If you want to be super strong, you must also be super flexible.

Just look at the best Olympic and powerlifters, they are all super flexible.

That, right there, is flexibility.

Go ahead. Try a squat that deep. Keep your chest up while you do it and your heels on the ground throughout the entire movement.

While you may be able to do it, squatting like that isn’t easy, or even doable for most people.

But if you want to lift heavy weight, you need to work on it.

If you aren’t flexible, you risk injury when you add weight. The weight of a heavily loaded barbell forces your range of motion to increase.

If you can’t perform a full range of motion on a squat with just your body weight, your body isn’t ready to handle the additional weight of a barbell because the extra weight will force your body to complete a fuller range of motion than it is ready to handle.

This “weight-assisted stretching” isn’t good for you! If you push it too far, you will end up injured!

So start mobility and flexibility training! You don’t have to be Gumby, but if you want to lift heavy, you need to have great flexibility in your shoulders, hips, hamstrings, and ribcage!

I cuddle with my foam roller…maybe you should too!