RE: Functional .
As a lifelong movement practitioner and coach, I’ve spent years exploring the edge between artistry and biomechanics. And if there’s one thing I’ve learned—both in my own body and through working with students—it’s this: flexibility alone is not enough.
Whether you’re working toward your first bridge or training deep contortion skills like chest stands, oversplits, or needle scales, functional strength and stability are not optional extras. They are the foundation. And research increasingly supports what many of us in the movement world have come to realize anecdotally: extreme mobility without strength leads to breakdown, not breakthrough.
Flexibility Without Control = Instability
A 2020 systematic review in Sports Medicine highlighted that joint hypermobility is associated with an increased risk of musculoskeletal injury—especially in disciplines requiring extreme range of motion, such as gymnastics, dance, and contortion (Day et al., 2020).
Why? Because when a joint can move beyond normal range without muscular control or proprioception, the connective tissues—ligaments, joint capsules, and fascia—start taking the load. Over time, this leads to overstretching, pain, and injury.
Functional training helps offset this by teaching your muscles to support your flexibility, not just passively allow it. For example:
Glute and hamstring strength stabilize the pelvis in splits
Scapular control protects the shoulders in bridges and backbends
Core stability reduces lumbar spine shear in chest stands
Eccentric Strength: The Secret Sauce of Sustainable Flexibility
Recent studies emphasize the role of eccentric (lengthening under tension) training in developing safer, more functional flexibility. A 2019 paper in Frontiers in Physiology demonstrated that eccentric strength training improves muscle-tendon unit compliance, joint range of motion, and injury resilience—without compromising strength or neuromuscular control (Douglas et al., 2019).
In contortion terms? Exercises like slow single-leg glute bridges, Nordic curls, or hamstring block squeezes do more than strengthen—they teach your tissues to lengthen with control. This type of training not only reduces your injury risk but makes extreme flexibility more consistent and accessible.
Functional Core Activation: More Than Just “Abs”
When we talk about core training for flexibility, we’re not talking six-packs—we’re talking deep system control, especially of the transverse abdominis (TVA) and pelvic floor.
A study in Manual Therapy (Critchley et al., 2012) found that impaired coordination of deep abdominal muscles was common in individuals with lumbar instability. In contortion, poor TVA and pelvic floor activation often shows up as uncontrolled rib flare, excessive spinal compression, or “coning” during inversions or backbends.
Functional drills like hollow holds, wall press dead bugs, or marching with band resistance are key to reclaiming that control. And when done consistently, they help create internal pressure systems that support the spine, ribcage, and pelvis through demanding shapes.
What This Looks Like in Practice
In my own training, I’ve seen the difference firsthand. When I was younger, I could drop into chest stands or overbend bridges easily—but without stability, I developed chronic SI joint pain and unpredictable performance. It wasn’t until I began integrating targeted strength and coordination work that I regained balance.
Now, with students, I start every program not with passive stretches, but with:
Wall hollow + posterior tilt drills
Glute med activation (side plank frog holds, clamshells)
Hamstring integration (standing block squeezes, backbending leg lifts)
Core-spine sequencing (quadruped TVA work, Copenhagen planks)
The results? More stability, fewer flare-ups, and increased confidence in their ranges. Skills don’t just look better—they feel better.
The Bottom Line
Contortion is not just about range. It’s about access, control, and sustainability. And the science is clear: training strength through full range of motion, especially with a focus on eccentric control and core integration, enhances flexibility, reduces injury risk, and improves performance.
Functional training is not the opposite of contortion. It’s what makes it possible.
