What About Yoga or Pilates?

Yoga and other “whole-body” flexibility activities are very different from stretching as I’ve described it above. When properly performed using a very slow, deliberate, and easy motion, whole-body flexibility activities are healthy, safe, and very effective. However, most athletes I’ve observed doing yoga, Pilates, or other activities to improve flexibility, do them improperly—too fast and too hard. In addition, since these activities don’t provide a sufficient warm-up, an active warm-up should precede them to allow the athlete to gain the most out of the workout.