Are thin people more flexible?

I would say no. I think flexibility is more genetic related.

I used to be very flexible and lost it because I didn't work on it but I know many skinny people who can barely touch their toes. I mean I am sure that maybe the extra flesh in the way impedes flexibility but for the most part I'd say it is genetic.

I was one of the skinny people who couldn't touch her toes. Now I'm one of the average weight people who can't touch their toes. I've worked on it in the past, but never with any noticeable improvement.

Has nothing to do with being skinny. As Alisontheice said - extra fat or skin may impepde range of motion, but it does not mean you arent flexible. I have read yoga website for large bodies, and some even suggest to shift extra weight around to get deeper into a stretch... even when I teach, I suggest moving bum cheeks out of the way to connect sit bones better to the mat - and everyone has a little booty they can move..

Ways to improve stretching...

- MUST DO IT DAILY... commitment is key (20 - 30 minutes depending on how many muscle groups)
- Breathe into each stretch.... deep inhale, exhale to lengthen
- repeat each stretch 2 - 4 times, holding for 20- 30 seconds - longer if you can comforatably manage it. By the 3 or 4th time you will already notice a difference. Muscles take coaxing and time to lengthen.
- if you can, try different stretches for each muscle - some work better depending on the person

Even with genetics.. time, effort and commitment will increase anyones flexibility.


-

Obviously, the question is already answered. I'm a little bit bigger and I'm SUPER flexible. Way more so than most of the super skinny people I know. Sometimes my belly fat does get in the way but that doesn't have anything to do with my actual flexibility.

I'm not bendy.

i doubt it...

but thin women are less "tight" --- which probably explains why "small " men like larger women and "large" men avoid them if sober !!!

Each person is different, thin people are not necessarily flexible, but becoming thinner does make you more flexible.

I could always touch my toes etc., since I've lost weight can very easily press palms flat to the floor, I'm sure I've always been flexible but being thinner makes it easier to bend :_

Nope. I've had many overweight/obese people with better flexibility than their thin counterparts (see it in kickboxing all the time). Like anything else, flexibility is normally something someone has to work at. Abandon it and like anything else, it degrades over time.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

Like anything else, flexibility is normally something someone has to work at. Abandon it and like anything else, it degrades over time.

I was way more flexible when I was younger. I was heavier then too.

If you become more flexible it's one of the sign you're losing muscle if you're not doing any mobility training.

I'm quite flexible, and I'm not naturally thin. Even at the end of both my pregnancies (and my kids were 10 days and 12 days overdue) I could still paint my nails, go for long walks, and put my foot on my head! My mum found it funny that straight after giving birth to my first I was sitting cross legged on the bed, chatting away to my sister on the phone!

The most flexible person I know is pretty chubby. I'm thin-ish and not that flexible.

I've always been very bendy, I could wrap my arms around (like hugging myself) and link my fingers behind me, until my boobs got too big and have been in the way ever since.

But I also have some sort of freakish (I thought it was normal till I was about 17) range of motion with my joints. For example... I can put my palm flat on a surface with my fingers pointing away from me and then turn my arm so that the inside of my elbow is also facing the same way.