Goal: Touch your toes
Why flexibility is good for you and how it builds over weeks
Dr Nicola Tik
You bend down to tie a shoelace and the floor feels further away than it used to. That’s very common, especially after years of long days sitting, and flexibility is one of the most responsive things you can train. With a few minutes most days, your body starts to change within weeks.
Folding forward comfortably shows how freely the backs of your legs, your hips and your lower back move together. That range matters for everyday things like picking something up off the floor, getting in and out of the car or reaching into a low cupboard. Many people also find that a few minutes of stretching is a calm, steadying break in a busy day.
When you stretch regularly, two things change. Research suggests that much of the early gain comes from your nervous system getting used to the stretch, which is often called “stretch tolerance”. Your body learns the position is safe and lets you go a little further before it asks you to stop. Your muscles and tendons also become slightly less stiff, which adds to the range you can reach.
One well-known study had people hold a hamstring stretch for 30 seconds, five days a week, and found clear gains in range within six weeks. Holding for 60 seconds instead of 30 made no extra difference. Turning up regularly matters more than how long you hold or how hard you push on any one day.
Everyone starts from a different place, so there’s no fixed date. Studies of regular stretching typically report gains of around 4 to 6 centimetres over six to eight weeks, and people who start out less flexible often improve the most. If your fingertips stop a few centimetres short of your toes, many people close that gap within four to six weeks. If you’re further away, it simply takes a little longer.
It also helps to know that flexibility fades if you stop. In one study, people who stopped stretching for four weeks were almost back where they started, which is why little and often works so well.
Each session takes about 5 minutes. You could aim for five to seven days a week. Clinical guidelines suggest that stretching daily brings the best results, and research suggests that around 10 minutes of stretching a week is enough for steady gains. Five minutes a day gives you that comfortably. At the end of each week we’ll check in on your progress, so you can see the changes as they happen. You don’t need to plan anything, because the programme sets out each session for you.
The sessions focus on your hamstrings, the long muscles running from your sitting bones to the backs of your knees. They also work your calves, hips and lower back. You’ll see gentle forward folds, hamstring stretches lying down and standing, and hip hinges, which teach you to bend from your hips rather than your back.
A stretch should feel like a gentle pull, around 3 or 4 out of 10. Research suggests that pushing harder doesn’t bring bigger gains, so there’s no need to force it. If you feel anything sharp, pinching or tingling, ease off until it settles. Keep your knees soft and your breathing slow.
Your session is ready. Press play and we will guide you through each stretch, with easier and harder options shown along the pathway.