Shutterstock
Flexibility is one of those things that seems to bless some people and not others.
Although practices like stretching and yoga can help one improve, the sad fact of the matter is that for some people, their toes are just out of reach.
Flexibility of the hamstrings – the group of three muscles on the back of the thigh – along with the lower back is key to achieving this reach. If you’re lacking in this area, there’s a good chance that stretching and yoga routines could help you achieve that goal, but remember not to push yourself through pain.
Shutterstock
That said, there are some marathon runners who can’t touch their toes, so it’s not always down to being fit or necessarily flexible. Sometimes it’s just down to body type, says physiologist Jeffrey Jenkins.
“The other big factor is the relative length of your arms and your torso to your legs. Someone can be really flexible, but if their arms and hands are short relative to their legs, then even at their maximum flexibility they might still not be able to touch their toes, because their arms and fingers aren’t long enough to reach.”
And listen, being able to touch your toes doesn’t come up all that often during a regular business day.
I mean, now that you’re not performing the sit-and-reach for the President any more.
So rest easy.
But maybe do some yoga.
If you thought that was interesting, you might like to read about a quantum computer simulation that has “reversed time” and physics may never be the same.