We explain what flexibility is in physical education, muscular flexibility and the types that exist. Also, work flexibility.
What is flexibility?
According to the dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy, being flexible means having “…disposition to bend easily” and being “…susceptible to changes or variations according to circumstances or needs.” That is, flexibility is the condition of those things, people, or ideas that, instead of being rigid or strict, are relatively adaptable to change.
Thus, when something has flexibility, we know that it can be subject to a certain margin of change, whether or not it recovers its original form. This is true for certain materials, which can bend, such as wire; or stretch, like rubber.
It is also a term used to describe people, both physically and mentally: a yoga practitioner will exhibit a lot of physical flexibility, and a tolerant person will exhibit a lot of emotional flexibility, to cite an example.
Flexibility should not be confused with similar concepts, such as elasticity, which always implies a return to the original position or shape; nor to that of malleability, which suggests that the shape of something can be permanently modified at will.
Likewise, this term is used to refer to other situations and conditions in which flexibility is not literal, but figurative: a flexible schedule, flexible dates, a flexible assignment, etc.
Flexibility in physical education
In the field of sports and physical education, flexibility is understood as the ability of the joints of the human body to carry out movements with a large amplitudethat is, to allow certain deforming movements without suffering injuries or breaks.
Thus, a person with greater flexibility will be able to submit their body to postures and positions without suffering pain or physical limitations, while another person who is not very flexible will show more rigidity and difficulty for certain movements.
Flexibility is a physical ability, and like many others can be developed through training and constant exercise. For example, activities like yoga stimulate it.
In fact, stretching prior to exercise is necessary as a way to warm up the joints and allow them a greater range of flexibility, thus reducing the chances of physical injuries.
Types of muscle flexibility
The flexibility It depends directly on the joints and muscles. Muscle fatigue, ambient (and muscle) temperature, and the age of the individual also play a role in it (the older the person, the less flexibility). But in general terms, flexibility can be of two types: active or passive.
- Active flexibility. The maximum range of a joint or movement that a person can carry out voluntarily, through contraction and distension of muscles.
- Passive flexibility. The maximum range of joint or motion that a person's body can achieve, subjected to external forces or the assistance of an exercise partner.
Work flexibility
In administration, labor flexibility refers to labor dynamics or formal work. In this area, labor flexibility is the deregulation or liberalization of the labor marketthat is, restrictions or limitations are removed from the possibility of hiring or firing employees by public or private companies in a country.
Labor flexibility is usually announced by the State, usually in situations where the need to grow the corporate sector is pressing. It usually applies for a certain period of time, since this flexibility can go against social achievements or labor rights won through union struggle. Thus, there can be two types of flexibility:
- Flexibility of employment. When employers are given carte blanche to hire or fire personnel without too many legal obstacles from the State.
- Salary flexibility. When the modification of salaries paid to workers is allowed, in accordance with market pressures.
References
- “Flexible” in the Language Dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy.
- “Flexibility (anatomy)” on Wikipedia.
- “Work flexibility” on Wikipedia.
- “Flexibility” in Physical Education plus.
- “Flexibility in physical education” in Color ABC (Paraguay).
