Aches and pains. Very poor flexibility

Cushtie

Hi all. Anyone any advice on working on flexibility and mobility?

I'm 43 M, office worker. Sitting all day. I have recently started to look at diet and fitness. I was about 2 stone overweight but have lost a stone since Jan 01, mainly through cutting all the crap from the diet and adding some walking a few times a week.

I'm happy enough with the diet side of things, so want to start slowly increasing the physical aspect. I would like to build up aerobic fitness/ stamina, and a bit of strength and conditioning. I am however very, I suppose "Tight" is the word I would use. Usually when I go out walking I begin to feel alot of aches around top of hamstrings and ass (glutes). One side is worse than the other and I get a bit of knee discomfort on that side aswell. (I was in an car accident about 15 years ago and got a bit of a shunt on that side. I think it might be finally catching up with me!)


I'm not looking to run marathons or anything but would like to manage a 5k and maybe more than 10 pushups and 0 chin ups. You know, get up from sitting down without feeling like a 90 year old. Only a few short years ago I was doing alot of hiking etc but that seems like it was a different person now.

So should I keep going with the walking and slowly increase the physicality through light jogging and body strength exercises and see how things go. See if I loosen up a bit, or would it be better to address the flexibility mobility through a physio or physical therapist now first. I've looked up alot of this stuff on YouTube etc, but the amount of stuff out there is just mind boggling.

Any advice greatly appreciated.

Do you do much stretching?

I think some people see stretching as kind of pointless, but it is really important. And if you're just doing leg-based exercise such as walking/jogging, that doesn't just mean stretching your legs. Stretch everything! You use a lot more than your legs to walk. Especially if you're sat down for work all day, your core can get weak and your shoulders/posture can suffer. Stretching all over will help improve your form as you walk.

It's been a long time since I looked into this so I don't have anything to back this up, but I've heard stuff before about how core issues in particular can cause problems elsewhere in the body. Say if you have tight lower back muscles and weak abs, and your hips tend to tilt forward when you walk, this can cause a slight turn in your leg bones, which can hurt your knees and your feet because your hips are misaligned with your feet and it causes a twisting as you move the joint.

If you're already stretching and you're getting knee pain - see a physio. Knee trouble can be really awful so it's not worth leaving it to chance.

Cushtie

Cheers for replying. I try to do a small bit of stretching , but not sure if I'm targeting the right areas. I guess I'm not doing enough alright.

Maybe I should start with a basic 10 minute routine , just a few stretches, and do it twice a day, see how I go.
I tried to follow a beginners yoga on YouTube but they were moving waaay too fast!!

shivermetimber

I've a tendency to suffer terribly with tight legs which, when combined with loosing core strength and general flexibility from sitting on my arse in an office chair all day and otherwise being bone arse lazy always manifests in lower back pain. When I'm having an active period I find yoga the best for stretching the whole body out and adding a bit of core strength at the same time. Take time, don't push too quick. If something hurts stop, if you can't hold the pose ease up, if you need to take a break then break. I always found yoga with Adriene easiest to follow and she has a beginner type playlist here as well as a billion different other ones.

Alf Veedersane

Cushtie wrote: »

Cheers for replying. I try to do a small bit of stretching , but not sure if I'm targeting the right areas. I guess I'm not doing enough alright.

Maybe I should start with a basic 10 minute routine , just a few stretches, and do it twice a day, see how I go.
I tried to follow a beginners yoga on YouTube but they were moving waaay too fast!!

If you're as 'tight' as you say, it might need to be a bit more than 10 mins. To start anyway. Even just look into something like Limber 11 and go from there.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=m-BB71Bk0tI

Especially since you feel as you've described. As a previous poster said, you have to remember the body is a system and movement that is off in one area can cause an issue elsewhere. For example, poor hip mobility can manifest itself as niggles etc in the lower back or down the legs at the knees or even ankles.

MouseMan01

I'll add my 2 cents...

First be careful when starting to jog when carrying a few lbs and having poor flexibility.

I gave myself sciatica (back issues) from jogging on concrete any moons ago. Better now. Good runners will help.

Make sure to hold your stretches for at least 30 seconds. Mild discomfort is fine when stretching.

Listen to your body. Needing to stretch to run is a warning sign. Rest for 24-48 hours instead of running.

Jogging/running in general will help loosen the joints I'm told. Especially the back muscles if done correctly.

My non-expert advice? Start on the treadmill at 3% gradient. The treadmill has a natural give that'll help..

Only switch to road running once you feel up to it.

Best of luck.

Alf knows his stuff. Listen to him ;-)

Cushtie

Alf Veedersane wrote: »

If you're as 'tight' as you say, it might need to be a bit more than 10 mins. To start anyway. Even just look into something like Limber 11 and go from there.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=m-BB71Bk0tI

Especially since you feel as you've described. As a previous poster said, you have to remember the body is a system and movement that is off in one area can cause an issue elsewhere. For example, poor hip mobility can manifest itself as niggles etc in the lower back or down the legs at the knees or even ankles.

Ha! And there was me thinking I needed to ease myself into the stretching. Thanks for the advice and the link.

MouseMan01

Gave myself sciatica (back issues) a good while ago running on concrete while carrying a few kgs. Better now. Was also training in unsuitable shoes.

Make sure to warm up. I walk, static stretch, dynamic stretch then walk. Do something similar for the warm down.

Try this tool for running shoes. From brooks. Personally I run in asics, buy I've heard good things.

https://www.brooksrunning.com/en_us/ShoeFinder

Wanderer78

Yoga, yoga, yoga!

Alf Veedersane

Cushtie wrote: »

Ha! And there was me thinking I needed to ease myself into the stretching. Thanks for the advice and the link.

Well, you need to address the existing issues of flexibility and mobility and then it would be a case of maintaining it so put in the work now and then it would just be to keep it ticking over.

Think of it like a jug you want to be able to drink from. You have to fill it first and then it's just a case of topping it up after that.