# How Flexible Are You? (physically) **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 3, 2011, 7:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-flexible-are-you-physically/566208 "2011-01-03T07:32:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2011, 7:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-flexible-are-you-physically/566208/1 "2011-01-03T07:32:47Z")
I just put up a GQ thread about pain in my joints and thought of this because I am unusually flexible myself, and I’ve learned that it’s actually not a good thing past a certain point. In my own case it’s led to some issues with stability, messed up ankles and knees. It’s worse because of my weight, but it was not good when I was a skinny kid, either. I freak people out when they see my feet when I’m curled up bed, because my natural tendency is to turn them about 100 degrees inward and fold them over each other, a position that I take without thinking about it, but which is evidently impossible for most people to achieve no matter how hard they try unless trying includes breaking some bones or cutting some tendons. Hence the freaking out when they see my feel doing that. (I have to get a picture of it some day, it’s hard for people to imagine it.) My knees also bend backward, and that’s very bad. Of course they don’t bend all the way backward, but when most people rest their feet on something, the leg is either perfectly straight or is actually bent a bit at the knee, causing the knee to be raised a little. With me, there is a _dip_ in the leg at the knee. And no, it’s not comfortable, even though it’s what my knee does naturally. I can feel the tendons being stretched like old elastic. It didnt’ bother me when I was younger, but I’m very aware of it now and I try not to let myself bend like that. ---
**Author:** ![Maiira](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f04885/32.png) [@Maiira](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maiira)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2011, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-flexible-are-you-physically/566208/2 "2011-01-03T07:43:34Z")
I’m not as flexible now as I used to be. I took ballet when I was younger, so I usually did pretty well in flexibility tests in gym class. But I was the least flexible of anyone in my ballet class. I have the exact opposite problem with my knees–they won’t straighten all the way. It was actually the reason I hated ballet, because I was always doing something wrong, and I was always behind the rest of my class. Continuing to take ballet would actually have been the best course of action, because it probably would have improved my flexibility a bit, but I didn’t like that I was always inferior to everyone else. So I quit. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2011, 7:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-flexible-are-you-physically/566208/3 "2011-01-03T07:45:58Z")
Though I did gymnastics and ballet as a little kid (8-10), I’m probably not much more flexable than average for a woman in her 30s. It’s not like I’ve done much comparision, though. ---
**Author:** ![Trepa\_Mayfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/edb3f5/32.png) [@Trepa\_Mayfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trepa_Mayfield)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2011, 8:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-flexible-are-you-physically/566208/4 "2011-01-03T08:01:56Z")
I’m quite flexible in my arms, but very inflexible in my legs. It comes from undiagnosed flat feet that I had for 13 years. Caused connections to become more and more strained, and tense…I notice the legs more than the arms, so that’s how I answered the poll. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2011, 8:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-flexible-are-you-physically/566208/5 "2011-01-03T08:48:57Z")
Considering the fact that I’m big-framed, overweight and have never been particularly athletic, I’m surprisingly flexible. My mother is a professional yoga instructor, and I occasionally surprise her by bending my arms and legs in ways that most of her students can’t manage. ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2011, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-flexible-are-you-physically/566208/6 "2011-01-03T11:29:58Z")
> [@pedescribe](#): > > I’m quite flexible in my arms, but very inflexible in my legs. It comes from undiagnosed flat feet that I had for 13 years. Caused connections to become more and more strained, and tense…I notice the legs more than the arms, so that’s how I answered the poll. Same here. I can grab my wrists behind my back, but I can’t touch my toes. Not flat footed though. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2011, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-flexible-are-you-physically/566208/7 "2011-01-03T14:57:59Z")
> [@MandaJo](#): > > Same here. I can grab my wrists behind my back, but I can’t touch my toes. Not flat footed though. Is being able to grab your wrists behind your back unusual? I am asking honestly. I thought that most people could do this. I’m reasonably flexible, I guess. Never really thought about it that much. I can get into any yoga pose I’ve ever tried (have never tried the standing-on-head ones) and have no problem touching my toes, etc. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2011, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-flexible-are-you-physically/566208/8 "2011-01-03T15:03:17Z")
I can put both hands flat to the floor cold, sit on the floor and touch my nose to the floor and put my palms together behind my back, fingers pointed up. I stretch every day. ---
**Author:** ![Dogzilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@Dogzilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogzilla)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2011, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-flexible-are-you-physically/566208/9 "2011-01-03T15:45:02Z")
I’m unusually bendy, especially for my age (41), because I’m learning pole dancing. I’ve almost got my full split (both directions) and am working on my straddle split – I can get about halfway down. I can also hang upside down on a pole by one knee and a rib. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Lacunae\_Matata](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lacunae\_Matata](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lacunae_Matata)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2011, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-flexible-are-you-physically/566208/10 "2011-01-03T15:52:14Z")
Hubby and I are the same age. At 41, I can easily touch the floor with my hands from a standing position, or touch my face to the floor from a sitting position. He can barely touch his knees from sitting or standing. I can put my palms together behind my back. He can’t scratch any of the expanse of his back between his upper shoulder blade and the small of his back. I was teaching the 10-year-old how to do splits and backbends the other day. Hubby was struggling to “fold himself up” to get into my mini van. Partly, the differences are biological, since (a) women tend to be more flexible than men, and (b) I seem to have some genetic advantage - I remember as a kid watching my grandma and her brother (both ages 80+) proving to one another than they could still put their feet behind their necks! Part of the difference is weight: I’m high-normal weight (BMI around 24,) and he’s… not. And part of the difference is probably “historical”: I was never really an athlete, although I’m reasonably active and strong - I have always generally gotten my exercise doing practical stuff, like pushing a lawn mower or walking/biking for transportation or marching in high school band. He spent years playing football and weight training, and was always very muscle-bound - to the point that his high school senior picture shows his neck having a larger circumference than his head! For him, adding some stretching to his daily activities would help, but he will probably never be anything close to flexible. ---
**Author:** ![Lacunae\_Matata](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lacunae\_Matata](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lacunae_Matata)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2011, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-flexible-are-you-physically/566208/11 "2011-01-03T15:53:14Z")
> [@Dogzilla](#): > > I’m unusually bendy, especially for my age (41), because I’m learning pole dancing. I’ve almost got my full split (both directions) and am working on my straddle split – I can get about halfway down. > > I can also hang upside down on a pole by one knee and a rib. 😃 To save someone else the trouble… cite? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![umop\_ap\_sdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/dbc845/32.png) [@umop\_ap\_sdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/umop_ap_sdn)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2011, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-flexible-are-you-physically/566208/12 "2011-01-03T16:21:52Z")
Somewhere between option #4 and option #5. I can effortlessly do a half lotus sitting pose or reach any spot on my back but can’t touch my toes without bending my knees. ---
**Author:** ![Walmarticus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Walmarticus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walmarticus)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2011, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-flexible-are-you-physically/566208/13 "2011-01-03T16:32:32Z")
I’m weird in personality and anatomy. I’m young and fit but if I dropped a pen on the floor, I’d look like an 80 year old man trying to pick it up. ---
**Author:** ![lindsaybluth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/90db22/32.png) [@lindsaybluth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lindsaybluth)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2011, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-flexible-are-you-physically/566208/14 "2011-01-03T16:56:11Z")
Tin Man after a hard rain. Did two competitive sports in high school which I trained for one since age 7, the other I started in high school. I did the same - sometimes more - stretching than most others and always remained far less flexible. My little brother is ungodly flexible; he can put his palms to the floor then bending over (touching toes stretch). I got my horrid flexibility from my maternal grandfather. Both of my parents - dad used to be big into yoga, mom was a cheerleader (among other things) - are flexible. Urgh. I should say that for an athlete/gym rat, my flexibility is like the tin man. That’s what I’ve always compared myself to since that’s the company I’m in. Compared to the average fat American, I’m definitely above average. ETA: My physical therapist and athletic trainer (whom I saw for an injury last year) were appalled at my gym routine and times/stats for spinning and lifting in comparison to my general flexibility. ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2011, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-flexible-are-you-physically/566208/15 "2011-01-03T19:06:34Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Considering the fact that I’m big-framed, overweight and have never been particularly athletic, I’m surprisingly flexible. My mother is a professional yoga instructor, and I occasionally surprise her by bending my arms and legs in ways that most of her students can’t manage. I always joke when it surprises people that my fat greases my joints. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2011, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-flexible-are-you-physically/566208/16 "2011-01-03T19:22:50Z")
I have never been able to touch my toes. (Well, I assume I could as a very small child with very short legs. But not in the part of my life I remember.) ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2011, 7:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-flexible-are-you-physically/566208/17 "2011-01-04T07:52:57Z")
The poll should have asked for people’s ages. I’m seriously less flexible than I was 10 years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2011, 8:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-flexible-are-you-physically/566208/18 "2011-01-04T08:04:33Z")
I did dance from age 12 to 17 and it made me pretty flexible. I was VERY flexible at the time, but have become less so with age. I could probably still put my palms on the floor from a standing position, though. I can definitely still touch my toes easily enough. I know I wasn’t flexible before I started dancing - I remember when I had to touch my toes for some fitness test in 6th grade and I couldn’t do it - so it’s not natural. But I’m in my early 30s now and I still have some of the flexibility I gained from dancing. ---
**Author:** ![Spectralist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Spectralist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectralist)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2011, 9:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-flexible-are-you-physically/566208/19 "2011-01-04T09:03:22Z")
More flexible than I have any right to be considering I haven’t done anything remotely athletic since I was 12 and am at least 15kg overweight. Probably somewhere between option 5 and 6. I picked 5 but mainly because option 6 implied that I’ve put actual effort or training into it and I haven’t really, although I do often move, sit, lay, and do other mundane tasks in ways that take advantage of my flexibility. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGrenze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dbc845/32.png) [@KarlGrenze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGrenze)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2011, 10:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-flexible-are-you-physically/566208/20 "2011-01-04T10:30:08Z")
I’m flexible in my legs. I used to not being able to touch my toes but physical fitness seems to have solved that (I can, now). It seems I’m apparently more flexible than some of my team members. Last time we did stretching and flexibility exercises, I was not feeling anything, and what I was feeling, felt good. My partner kept saying “Why am I bothering to do this to you? You’re enjoying it!” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-flexible-are-you-physically/566208.md?page=2)