you’ll have one document with everything in it for when you come back to test again in a month!
Benchmark #9: Active Straight Leg Raise
- Start by lying with your back on the ground with your legs straight out in front of you. Your toes should be facing up, and arms down to your side.
- Gently lift one leg, keeping the leg straight and your toes in the same position as you lift it up.
- The goal is to lift your leg as far as you can without bending at the knee or moving the other leg (the one still on the ground). As you lift one leg up, the other leg will naturally want to rotate and open up your range of motion even more – don’t let it do that. Stop if you feel either leg rotating or either knee bending. Your legs should stay comfortably locked out (don’t force it, but don’t let them bend).
Have a friend measure the distance between the bottom of your ankle or your foot and the floor.
As you gain flexibility your leg will raise higher and this distance will increase. Repeat this measurement by following the exact steps with the other leg.
Solo Tip: While it’s difficult to measure this alone, pictures and video from the side can clearly show the angle of your raised leg when extended to the fullest. This angle will be easy to see progress in as you improve.
Benchmark #10: Butterfly Stretch
- Sit on the floor with your knees bent out in front of you. Your feet should be flat on the floor.
- Drop your knees to either side (outwards) and let the soles of feet come off the floor. At this point the soles of your feet should be facing eachother – press them together.
- Grab your feet with both hands and gently pull your ankles in towards your groin. Go slow and make sure the soles of your feet remain touching throughout.
- Don’t force the stretch with your arms, use them to help gently guide you into a comfortable, fully stretched position. You should be able to safely hold it for 4-5 seconds.
Measure the distance between your ankles and your groin.
As you gain flexibility, you’ll be able to comfortably get your ankles closer and closer to your groin.
Want to improve on today’s benchmarks? Here’s how…
Standing Splits (20 seconds each side)
Start by doing a Forward Fold (from earlier in the series), where your bending gently at the waste and bringing your upper body down towards the ground (you don’t have to be able to touch your toes yet).
Next, lift one leg high and into the air behind you, pushing your thighs up towards the ceiling. Your weight will come forward a little to allow your hand to come to the ground.
If you can’t reach the ground yet without bending your knee, you can use yoga blocks, a stair step, or a low platform to help you catch your weight and keep the leg underneath you straight.
Lifting your back leg high, walk your hands as close as you can towards your front leg. Make sure your hips and shoulders are staying squared to the ground and not rotating open.
Firelog (30 seconds each side)
Start in a seated position with your feet flat on the floor and your knees in front of you. Place your hands slightly behind your back and press down to support your weight.
Choose one ankle, and cross it over your opposite knee (which is still pointing up at this point). You should be making a common figure four shape at this point.
Slowly bring your legs forward (and that knee down), so you are now sitting upright with your legs folded on the ground in front of you.
Try to align your shins directly over each other, with opposite knees in line with each opposite ankle.
Leaning forward will now activate the stretch even further. If comfortable, you can even slowly fold your body forward over your legs and reach with your hands out onto the ground in front of you.
To scale this pose down, you can stay leaned back (in what we call Seated Figure Four) and stretch there. Keeping your weight back will help you ease into the stretch.
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Congrats! You completed our 5 day stretching challenge, high five yourself (behind your back, of course).
Now that you’ve recorded all 10 benchmarks, you have a starting point – that which gets measured gets improved! Not only that, but thanks to the stretches explained at the end of every challenge, you now have a great way to start working on your flexibility and mobility. However, it has to become a habit!
You can’t cram for a flexibility test like you used to for Poli Sci 101: five minutes of stretching a day is enough to create lasting change over a long period of time, so get started!
If you’ve enjoyed this challenge and the exercises, and you want to get more serious about improving your flexibility, keep an eye out for another email tomorrow where I’ll share some more details about Nerd Fitness Yoga, a product I’m incredibly proud of and already has hundreds upon hundreds of early adopters building healthy habits.
See you tomorrow!
-Steve and team Nerd Fitness