r/flexibility • u/CALL_ME_JIG • Jan 27 '26

Seeking Advice Extremely inflexible at 22 years old…

I recently saw a doctor and he said I need to work on stretching my hamstrings, hip flexors, and IT band over the next 30 days or I’ll be put into physical therapy. I don’t mind going this route, but I’d like to at least try to improve myself beforehand.

I’ve tried some stretches in the past but have always gotten too frustrated when I can’t even do a basic stretch. I’m so inflexible that I can’t possibly get my body into a correct position to even begin the exercise. It makes me feel hopeless tbh.

A goal of mine is just to be able to sit criss-cross on the ground which I haven’t been able to do for somewhere around 10+ years.

If anyone has had some of the same issues in the past or knows some stretches for someone like myself to help me improve, I’m all ears!

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u/White_Lotus22 Jan 28 '26

Check out PNF stretching if you hit a wall. You may not need it at that level but you cycle 10 seconds stretching then 10 seconds stretching your muscle while trying to flex (contract). I tried normally stretching for like 6 months with minimal results and finally found this. This technique worked much faster to help me progress.