In the repetitive motion of sports, a slow buildup of scar tissue can inhibit movement of a limb and make it feel glued, locked and stiff. Gently rotating our limbs within their joints helps loosen joints, making them feel as though they have been unlocked. This technique safely stretches ligaments to keep them pliable and functioning well which helps prevent injuries.

Essentrics techniques such as relaxation, rotation within a joint, movement of a joint and PNF, all help to reduce scar tissue and bring more movement to scarred areas. They key, as always, is to work the full body – gently and consistently, working all muscle chains in every direction.

There are unintended consequences of only doing concentric strength training (shortening the muscles as they are being strengthened). They include compression and damage of joints, loss of mobility, reduced range of motion, chronic pain, arthritis, and often the need for premature joint replacements.

When muscles are shortened, the joints are pulled tightly together, limiting their range of motion. When muscles are strengthened and simultaneously lengthened as in with Essentrics, they maintain their natural length and regain what was lost from atrophy or concentric training. Joints are then free to move easily in their natural range of motion, the range of motion that they were created with.

There have been many studies comparing the muscles of professional boxers, football players and male ballet dancers. Over and over again it is proven that the ballet dancers’ muscles have greater strength per pound than any other training method (boxing is second). It is difficult for many people to get their minds around that proven fact – that it is the elegant training of ballet versus the brute force training in sports that actually produces stronger, more agile athletes. Formidable endurance and power can be achieved at the same time as gaining long, lean muscles and perfect posture through adding a regular Essentrics® program to your training – all without causing injury to the body, therefore keeping it fit and healthy well into your senior years.

The Essentrics® definition of flexibility: complete freedom of movement within the muscles, joints and connective tissue of the entire body. It refers to the achievement of your maximum personal level of flexibility.

Like everything worth having, flexibility takes time to achieve. A 5-minute warm-up will not change the degree of muscular flexibility. Warm-ups give the illusion of increased flexibility, however in truth, warm-ups simply take the tension or chill out of the muscles, making them feel more flexible. It is unrealistic to expect a change in your overall flexibility in a short period of time. To achieve real change in muscle length, a minimum of 25 minutes of  Essentrics  training performed two to three times a week is necessary.

Unlike most flexibility programs which emphasize passive stretching, the flexibility gained in the  Essentrics  Workout remains with you while you perform in your sport.

Although passive stretching feels good at the time, the moment you move, your muscles re-contract to their starting point, leaving you as tight as prior to a passive-stretching workout.  Essentrics is a program aimed at maintaining flexibility while increasing your strength.

Science is starting to catch up with the fact that eccentric training is a technique that increases explosive strength and maximum endurance and in no way leads to temporary weakening of muscles, like passive stretching does.