Tension Flexibility Training for a Healthy, Supple & Functional Body
Building a strong, muscular and chiseled physique is definitely the primary focus of kinobody fitness and with this attainment, you will look fantastic and you’ll have plenty of real-world strength and functionality. However, if you don’t utilize key flexibility movements, it’s likely you will experience nagging joint pain and become stiff and prone to injury.
Now tell me, what’s the point of looking great if you’re constantly in pain? As well, what’s the point of being strong and powerful if you lack mobility and are constantly getting injured? Therefore a true kinobody master should not only be strong, muscular and chiseled but also have great mobility and joint health.
In this post, I will be teaching you how to mobilize your body and in doing so your muscles and joints will become free of pain, you’ll feel more agile and limber, you’ll stand taller and walk with more confidence and exude more power. You will also develop a stronger connection with your body. You won’t have to take 20 minutes to warm up to play a game of soccer, toss the pigskin or wrestle.
Your body will be ready to work at maximum capacity in a moments notice, as it should! In real life, there are no warm-ups and no time outs. You are only as strong as the strength you have at this very instant. If it takes you 20 minutes to be able to sprint or to lift a heavyweight then consider yourself all show.
Now I have personally dealt with a serious lower back injury that left me in chronic pain. Additionally, my shoulders were constantly in pain and I couldn’t even throw a football without feeling like a drill was being driven into my shoulder. Not only have I completely healed these injuries but I have also never felt better, and I swear I stand a little taller too.
The routine I’m going to share with you is very simple! But don’t mistake its simplicity for inferiority! This routine blows everything else out of the water, including extensive dynamic drills, foam rolling, massages and pretty much everything else. But don’t take my word for it, implement this into your exercise routine for 3 weeks and see for yourself.
The Functional Triad
This includes the anterior chain (front), posterior chain (back) and lateral chain (side). By utilizing a complete stretching movement for each plane, you will keep your entire body balanced and healthy.
Unfortunately, most people lack this balance and have the pain and stiffness to prove it. Now it’s not enough to stretch each plane, we also must utilize stretches that serve to oil the joints and build active flexibility.
You Need To Oil Your Joints
To build true strength and muscularity you must train your muscles hard while allowing for plenty of rest. Resting will allow for full muscular and neural recuperation so you can hit the gym with more strength each session. This is the ideal protocol to build a strong and muscular physique! Unfortunately, this protocol doesn’t do very much for the joints.
You see, unlike the muscles, your joints receive no blood flow. Your joints have what is known as synovial fluid, a substance rich in oxygen and protein. This fluid is important for your joints to stay healthy and grow stronger. What you must understand is that fresh synovial fluid is only pumped to a joint when movement around a particular joint is taking place.
If you’re lifting heavy a few times per week then your joints will literally be starving for fresh synovial fluid and if you’re training too often, you will be wearing down your joints. Therefore it’s extremely important that you perform mobility movements daily to nourish and oil your joints.
The most effective way to oil your joints are with bodyweight holds, which open up the cartilage to the maximum degree to allow for fresh synovial fluid to enter in. Bodyweight flexibility holds will also improve your mobility greatly!
You Need To Use Active Stretching Techniques
Most people do passive stretches where they try to get their muscles to relax into a deep stretch. This makes your muscles weak and loose! You want to do active stretches that make your muscles flexible and tense, this is what is known as supple strength. This will allow you to use your strength throughout a great range of motion.
In athletic pursuits, you don’t have the luxury to be let your muscles completely relax and become flaccid. Your muscles must maintain some tension to move and maintain positioning. With active stretches, you are stretching out your body while undergoing hard muscular contractions. This is the type of flexibility training that has massive benefits.
The three active stretches we will be utilizing are back bridges, L-sits and twist stretches. These three holds will stretch out all three chains, while improving mobility, joint health and suppleness.
How To Do The Back Bridge
- Stretches out the anterior chain (quads, hip flexors, abs, and chest, plus lats)
- Contracts the posterior chain (hamstrings, glutes, low back, upper back, and triceps, plus shoulders)
The back bridge is probably my favorite exercise in the world. If it wasn’t for this exercise, I’d still suffer from aggravating lower back pain every day. But thanks to bridging I have strengthened the deep muscles along my spine that reinforce proper posture and spinal alignment. Basically I have injury proofed my entire back and spine.
I can sit down for hours and I feel absolutely no pain. Before my back would be screaming if I sat down for more than 20 minutes. What’s more, if you do this exercise daily, you may be able to increase your height by half an inch as this exercise helps to elongate your spine.
How To Do The L-Sit
- Stretches out the posterior chain
- Strongly contracts the anterior chain
Everyone is obsessed with training their rectus abdominal to get v line abs, which are the muscles that make up the six pack. Well what about the deeper, internal alignment muscles, such as the psoas, the hip flexors, the iliacus and the transverse abdominals? It’s very often that people actively try to disengage some of these muscles when learning how to get v line abs.
When you neglect these muscles they become very weak and these are the muscles that align your hips and torso; if these muscles are weak, your entire body will suffer. L-sits are an excellent exercise to use in your routine. Holding the L sit contracts the deep muscles hard and also strengthens your traps and triceps.
As well, it stretches out the spine and develops strength in the lower back. This is because the lower back has to work hard to stabilize itself during powerful anterior contractions, which makes L-sits a great way at building tension-flexibility in the back, making it stronger and more injury proofed.
How To Do The Twisting Stretch
- Stretches out the lateral chain plus the rotator cuff
- Contracts the lateral chain of the opposite side plus the rotator cuff
Many athletes train up and down, front and back, but very few twist. The twisting exercise takes care of this and increases strength and flexibility in the deep muscles responsible for rotation. The shoulder position of the twist stretch will stretch and work the rotator cuff. This deep stimulation improves shoulder mobility, increases blood flow and enhances healing.
Many people suffer from upper back pain due to excess tension in the muscles between the shoulder blades. Twists actively release the shoulder blades. Proper twists will reverse stiffness and damage done to the hips and back, helping to prevent hip cramps and backache. As well, twisting is very key in sports and the twisting stretch will improve functionality and sports performance.
This Video Will Show You How To Do The Trifecta
Here’s a great video of a pretty fit guy demonstrating the three exercises – the back bridge, L sit and twist. These are fairly advanced movements, especially the twist stretch. Locking your fingers through your leg and behind your back takes exceptional flexibility throughout your entire body.
Don’t worry if you can’t do these exercises at first, do the best you can and with time you will be able to build up to them. In the coming weeks I will do in-depth tutorials for bridging, L sits and twist stretches.
How Do You Program the Trifecta?
I recommend performing bridges, L sits and twists daily! I use them in my morning routine every day. On rest days perform them at some point during the day and on workout days perform them after your workout. Performing these stretches daily might sound like a lot but they’re not very taxing and will help with recovery.
You want to hold each exercise for a total of 20 seconds. That can be 20 seconds all in one set or you can break it up into 5-10 second holds. For example, my stretching routine looks as follows:
Back Bridge – 2 sets x 10 seconds
L Sit – 2 sets x 10 seconds
Twist – 1 set x 20 seconds
Done! It literally only takes a few minutes per day but will be the most effective few minutes of your life.
This Is How You Maximize Aesthetics And Function
Combine incredible strength, muscularity, and definition with solid tension-flexibility and joint health and you have the ultimate physique in aesthetics and function. You’ll be able to conquer your way through life with ease and power in any athletic pursuit!
Nagging injuries and lack of mobility will no longer stand in your way and you’ll move with finesse. These three exercises are the staple of my flexibility and joint routine, in fact, they’re the only ones I do.
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I too purchased convict conditioning by paul wade. How long should it take me to get to a full twist hold? I think if I can build up to a full twist hold my shoulders would be so healthy. I want to master these because I am getting a little older and my joints (especially elbows) are starting to feel pain.
If you practice daily you can probably get it in about 30 days.
[…] I highly recommend reading his article which can be found here. […]
i saw in you american psycho video that you also train on the bridge progression of the first book of convict conditioning and on hang leg raises which paul wade says are perfect for each other, in the goal of giving you a functional powerful core and spine
do you think that helped you removing your pains too?
Yeah mostly came from bridging but hanging leg raises could have helped too.
i’m not able to do any of those one…… frustrated
You really need to get a golf ball muscle roller, it did wonders for my muscles flexibility, seriously check it out! http://www.zzathletics.com
Hey Greg, love the website. I was wondering if there was a way to stretch very tight lats.
Thanks
Yes, you can do a dumbbell pull over or stretch your arms overhead behind you.
Hey Greg, thanks for the awesome info.
Just curious… when you’re lifting weights, do you do any light stretching of the body part you’re working when you’re resting between sets?
Thanks!
No. Be careful with static stretching because it can make the muscle too relaxed and it can temporarily reduce power. Do your stretching after training if you want to.
Thanks!
Is there a way to work up to the L-Sit?
Yah you can practice on dip bars with your legs bent or your legs pointed downwards.
Hey Greg,
Decided to take at least a week off from lifting due to worsening injuries in my left elbow and left shoulder. The shoulder is killing me on bench press and the elbow killing me on weighted chins.
Have you ever had to be sidelined from your routine to let injuries heal? What do you recommend doing to compensate? Just cardio? Cardio and abs?
Yes this stuff happens. Cut out any exercises that aggravate your injuries and let it heal naturally. I had to go a couple months without doing any weighted chin ups due to an elbow injury. I had to go several months without barbell presses due to a wrist injury. This stuff happens.
Any chance of doing an L sit progression video?
I’ll keep that in mind, thanks! It’s best to practice on dip bars.
Also, I think article this should be put into the ‘best of’ section because I missed it and it’s really important!
Thanks Laurence! It’s in the best of section under bodyweight training but I should probably emphasize it more.
Hi Greg,
What do you do to prepare the wrists before bench pressing? Recently I have felt pain in my left wrist as a result of bench pressing and so I have to take some time off.
Secondly, when bench pressing, should the wrists be positioned vertically upwards, perpendicular to the floor at a 90 degree angle? Thanks
Just hold the bar lower on your wrist and you’ll be fine! I like to have my thumb along the bar for added wrist support. You want the bar to be completely in line with your wrist. Most people have their hand cocked back and the bar is behind the wrist, this destroys your strength.
Great stuff, perfect you put it into the “about” section, its so effective no body should neglect it (: !
anyways, want to work my way up to doing the L-hold on the fingertips, and just found out i can barely hold a pushup position on my fingertips, even with knees on the floor.. So apparently my fingers are really weak.. So thought i incorporate some fingertip holds, and work my way from the knees to a full pushup position, and then work on fingertip pushups. Just wanted you opinion on how often i should work the fingertip holds, and for how long time / how many sets (: ?
Thanks!
Build up to 10 second holds then progress to more challenging movements. Knees, regular push ups, feet raised push ups, l sits.
Would it be okay to do the back bridge for more than 20 sek?
I want to reach the stand to stand bridge and feel it need more than 20 sek of work pr Day.
Also, Ive Been having a bit of knee pain lately, was wondering if you know any exercises that Can strength and Oil Them? Or does the back bridge helps with that aswell?
Great work man, love it
Cheers!
Yes you can do back bridges for longer. L sits help with the knees. You can also do some knee circles.
Hey Greg ive been trying to do the back bridge for quite some time and i can’t do it. When i try i cant seem to push myself off of the groun. And when im done my back feels really bad. Also i cant seem to find any of the programmes, the free that you made eg greek god workout, superhero, warrior etc if you could, could you send it to my email adress. Thanks.
The new free report just came out, here’s the link – https://kinobody.com/kinobody-blueprint
Just do the hip bridge version for now.
Hey Greg it doesn’t let me download the file it says “use a valid email adress” lol what should i do? also how would i move onto doint the full back bridge?
You probably didn’t enter your email correctly. I just entered it and it seemed to work.
Greg thank you very much for this post, lower back has never felt better, really thanks for all your info, you are one of the very few guys on fitness and nutrition, that I will listen to, you and rusty
Hi Greg,
Great article just wondering if you know any good stretches for the upper back / neck region, as I often get pain in this area? I get a “crick” in my neck sometimes after sleeping or sudden movements and my traps can become sore from pull-ups which I don’t perform anymore due to this.
Thanks
Perhaps you’re carrying a lot of tension in your neck and traps. A good massage may do the trick. Also trying to have good posture will help.
i’m not currently able to do a full twist stretch, and i’m just wondering.. is 20 seconds / day really enough for progressing?
Definitely. Just by holding it for 20 seconds once per day I’ve been able to grab my hands in 2 weeks.
This is amazing!
i can touch the tip of my fingers on one side, and hook my middle finger on the other side with the twist stretch, really seeing some great progress!
kind of hate you for not sharing this information before! (;
my back pain is completely gone, and my shoulder feels WAY better than it have in a long time!
Just wanted to share, and hope everyone else reading this will give these exercises a chance, its some amazing stuff!
so Thanks Greg!
Hey Greg, I am only 17 but have already encountered problems involving bulging discs in my lower back. It is annoying to stretch for hours everyday or before working out so I’m thinking this trifecta may be for me. Only problem is I cannot do the L sit yet. Any recommendations? also, should I add anything else to my stretch/strengthening routine to prevent back pain and sciatica? thanks man!
I recommend doing the L sit on dip bars or a pull up bar. Lift your legs as high as possible. They don’t have to be all the way up to 90 degrees. You’ll still get the benefit.
Those are my favourites, you can incorporate more but it’s not necessary.
Thanks! So I’ll go with version 2 then. One more thing – what period of time do you recommend when switching between each level of superhero workout? I want to bulk for around 20 weeks so I was thinking about doing strength & density ver 2 for 8 weeks and superhero for 12 weeks (each level – 4 weeks). Is it a good plan?
Yes, each level for four weeks is perfect.
Hey Greg, a couple of quick questions:
1. What muscle building workout do you recommend more – version 1 or 2? I’m a little bit afraid of hang cleans, so I was thinking about doing only ver 2. Or maybe I just should replace hang cleans with deadlifts?
2. Which of this routines will help me better develop my chest and after what time it’ll be good to move to a specialization workout?
Thanks!
1. Both work quite well, I recommend alternating between both every 6 weeks or so. You can do sumo deadliest instead of hang cleans if you prefer.
2. Version 2 will work better for your chest. The superhero routines as well. Once you get your incline bench up to a decent amount then you can move to specialization. I’d suggest adding 40-50 lbs to your incline before doing the specialization.
Hey Greg,
I remember a while back you did a video review of Visual Impact Cardio and I was wondering if it is possible to still gain strength and maintain mass (providing I am lifting 2-3 times a week) if I do VIC in the morning before I eat because my muscles will lack glycogen (maybe the wrong word?)?
I imagine it will be a bit more difficult to build strength with such an intense cardio regime. Still definitely possible. I’d recommend cardio only on your non lifting days 3x per week.
I’ve been doing a lot og bridging since i’ve found your incredible website and my back feels amazing again, and man this is looking great!
Really looking forward to a more detailed explanation of the twist stretch, since im not at all able to do that yet!
Great to hear Thomas! For now you can use a towel to do an assisted twist stretch.
Great man, will try to do so, even though it needs to be a pretty big towel!
Will any future posts about the L-sit, maybe talk about how to work you way to doing it on your finger tips? That would be awesome!
Well to be able to do the finger tip version I’d recommend getting very strong at finger tip push ups. If you can do 20 finger tip push ups then it won’t be very difficult.
Greg,
Thanks for sharing this trifecta! One of my current fitness goals is to improve my flexibility so I’m going to start incorporating these into my routine.
Alykhan
I’m really glad you made this article, as I have been wondering about your stretching routine for a while! :)