Relative flexibility is another word for poor/bad flexibility. It's when the body (kinetic chain) seeks the path of least resistance during an exercise due to tight muscles. Prime example of relative flexibility is seen in people who squat with their feet externally rotated. Most people today have a tightness in their calf muscles, and lack enough dorsi-flexion (lifting the foot up) at the ankle to perform a squat with proper mechanics. A common reason why women lack enough dorsi-flexion and have tight calf muscles is because they wear high heels that forces their feet to be in a constant plantar-flexion (pushing foot down).
When squatting, these people have to compensate for their tight calf muscles by widening their stance and externally rotating their feet.
Relative flexibility/ tight muscles will cause one not to be able to do exercises through a full range of motion since they automatically have to compensate, this will leave some muscles to become overactive and others underactive and because of a decrease in neural drive for muscle to muscle- muscle imbalance will occur. This will lead to injury while working out since the right muscle won’t be targeted and the goal with your exercise won’t be reached.
How to avoid:
When squatting, these people have to compensate for their tight calf muscles by widening their stance and externally rotating their feet.
Relative flexibility/ tight muscles will cause one not to be able to do exercises through a full range of motion since they automatically have to compensate, this will leave some muscles to become overactive and others underactive and because of a decrease in neural drive for muscle to muscle- muscle imbalance will occur. This will lead to injury while working out since the right muscle won’t be targeted and the goal with your exercise won’t be reached.
How to avoid:
- Always stretch your muscles after workout (static stretches)
- Do self-myofascial release (foam roll stretches) before and after exercise
- Do warm-up stretches
- Take notice in your body and how it wants to move to see if you can have any movement compensations anywhere. This might be hard for you to see though, since you may not know the exact right way to do an exercise. But check in the mirror at all times when working out to see how your body moves, it's a great way of discovering a faulty movement pattern!
