Last week I realized something: I am not as flexible as I thought. I always thought that I'm better than average person, but all that sitting and running has done it's job. This and next month, my goal is to get into the routine of stretching and by doing that, increase flexibility in my body. 

At this moment, I have three major fitness goals:

1) To be able to do a pistol squat. Right now, I can barely do one one a bench, meaning that my squatting leg is elevated. Like this:

2) Learn to do a handstand. At this moment, I can stay upside down for about five seconds, before falling back or over.

3) Do more than one proper chin ups. Here's where I am now: I can do one, and in a good day, maybe two.

I practice with and without the resistance band and I really hope to make some progression soon.

Why Can't I Do Pistols?

But back to pistols. One thing that keeps me from doing them properly is that I am not able to fully extend my one leg, e.g not the one squatting, but the other one. It seems that I just can't straighten it all the way, and even if I can for a second, I am not able to hold it like this for longer time.

There are also other problems like weakness, obviously 🙂

Also L-sits are incredibly hard for me for the same reason. I just can't get my legs straight and hold them that way.

While I know that all these bodyweight exercises require a lot of strength, I probably have tight hamstrings that prevent me from doing things like pistol squats and L-sits. Makes sense, because tight hamstrings is something that many runners deal with.

Even though I don't think about myself as that much of a runner anymore, I used to run a lot and stretch only whenever I had nothing to do (and I usually did. I'm never bored!). Running was my only form of exercise for about six years and my weekly mileage was about 37-55 miles, so there you go…

Total Eye-Opener – I Need To Increase My Flexibility!

Last week I had a chance to train with someone who was incredibly flexible. A lot of very strong and muscular people are usually not that flexible, but this guy was different.

He used to practice CrossFit for years and is now focusing on olympic weightlifting and calisthenics. This guy could do pistols, pull ups and various exercises on gymnastic rings like they were the easiest things in the world. But also his flexibility was impressive.

When I looked at him and many other students in the class, I realized that even though I do spend some time on stretching here and there, it's clearly not enough and I should do so much more. Especially if I ever want to get anywhere with my pistols or L-sits.

Improving Flexibility Takes Time

When you want to gain strength, it's usually pretty easy to hit new PR-s, at least at first. That's especially true with free weights, like dumbbells, kettlebells and barbells. In the beginning, it seems that you can add another plate to your bar pretty much every week.

Bodyweight strength seems to take longer. It takes a lot of work to do the first chin up – at least mine took a looong time.

Improving flexibility is similar to that. Flexibility doesn't improve overnight and it takes a lot of practice and dedication.

My Winter Challenge

I don't usually do challenges or give resolutions, but I've decided that stretching and improving my flexibility are something I just need to invest some time into if I want to get anywhere with my pistols.

So, I have decided to spend 30 minutes every day on stretching until the end of February. I started two days ago.

The end of February would be my first milestone, just to see how I feel by then. I know that there will be quite a bit of traveling and spending time at friends hous...