Touching your toes is a satisfying milestone, but the real value is in what it lets you do every day. A good range through the backs of your legs and hips makes lots of ordinary movements feel easier. Using that range often is also one of the best ways to keep it.

Where you’ll notice it

Many people find everyday tasks start to feel different, such as:

• Putting on socks and shoes without sitting down.
• Picking things up off the floor.
• Reaching into low cupboards or under the bed.
• Gardening, cleaning or playing with children at ground level.

Bending from your hips in daily life

Folding from your hips is a movement you can use all day. When you bend to pick something up, you could try pushing your hips back with a long back, then coming up slowly. For heavier things, bending your knees as well and keeping the load close to your body can make lifting feel more comfortable.

Range you can control

Flexibility works best alongside strength. Being able to reach the floor is one thing. Being able to get there and back up smoothly is what makes the range useful. Research suggests that strength training through a full range can build flexibility about as well as stretching, so lifting and bending with control in daily life helps both.

Keep using it

A recent review found that people who stayed active kept their flexibility better after stopping a stretching programme. The movements above count. The more you use your full range in daily life, the more natural it stays.

What to take away

• Good flexibility makes everyday tasks like dressing and lifting easier.
• Bend from your hips and come back up slowly.
• Pair your range with control, so it’s useful as well as flexible.
• Using your range every day helps you keep it.

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