Why you may want to INCREASE stiffness

Isn't it a bit ironic that most of us want to improve our flexibility (by stretching), yet we always say that we want to "tighten up" our core.  From an athletic perspective, everyone from gymnasts (very flexible) to weightlifters (less flexible) are told to "stay tight" during a given movement.  So exists the conundrum of whether to increase or decrease STIFFNESS.





What does STIFFNESS mean?

Stiffness is a means to increase stability.  Thing about something rigid (such as a piece of lumber) versus something flexible (such as a rope).  If your goal was to transmit force (ie. if you choose to put a hole in the wall, which object would you choose?)  In the body, stiffness ensures minimal energy loss as forces are transmitted from joint to joint.  Optimal performance requires stability, and stability is a product of stiffness.

How do we INCREASE stiffness?

In the body, we can increase stiffness by muscle contraction.  As a muscle contracts, it produces force as well as creates compression (bringing the joints closer together).  If a joint is more congruent, it will tend to increase stability and its force transmitting capability.  Think about the spine as a force transferring structure.  The spine is clearly very flexible, and would be more like the rope in the previous example.  Its our core muscles that attach to the spine that gently compress and place tension along the spine to increase STIFFNESS so we can transmit force from lower to upper body.  It is this type of stiffness that is important from the golf/baseball swing, throwing a ball, flips in gymnastics and lifting weights.

So why not just become STIFF?

The important thing to know is when to increase stiffness and decrease stiffness in a given joint to produce the desired movement.  If a joint is too stiff, it will limit the range of motion of that joint and thus, is difficult to produce movement.  So when training for a given movement, it is important to learn the sequence of stiffening and relaxing to transmit force efficiently.  It is like using a whip.  If you mistime the sequence of the movement, you will not be able to achieve a "cracking" of the whip.  In comparison to athletic movement and performance, you can tell who has mastered the sequence of stiffness and relaxation by how fluid their movement is.  Simply look at professional athletes versus your beginner.  Most beginners look "stiff" all the time, while professionals look very fluid!