How Flexible Are You? - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

Charlatan · 11-09-2008, 04:24 AM

After about a year off, I have just returned to taking some yoga classes. I was never really flexible (my natural state is vegitative) but once I started yoga I slowly started to get flexible. I was able to touch my toes for the first time in my life without bending my knees.

After my year break I was sure I was going to have to start all over again but it wasn't as all that bad. A few classes in and I have regained a lot of my flexibility. What I have noticed is that many of the others in my class are not able to touch their toes.

It got me to thinking. How many of you can touch your toes without bending your knees? Can you do the splits (I know I can't)?

What can you (or wish you could) do?

highthief · 11-09-2008, 07:13 AM

I can't cross my wrists behind my back. Can't be handcuffed as a result (not without dislocating my shoulders, anyway).

SabrinaFair · 11-09-2008, 07:32 AM

I'm pretty damn flexible...I can do a standing backbend, sit "lotus" for long periods of time without discomfort, and lay on my belly, bend my knees, and reach back and grab my ankles. It's not particularly useful at this juncture in my life, but at least its a good party trick.

jewels · 11-09-2008, 07:44 AM

I can touch the floor with my palms without bending knees and sit lotus but I never could do a full split. Close but no cigar. I can hold a wall squat for a long time, does that count?

Vigilante · 11-09-2008, 07:50 AM

I'm pretty lucky in this respect. I live a sedentary lifestyle, with occasional bike rides and walking. I have never stretched before or after weights, but I did take a couple of yoga classes back in college. I can still put my foot behind my head, though. I can touch my toes too, but it does get a little uncomfortable over time. Sitting lotus is no different for me than sitting normally (indian style, as they called it in school

)

skizziks · 11-09-2008, 08:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SabrinaFair

I'm pretty damn flexible...I can do a standing backbend, sit "lotus" for long periods of time without discomfort, and lay on my belly, bend my knees, and reach back and grab my ankles. It's not particularly useful at this juncture in my life, but at least its a good party trick.

Why cant I meet girls like you?

I can touch my toes without bending my knees, but I´m still a lot less flexible physically than I used to be.

As for being flexible mentally and socially, I´m fucking gumby dammit.

SabrinaFair · 11-09-2008, 10:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by skizziks

As for being flexible mentally and socially, I´m fucking gumby dammit.

That gave me a good giggle....

streak_56 · 11-09-2008, 10:47 AM

I cannot touch my toes, I cannot do the splits and I'm probably the least flexible person I know. I can't do anything special

Siege · 11-09-2008, 10:50 AM

i'm not flexible at all since i don't stretch regularly, however back in the day, i used to be able to do front/back splits with my right leg in the front only.

Amaras · 11-09-2008, 11:30 AM

I've never been very flexible at all. Even when I was training daily for years at a time, I was noticeable less so
than those I trained with. My Mom, who holds degrees in physiotherapy & a BSC from McGill tells me it's due to
having tighter ligaments. She says it prevented injuries, especially when I was a running back in football.
Still, my lady says I'm limber enough, so I'm happy.

World's King · 11-09-2008, 11:36 AM

Paq · 11-09-2008, 11:48 AM

i'm pretty flexible, dancer 2 isn't much of a problem, lotus, palms on floor, palms under feet, wheel, and i can touch my nose to my knees w/out bending my knees.

but i recently started teaching pilates/yoga fusion classes recently and i've gained a good bit of flexibility that i didn't expect to gain. I still can't do splits, etc., but i can put my palms behind my back in prayer position.

Vigilante · 11-09-2008, 12:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paq

but i can put my palms behind my back in prayer position.

Interesting, never thought about that. Turns out I can too, but barely LOL

Popped my shoulder real good when I did it too!

Paq · 11-09-2008, 01:10 PM

about 90% of the people i meet can't.

btw, a TON of my flexibility is due to being very very lazy as a kid..the tendons/ligaments never tightened up, sooooo, here i am. I started at a gym about 3 yrs ago and i had to actively keep working on the flexibility part of it or i would quickly lose the ability to touch my toes.

inBOIL · 11-09-2008, 01:17 PM

WK, you're the only other person I know of who can do that.

stevie667 · 11-09-2008, 01:25 PM

I thought i wasn't that flexible, but apparently i am. I think it's because i learn off a japanese aikido instructor who could turn himself inside out if he put some thought into it.

Anyone who's sat through an hour of seiza then can't get up whilst the instructor leaps into the air like a gazelle will know what i mean.

Zeraph · 11-09-2008, 01:28 PM

I can touch my palms to the floor without bending knees. Don't need to work at it either.
I can do the ("Chinese") splits with about 2-3 weeks of stretching.
prayer behind back, easy.
my left shoulder can dislocate comfortably, and I can put it all the way behind my head so that its nearly horizontal to the ground.
my wrists are quite flexible too, but I can't think of how to describe em
I've always been pretty flexible.

Vigilante · 11-09-2008, 01:56 PM

Oof. My left shoulder can pull out too, but I try to keep it tight because when I do work out, it can get pretty sore if I'm benching and the joint is loose.

little_tippler · 11-09-2008, 02:12 PM

I'm not very flexible in my legs but I am pretty flexible in my arms. I have the ability to rotate my elbows more than is normal. I can't do the splits, never have been able to, or touch my toes. I can do the palms behind my back thing and the reaching back to grab my ankles- seems normal to me.

I have a friend who can make his thumbs touch his wrists

To end on a freaky note, my toes are double-jointed.

World's King · 11-09-2008, 03:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by little_tippler

To end on a freaky note, my toes are double-jointed.

That's um... hi... um... You're pretty...

*faints*

stellabella1978 · 11-09-2008, 03:21 PM

I am no longer as flexible as I was in high school. I can still do a backbend, but not the splits all the way anymore.

ratbastid · 11-09-2008, 04:02 PM

I can barely touch my KNEES with my knees straight.

Craven Morehead · 11-09-2008, 04:12 PM

I can put my knuckles on the floor without bending my knees. I really believe remaning flexible as you age is essential. I've got two bum knees so yoga is not easy, but other forms of stretching and exercise are part of my life.

snowy · 11-09-2008, 04:39 PM

I'm not flexible at all, or at least I wasn't until I started doing yoga on a regular basis. I always struggled to touch my toes and stretch out. I was probably the most inflexible ballet dancer out of my entire class as a kid. My mom had signed me up for ballet because I was klutzy and tight; now she comments that she should have signed me up for yoga instead, as it's markedly improved my flexibility, posture, and balance, even as an adult.

I still have a hard time doing remarkably flexible things, but I can touch my toes now, and that is accomplishment enough.

BadNick · 11-09-2008, 08:09 PM

People who see me make certain moves often say something like "you're pretty flexible for an older guy"...to put that into perspective, I'm 59.4 years old. Luckily I still have above average reflexes and agility along with the flexibility. But I'm sure all is not as great as it seems since I really notice how lately my joints can get achey; probably onset of some arthritic stuff. But after I limber up, it's pretty good again for a while.

I really should get into some yoga...the whole physical/mental thing appeals to me.

anti fishstick · 11-09-2008, 09:29 PM

I can still touch my palms to the floor, but with less ease and less duration than when I was taking yoga. When I took yoga regularly, I was able to bend down for the splits and get about 6" away from the ground... pretty good. Now I am way less flexible... But I can still touch my toes.

PonyPotato · 11-10-2008, 04:15 AM

I can easily touch my palms to the floor with my knees straight, and wrap my hands around my feet when I'm doing a sit-and-reach. I can come close to doing straddles or splits, but haven't been able to do them for real since I was 9 or 10 in gymnastics. I'm relatively flexible otherwise, but not excessively so. It's something I plan on working on.

ngdawg · 11-10-2008, 05:37 AM

Up until two years ago, I was able to bend at the waist and touch my nose to my knees.
It was in showing this "trick" to my daughter about 5 times in a row that a disk in my back decided to slip.
FOund out I have a birth defect-my L5 didn't grow in concert with the rest of my spine-and it was probably that defect that allowed me to bend like that, but also that same defect that caused the back damage.
Since then, getting out of bed is painful right to my toes.

Sucks getting old.....

Magpie_1 · 12-03-2008, 09:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ratbastid

I can barely touch my KNEES with my knees straight.

Ya I can only touch my Knees.

mandy · 12-03-2008, 09:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by little_tippler

I have a friend who can make his thumbs touch his wrists

That would be me

but only with my left hand. my right hand is a bit stiff. does it count when you can make a wave motion with your tongue???

i'm not as flexible as i used to be...i cant touch my toes without bending my knees, i can do the palms behind the back thing, i can sit "Indian Style"

but not for too long.

my thumbs bend further back than most people's. They're always amazed when they see it happen and also when i do the whole wavey tongue thing

Willravel · 12-03-2008, 10:24 PM

Very, though I'm not as flexible as I once was. My hands are almost freakish; I can play the piano palms up. I can still move both of my arms in perfect circles and reach any part of my back due to flexibility from swimming. I can do a complete camel pose. And yes, I can reach my toes without bending my knees.

Fotzlid · 12-03-2008, 10:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paq

but i can put my palms behind my back in prayer position.

Fingers pointing down, no problem. Fingers up hurts.

*Wonders why the hell I even tried that in the first place.

Hyacinthe · 12-03-2008, 11:06 PM

I'm fairly flexible - well ok extremely so. I always have been, I can do the splits (sideways not vertical splits) and almost put my feet behind my head. Lying on my stomach arching back I have to be careful (I have kicked myself in the head) I can touch my elbows together behind my back (discovered when a friend of my brother thought this question was a great way to make girls sticks their chests out at him)

My hands and fingers aren't too flexible though - well not compared to some of you, a few years of piano and a heck of alot of typing make them quite strong (apparently great for massages) but my fingers won't bend back - I can do that whole thumb to wrist thing forward and backwards though.

Paq · 12-14-2008, 12:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bhgraiders1

Touch toes that's it

half my yoga class is having issues actually touching toes right now, so you rock that shit out

seriously, for someone who doesn't stretch regularly, a toetouch is a HUGE step

11-09-2008, 04:24 AM	#1 (permalink)
Charlatan Getting it. Super Moderator Location: Lion City	How Flexible Are You? After about a year off, I have just returned to taking some yoga classes. I was never really flexible (my natural state is vegitative) but once I started yoga I slowly started to get flexible. I was able to touch my toes for the first time in my life without bending my knees. After my year break I was sure I was going to have to start all over again but it wasn't as all that bad. A few classes in and I have regained a lot of my flexibility. What I have noticed is that many of the others in my class are not able to touch their toes. It got me to thinking. How many of you can touch your toes without bending your knees? Can you do the splits (I know I can't)? What can you (or wish you could) do? __________________ "My hands are on fire. Hands are on fire. Ain't got no more time for all you charlatans and liars." - Old Man Luedecke

11-09-2008, 07:13 AM	#2 (permalink)
highthief Junkie Location: Ontario, Canada	I can't cross my wrists behind my back. Can't be handcuffed as a result (not without dislocating my shoulders, anyway). __________________ Si vis pacem parabellum.

11-09-2008, 07:32 AM	#3 (permalink)
SabrinaFair Junkie Location: Louisville, KY	I'm pretty damn flexible...I can do a standing backbend, sit "lotus" for long periods of time without discomfort, and lay on my belly, bend my knees, and reach back and grab my ankles. It's not particularly useful at this juncture in my life, but at least its a good party trick. __________________ "With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy." -Desiderata

11-09-2008, 07:44 AM	#4 (permalink)
jewels Eponymous Location: Central Central Florida	I can touch the floor with my palms without bending knees and sit lotus but I never could do a full split. Close but no cigar. I can hold a wall squat for a long time, does that count? __________________ We are always more anxious to be distinguished for a talent which we do not possess, than to be praised for the fifteen which we do possess. Mark Twain

11-09-2008, 07:50 AM	#5 (permalink)
Vigilante Broken Arrow Location: US	I'm pretty lucky in this respect. I live a sedentary lifestyle, with occasional bike rides and walking. I have never stretched before or after weights, but I did take a couple of yoga classes back in college. I can still put my foot behind my head, though. I can touch my toes too, but it does get a little uncomfortable over time. Sitting lotus is no different for me than sitting normally (indian style, as they called it in school ) __________________ We contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle. -Winston Churchill

11-09-2008, 10:47 AM	#8 (permalink)
streak_56 who ever said streaking was a bad thing? Location: Calgary	I cannot touch my toes, I cannot do the splits and I'm probably the least flexible person I know. I can't do anything special

11-09-2008, 10:50 AM	#9 (permalink)
Siege is a tiger Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada	i'm not flexible at all since i don't stretch regularly, however back in the day, i used to be able to do front/back splits with my right leg in the front only. __________________ "Your name's Geek? Do you know the origin of the term? A geek is someone who bites the heads off chickens at a circus. I would never let you suck my dick with a name like Geek" --Kevin Smith This part just makes my posts easier to find

11-09-2008, 11:30 AM	#10 (permalink)
Amaras Junkie Location: At my daughter's beck and call.	I've never been very flexible at all. Even when I was training daily for years at a time, I was noticeable less so than those I trained with. My Mom, who holds degrees in physiotherapy & a BSC from McGill tells me it's due to having tighter ligaments. She says it prevented injuries, especially when I was a running back in football. Still, my lady says I'm limber enough, so I'm happy. __________________ Propaganda is to a democracy what the bludgeon is to a totalitarian state. -Noam Chomsky Love is a verb, not a noun. -My Mom The function of genius is to furnish cretins with ideas twenty years later. -Louis Aragon, "La Porte-plume," Traite du style, 1928

11-09-2008, 11:36 AM	#11 (permalink)
World's King Here Location: Denver City Denver	__________________ heavy is the head that wears the crown

11-09-2008, 11:48 AM	#12 (permalink)
Paq Junkie Location: South Carolina	i'm pretty flexible, dancer 2 isn't much of a problem, lotus, palms on floor, palms under feet, wheel, and i can touch my nose to my knees w/out bending my knees. but i recently started teaching pilates/yoga fusion classes recently and i've gained a good bit of flexibility that i didn't expect to gain. I still can't do splits, etc., but i can put my palms behind my back in prayer position. __________________ Live. Chris

11-09-2008, 01:10 PM	#14 (permalink)
Paq Junkie Location: South Carolina	about 90% of the people i meet can't. btw, a TON of my flexibility is due to being very very lazy as a kid..the tendons/ligaments never tightened up, sooooo, here i am. I started at a gym about 3 yrs ago and i had to actively keep working on the flexibility part of it or i would quickly lose the ability to touch my toes. __________________ Live. Chris

11-09-2008, 01:17 PM	#15 (permalink)
inBOIL I have eaten the slaw	WK, you're the only other person I know of who can do that. __________________ And you believe Bush and the liberals and divorced parents and gays and blacks and the Christian right and fossil fuels and Xbox are all to blame, meanwhile you yourselves create an ad where your kid hits you in the head with a baseball and you don't understand the message that the problem is you.

11-09-2008, 01:25 PM	#16 (permalink)
stevie667 Too Awesome for Aardvarks Location: Angloland	I thought i wasn't that flexible, but apparently i am. I think it's because i learn off a japanese aikido instructor who could turn himself inside out if he put some thought into it. Anyone who's sat through an hour of seiza then can't get up whilst the instructor leaps into the air like a gazelle will know what i mean. __________________ Office hours have changed. Please call during office hours for more information.

11-09-2008, 01:28 PM	#17 (permalink)
Zeraph Banned Location: The Cosmos	I can touch my palms to the floor without bending knees. Don't need to work at it either. I can do the ("Chinese") splits with about 2-3 weeks of stretching. prayer behind back, easy. my left shoulder can dislocate comfortably, and I can put it all the way behind my head so that its nearly horizontal to the ground. my wrists are quite flexible too, but I can't think of how to describe em I've always been pretty flexible.

11-09-2008, 01:56 PM	#18 (permalink)
Vigilante Broken Arrow Location: US	Oof. My left shoulder can pull out too, but I try to keep it tight because when I do work out, it can get pretty sore if I'm benching and the joint is loose. __________________ We contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle. -Winston Churchill

11-09-2008, 02:12 PM	#19 (permalink)
little_tippler Leaning against the -Sun- Super Moderator Location: on the other side	I'm not very flexible in my legs but I am pretty flexible in my arms. I have the ability to rotate my elbows more than is normal. I can't do the splits, never have been able to, or touch my toes. I can do the palms behind my back thing and the reaching back to grab my ankles- seems normal to me. I have a friend who can make his thumbs touch his wrists To end on a freaky note, my toes are double-jointed. __________________ Whether we write or speak or do but look We are ever unapparent. What we are Cannot be transfused into word or book. Our soul from us is infinitely far. However much we give our thoughts the will To be our soul and gesture it abroad, Our hearts are incommunicable still. In what we show ourselves we are ignored. The abyss from soul to soul cannot be bridged By any skill of thought or trick of seeming. Unto our very selves we are abridged When we would utter to our thought our being. We are our dreams of ourselves, souls by gleams, And each to each other dreams of others' dreams. Fernando Pessoa, 1918

11-09-2008, 03:21 PM	#21 (permalink)
stellabella1978 Upright Location: Portland, Oregon	I am no longer as flexible as I was in high school. I can still do a backbend, but not the splits all the way anymore.

11-09-2008, 04:02 PM	#22 (permalink)
ratbastid Darth Papa Location: Yonder	I can barely touch my KNEES with my knees straight.

11-09-2008, 04:12 PM	#23 (permalink)
Craven Morehead Custom User Title	I can put my knuckles on the floor without bending my knees. I really believe remaning flexible as you age is essential. I've got two bum knees so yoga is not easy, but other forms of stretching and exercise are part of my life.

11-09-2008, 04:39 PM	#24 (permalink)
snowy Kick Ass Kunoichi Location: Oregon	I'm not flexible at all, or at least I wasn't until I started doing yoga on a regular basis. I always struggled to touch my toes and stretch out. I was probably the most inflexible ballet dancer out of my entire class as a kid. My mom had signed me up for ballet because I was klutzy and tight; now she comments that she should have signed me up for yoga instead, as it's markedly improved my flexibility, posture, and balance, even as an adult. I still have a hard time doing remarkably flexible things, but I can touch my toes now, and that is accomplishment enough. __________________ If I am not better, at least I am different. --Jean-Jacques Rousseau

11-09-2008, 08:09 PM	#25 (permalink)
BadNick Riding the Ocean Spray Location: S.E. PA in U Sofa	People who see me make certain moves often say something like "you're pretty flexible for an older guy"...to put that into perspective, I'm 59.4 years old. Luckily I still have above average reflexes and agility along with the flexibility. But I'm sure all is not as great as it seems since I really notice how lately my joints can get achey; probably onset of some arthritic stuff. But after I limber up, it's pretty good again for a while. I really should get into some yoga...the whole physical/mental thing appeals to me.

11-09-2008, 09:29 PM	#26 (permalink)
anti fishstick Post-modernism meets Individualism AKA the Clash Location: oregon	I can still touch my palms to the floor, but with less ease and less duration than when I was taking yoga. When I took yoga regularly, I was able to bend down for the splits and get about 6" away from the ground... pretty good. Now I am way less flexible... But I can still touch my toes. __________________ And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom. ~Anais Nin

11-10-2008, 04:15 AM	#27 (permalink)
PonyPotato Soaring Location: Ohio!	I can easily touch my palms to the floor with my knees straight, and wrap my hands around my feet when I'm doing a sit-and-reach. I can come close to doing straddles or splits, but haven't been able to do them for real since I was 9 or 10 in gymnastics. I'm relatively flexible otherwise, but not excessively so. It's something I plan on working on. __________________ "Without passion man is a mere latent force and possibility, like the flint which awaits the shock of the iron before it can give forth its spark." — Henri-Frédéric Amiel

11-10-2008, 05:37 AM	#28 (permalink)
ngdawg peekaboo Location: on the back, bitch	Up until two years ago, I was able to bend at the waist and touch my nose to my knees. It was in showing this "trick" to my daughter about 5 times in a row that a disk in my back decided to slip. FOund out I have a birth defect-my L5 didn't grow in concert with the rest of my spine-and it was probably that defect that allowed me to bend like that, but also that same defect that caused the back damage. Since then, getting out of bed is painful right to my toes. Sucks getting old..... __________________ Don't blame me. I didn't vote for either of'em.

12-03-2008, 10:24 PM	#31 (permalink)
Willravel ... a sort of licensed troubleshooter.	Very, though I'm not as flexible as I once was. My hands are almost freakish; I can play the piano palms up. I can still move both of my arms in perfect circles and reach any part of my back due to flexibility from swimming. I can do a complete camel pose. And yes, I can reach my toes without bending my knees.

12-03-2008, 11:06 PM	#33 (permalink)
Hyacinthe Psycho Location: Australia	I'm fairly flexible - well ok extremely so. I always have been, I can do the splits (sideways not vertical splits) and almost put my feet behind my head. Lying on my stomach arching back I have to be careful (I have kicked myself in the head) I can touch my elbows together behind my back (discovered when a friend of my brother thought this question was a great way to make girls sticks their chests out at him) My hands and fingers aren't too flexible though - well not compared to some of you, a few years of piano and a heck of alot of typing make them quite strong (apparently great for massages) but my fingers won't bend back - I can do that whole thumb to wrist thing forward and backwards though. __________________ "I want to be remembered as the girl who always smiles even when her heart is broken... and the one that could brighten up your day even if she couldnt brighten her own" "Her emotions were clear waters. You could see the scarring and pockmarks at the bottom of the pool, but it was just a part of her landscape – the consequences of others’ actions in which she claimed no part."