Why Is Flexibility Important in Football?
According to the Red and Black website, flexibility is important for American football because it gives players a physical and mental advantage over other teams. The site recommends that yoga be added to a player’s regular workout regimen in order to give his body added flexibility.
Red and Black points out that flexibility from activities such as yoga may help players surprise other teams. This is due to the stereotypes of limited movement associated with football players. Added flexibility helps a player to surprise and impress others with a wider range of movement. The site points out that most players perform so much intensive lifting and muscle training that their bodies become tight and restricted. Flexibility from activities such as yoga helps players to stretch their bodies back and to lengthen their muscles. Added flexibility also helps with muscle rehabilitation after strenuous play or injury. Flexibility-building exercises such as yoga also typically strengthen the core of the football player, which supplements their existing core workouts and leads to benefits on the field. These exercises also serve as whole-body workouts, giving the player flexibility in areas they typically would not train. According to Red and Black, one surprising aspect of flexibility that yoga confers is breath control and breathing techniques which help players during games.
