Ever seen 1980s martial arts star, Jean Claude Van Damme doing the splits between 2 chairs? That’s kind of his signature move. And if you haven’t, go watch Bloodsport. It’s a classic display of Jean Claude Van Damme’s flexibility.

Original source: here.

If you did see it, you might have searched up “Jean Claude Van Damme stretching routine” or “Jean Claude Van Damme stretching” in hopes of one day being able to do it like he did. If you have no desire to do that, but want to know how you can improve your strength and flexibility together, read on.

It almost seems like they are 2 opposite ends of the spectrum – strength and flexibility. On the strength side, you think of a weight lifter, and they don’t seem that flexible (even though, they are among the 3 most flexible groups of athletes at the Olympics). On the flexibility side, you think of a ballet dancer, or a yogi. And they don’t seem that strong.

So, wondering how to reconcile the two? How to be strong and flexible? That’s what you’ll learn in today’s article.

The ultimate resource for today’s article though is Pavel Tsatsouline’s excellent book, Relax Into Stretch. An article can’t go into anywhere near the depth of a book, so if you really want all the ins and outs, with great illustrations, just go to Amazon, and buy it. Or, if you want my summary of that book, check it out here.

Onwards.

As I outlined in several of my previous articles, stretching doesn’t really lengthen muscles. Wait. What? “But I’m stretching to lengthen my muscles. I want long-lean muscles, instead of short, bulky muscles.” I can hear you thinking. But oh, how wrong that statement is. I discuss it in great detail anyway in my article on why you’re stretching wrong, so if you’re curious, just go and check it out.

Traditional static stretching just increases your pain threshold, and increases your tolerance to stretch. It doesn’t actually make your muscles longer.

That’s not to say that you shouldn’t do it. It’s just that the mechanism through which it works isn’t what you think. Why do muscles feel longer when you stretch? After all, they’re not actually longer. They feel longer because you’re decreasing the tightness of your muscles. But the tightness comes from the nervous system. Not really the muscles themselves. The nervous system will give your muscles the length they need if (and this is a big if) it feels that it can do so safely (without injury). If your nervous system feels like you’re getting into a position that you’re not used to, it will tighten muscles to make it very uncomfortable to stay in that stretched position, so you’ll bring it back, into what your nervous system perceives to be a safe position.

Even so, if all you do is static stretching, you’ll be flexible, but you won’t be strong.

Wondering how to get flexible and strong?

There are a few different ways to do it:

Method #1: Combine Strength Training and Stretching

This one is the most obvious one – do both strength training and stretching. Just make sure you’re using a full range of motion in your strength training, with most exercises. Not much more to say here. After all, you want to be flexible and strong. Not just flexible, or just strong. So combine both.

Method #2: PNF Stretching

PNF stands for “proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation.” Feel free to drop that term nonchalantly at family gatherings. If you want a simpler term, feel free to use “contract-relax stretching.”

The name is more complicated than the action. It’s quite simple, really. You take a muscle to the point where it starts to feel tight. And then, you contract that muscle with about 80% of your strength, against an immovable object. You do this for 6 seconds. Then, after you release the contraction, you’ll notice that the position that felt really tight is no longer quite as tight. You have a little extra range of motion. To stretch a little further to capitalize on your new gains in length. And contract again for 6 seconds. Repeat this cycle, until further contractions do not result in further increases in length, and that exercise is done for that day. Move on to a different muscle.

Here’s an example: let’s say that your hamstrings (the backs of your thighs) could use a little extra length. So you lie on your back, and raise one leg as high as you can, with a straight knee, until you start to feel the stretch. Once you feel that stretch, you would either push down into a partner, or a wall for 6 seconds. The key is to prevent actual motion. It’s the intention to move that counts. After the 6 seconds, you release the contraction, and raise the leg up a little bit higher. Then, you repeat the contraction.

This was an example with the hamstring, but the concept applies all over the body. In fact, it applies to not just muscles, but even motions.

Let’s say that you are a golfer, and you would like to be able to drive the ball farther. For that, you require a greater wind-up, so you can generate more torque. So you get into the position just before the forward swing of the golf club. And then, a (strong) partner holds your shoulders, as you try to rotate into the swing. Your partner is resisting.

Do this before a game, and you’ll be driving 5-20 yards further.

The applications of PNF are limitless. But again, if you prefer a visual guide, I can’t think of one better than Pavel Tsatsouline’s book, Relax Into Stretch.

So there you have it – two methods to be as strong and flexible as Jean Claude Van Damme.