Building flexibility?

FatGuyNL

Along with losing weight, one of my goals is to become more flexible and limber.

Problem is I have a lot of bulky muscle mass from lifting weights years ago, and also "tree-trunk" legs that are pretty bulky as well.

Obviously stretching will help but is there an ideal system for someone starting out with very poor flexibility? Is there a type of yoga that would be beneficial?

Thanks!

asciiqwerty

"ideal" hmmm - everyone is different

I do pilates for core stability and flexibility on medical advice instead of yoga

how about trying a variety and seeing which you like best?

spiralated

Any beginners yoga should help but make sure you have a strap or light band and something stable and block like so you can modify the exercises. There is nothing wrong with modifications and you work on flexibility - so start with a video that includes suggestions or someone doing them.

asciiqwerty

modifying exercise to suit your shape and ability are important - I have to modify quite a lot of mine - I therefore find working in a class where the instructor can check posture important as I tend to get into bad habits on my own ...

yoginimary

I'm completely bias for Iyengar Yoga. It's really adaptive for all levels, and you will hold the stretches for a longer period of time, which I find beneficial. The teachers go through rigorous training to achieve their certifications. (I'm going through it now [thus the bias] - it takes at least 4 years. 200 hour trainings, which is what the majority of teachers have, can take as little as 3 weeks) However, it's not the only school with long trainings, and I'm not dissing any other style of yoga. It's all good.

The advantage to heated yoga of any type (Ashtanga, Baptiste, etc) is that the heat loosens up your muscles to begin, so you will be able to stretch further than you would in a non-heated room.
You can also achieve this by working out first - your muscles will be warm and you can stretch further.
The warms types of yoga usually have "flow" involved, meaning the movements are quick and semi-repetitive.

All yoga will help you gain flexibility. What matters is what appeals to you:

http://www.yogajournal.com/basics/165

Hope that helps

kandell

Yoga would probably work really well. I'm trying to increase my flexibility, too. I do 20 minutes on the elliptical to warm up, then stretch for a while. I've already seen some improvements in my stretches. I'm actually considering looking up what Natalie Portman did to train for Black Swan...

Good luck!

FatGuyNL

Thanks, I'll check that out!