Can you touch your toes?

[MotherGoose]

Can your kids? I can, but my kids have some difficulty. I'm somewhat fit but no athlete! 40 something. But I do a lot of gardening and picking up of toddler. No back problems. I'm trying to institute some daily stretching exercises for the children. Just concerned about kids, is this normal? (They are definitely not athletic in any way, but are in good health and not overweight.) they are doing homeschool swim and gym class. We aren't an athletic family and they have zero interest in sports of any sort. But I worry that I don't do enough. I can't remember what I was like as a kids except that I never was one of the athletic kids. Always did poorly with any of that.

[Sneezyone]

Yes but they are both very slim and active and DD was a competitive gymnast until last year. Both of my kids go outside and 'work out' for fun. I am not especially active but my DH is and they follow his lead. DD has a yoga mat and stretchy bands in her room that she uses. DS just straps on his roller blades or goes to the workout room to use the treadmill.

Edited August 18, 2017 by Sneezyone

[regentrude]

Touch with their hands? How else would they cut their toe nails?

Maybe I misunderstand the question - I have a hard time imagining a human who, unless grossly obese, cannot touch their own toes.

[Arcadia]

My boys stop being able to touch their toes after they stop regular recreational gym classes. Golf, swimming and tennis do not build that kind of flexibility for my kids compared to dance and gym.

When my kids were in recreational gym, they did core strength and flexibility. I remember doing lots of touch the toes as part of warming up exercises in ballet as a child.

[SparklyUnicorn]

Touch with their hands? How else would they cut their toe nails?

Maybe I misunderstand the question - I have a hard time imagining a human who, unless grossly obese, cannot touch their own toes.

 

I assume she means with legs straight either standing and bending over or sitting and bending forward.

[Audrey]

I can, but interestingly enough, my dh, who is far more fit than I, cannot.  He does have a bad knee due to old injuries, though.  My kid can with hardly any effort at all.  

[SparklyUnicorn]

I can, but no matter how out of shape I've been I could.  I've seen some very athletic people have a tough time with it.  So I'm convinced that some people are just more naturally flexible or there is something about the length of their upper/lower body.  I don't know.

 

 

[rebcoola]

How old are the kids young kids are very flexible in most ways but their hamstrings have not lengthened and often can't touch their toes.

[medawyn]

Nope.  Not even when I was a kid - seriously tight hamstrings here.  When I danced, if I stretched daily, I could get my fingertips on the ground with effort.  On the other hand, I can sit cross-legged with my knees flat on the ground and not even think about it.

 

I've got to get back to regular stretching, because I'm just not sure picking up toys counts as hamstring stretches.

[MyLife]

I can, my children cannot. They are both healthy but seem to have tight hamstrings.

[dirty ethel rackham]

Yep.  I can even do front legged splits both ways without much prestretching.  2 of my kids can and one can't without some serious pre-stretching (was able to do so when training in karate.)  Dh can't.  Never could. 

[Guinevere]

I can, and so can my girls. Dh and the boys cannot. That's kind of weird. Dh is in really great shape, too.

[Laura Corin]

I can easily.  My 92 year old mother can if she puts her feet about a foot apart.  Neither of my boys can and my husband can't either.

Edited August 18, 2017 by Laura Corin

[MotherGoose]

Touch with their hands? How else would they cut their toe nails?

Maybe I misunderstand the question - I have a hard time imagining a human who, unless grossly obese, cannot touch their own toes.

Touching toes by bending at waist with straight legs :)

[Arcadia]

Touch with their hands? How else would they cut their toe nails?

Like in yoga or PE exercises where the knees are straight and the child has to bend and touch his/her toes. Many can't do that easily because their backs aren't as flexible anymore or their hamstring muscles are really tight.

 

I'll sit cross legged and trim my toe nails. So I could do that even when I hurt my back.

[MotherGoose]

Thank you for your responses. One thing that worries me is that I'm, like I said before, fairly flexible. Dh is not. He's also had back surgery and ongoing back problems. And he's extremely inflexible physically. I wonder how much the two things are related and I want to try to help my children as I can. I'm pleased that with the few minutes of stretching we have done they are showing some improvement.

[J-rap]

I wouldn't worry about your kids not being able to touch their toes!  :)  I think a lot of that is just heredity -- both in body type and flexibility.   For some people it comes more naturally, and others have to work on it slowly over time, if it's really that important!  I'm pretty sure some of my kids can and some of them can't.  

 

I used to be able to when I worked at it over time.  I'm about 5 inches away now.

 

On the other hand, I can sit in a W position real easily!

 

[Amy in NH]

Yes.  Kids can too.

[Guest]

When they do a fitness test at gyms to set up a training program, they test flexibility, strength and endurance. I guess all three have to do with overall fitness. I am not physically strong but I have s lot of dndueance and am fairly flexible, so my fitness programs have focused on building strength.

 

Until I was 55, I could sit on the floor and put my foot over my head onto the back of my neck. Even so, for a time, I couldn't do a toe-touch until I started practicing it regularly. Now I can put my palms flat on the floor.

 

But I wasn't really in good shape as re strength. Gardening has done a LOT for me in that regard this summer!

 

I remember sitting in the sauna with a really obese woman who had just completed her test--strength, endurance, flexibility. I said I had not done well on strength. She said she had done VERY well--and added that she "stays strong just hauling all this body around--but that doesn't mean I'm in shape." I think that is probably true for me--I'm just above average flexible, not in shape.

[Ottakee]

I think it somewhat also has to do with your leg length and torso length.  Someone with a very long torso and short legs is going to have to bend less to touch their toes than someone with a short torso and very long legs.

[kiwik]

Yes but at about 12 I couldn't and worked on stretching exercises every night until I could put my palms flat and do the splits. I should again as it is getting harder. The boys could just last time I asked.

[KungFuPanda]

Everyone in my house can; even my disabled son. However I have dancers in my troupe who cannot and say they couldn't as a child. They're good dancers and very fit. I think it's an indicator of flexibility, but not general health. I think flexibility can prevent injuries, but lacking it doesn't mean you're unhealthy.

[foxbridgeacademy]

I can put my fingers under my toes with my knees locked. If I bend at the knee slightly I can put my palms flat on the floor.  Back when I wasn't fat I could "rest" my head against my legs while standing.... my family is very flexible, DS did not get it but the girls are all fairly flexible.

[mytwomonkeys]

I'm 46. I just tried. I could touch them but I felt the pull in the back of my legs. Guess I need to add stretching to my exercise 😊

 

My 13 year old son can touch them.

My almost 16 year old daughter cannot.

 

ETA- I assume you meant with legs totally straight so that's how we attempted it ðŸ‘ðŸ»

Edited August 18, 2017 by mytwomonkeys

[SquirrellyMama]

No, I cannot. Even as a kid I couldn't. My kids have no problem touching their toes.

 

Kelly

[scholastica]

I think it somewhat also has to do with your leg length and torso length.  Someone with a very long torso and short legs is going to have to bend less to touch their toes than someone with a short torso and very long legs.

 

This is very true. My dd can touch her toes so easily because she has very short legs and a very short torso. I can touch my toes, but I'm fairly flexible from exercise. I have the opposite body type to my daughter, very short torso and very long legs. I look like a spider when I am pregnant. In fact, she is shorter than I am and when we are sitting down, she appears to be taller. 

 

Interestingly, being able to touch your toes can be a sign of hypermobility in your joints, so it's not always a good thing. 

[regentrude]

Touching toes by bending at waist with straight legs :)

 

Oh, THAT makes sense!

 

I can, DS can (he has to train flexibiliity in TKD). No idea about DD. 

[bookbard]

Yes, but I have short legs, I notice in yoga all the stretching to grab your toes etc is very easy for me because my feet are close to me! My kids can too. My other half was astonished that I could touch my toes at 9 months pregnant and he can't - but he's normal height and has a bad back and knees. 

[Laura Corin]

This is very true. My dd can touch her toes so easily because she has very short legs and a very short torso. I can touch my toes, but I'm fairly flexible from exercise. I have the opposite body type to my daughter, very short torso and very long legs. I look like a spider when I am pregnant. In fact, she is shorter than I am and when we are sitting down, she appears to be taller. 

 

There are lots of things involved.  I, my mother and her mother just find bending from the hips very easy.  We have all been gardeners and all did our weeding by bending down rather than by kneeling.  I'm only 5'4" but often have to wear trousers in 'long' - I'm very short in the torso and long in the legs, but there's some other kind of genetic thing going on.

[Guest]

I have very long legs and arm but a short torso. I laughed heartily at the comment upthread about looking like a spider when pregnant.

 

My mom is even more exaggerated than I. We call her Zog.

[Wheres Toto]

I can but barely.  Dd10 can pretty easily, fingertips, knuckles and palms.  Ds can't at all.  They do these for TKD and they also do a kids yoga class.  For ds it seems to have a lot to do with having really long legs and relatively short arms.  Dd10 is built more compact.

 

Oldest dd can but she's been a dancer since she was 4.  She's not as flexible as she used to be but is still pretty bendy.

[lmrich]

No and never have been able to. I was a student athlete (not a good one), and we tracked our progress with stretching on this box thing we pushed. I made 2cm improvement all season, and I really tried. My coach was shocked. I improved my jump, my speed, my agiltiy, my strength, etc...I went to every practice did the drills - never 1/2 hearted but really tried. My muscles did not stretch. As a preschooler, I remember getting in trouble because I could not sit "Indian Style" or criss-cross applesauce as it is now called. 

 

I have torn ligaments and tendons and get muscle cramps frequently. My legs are so long and I grew super fast 6 inches in 3 months when I was 13; I do not know if that has anything to do with it. 

[MamaBearTeacher]

I can almost and it has always been this way. I also cannot spread my legs while keeping them straight as much as most women and I was like that as a child no matter how much I tried. But, I can cross them in a way that most people can't. A yoga instructor told me that most people who can do that are less flexible the other way like me and that this is hereditary, though he believed the practice of yoga could make everyone more flexible.

[hjffkj]

Yes. My dh can kiss his toes

[ikslo]

Yes, I can touch palm down flat. DS can touch his toes. DH never could and still can't.

[gardenmom5]

I have short arms (based on arm reach should = height).  I can easily touch my toes - I can put my fingers on the floor, but not my palms.

 

I need to work to get back to being able to touch my palms behind my back . . . .(I could before knee injuries)

 

[caedmyn]

After a few years of hamstring stretches, I can put my palms on the floor. I have very long legs fwiw. None of my kids can touch their toes at all, which is sad. They all have atrocious posture for some unknown reason, far worse than the average kid their age.

[meganrussell]

Yes I can and my kids can, too.

[Selkie]

Yes, we all can. The kids and I are naturally flexible but dh does a lot of stretching exercises because he isn't.

[kewb]

Not without bending my knees.

Neither kid, either.  Although my son comes the closest.

[EKS]

Touch with their hands? How else would they cut their toe nails?

Maybe I misunderstand the question - I have a hard time imagining a human who, unless grossly obese, cannot touch their own toes.

 

I think she means touch their toes standing up with their legs straight.

[elegantlion]

I just tried and actually can a lot easier than I used to be able to. I'm not extremely flexible and have shorter legs with a longer torso. I didn't feel that stretch, so maybe my irregular stretching has been helping. 

 

Not sure about ds, he probably can. 

[KungFuPanda]

Yes, but I have short legs, I notice in yoga all the stretching to grab your toes etc is very easy for me because my feet are close to me! My kids can too. My other half was astonished that I could touch my toes at 9 months pregnant and he can't - but he's normal height and has a bad back and knees.

 

Wouldn't you also have correspondingly short arms that negate the benefits of being closer to the ground? I have long legs compared to my torso, but they come with long monkey arms that make reaching the ground fairly easy.

[wintermom]

I've never been really flexible, and certainly not in my hamstrings, but I can still touch my toes. I'm pretty sure that my dc can. They trim their toe nails with their teeth. Gross, but I guess it helps keep them stretching. ;) Both the dc and I do a lot of sports, but no dance or gymnastics where flexibility is really a focus.

 

I've recently started regular yoga classes, and have been stretching daily between classes. Some of my joints are decently flexible, and some are not. I can't sit cross-legged with any comfort at all, and my hamstrings are pretty tight. I'm noticing an improvement after a few weeks, not so much my range of motion just yet, but I don't have pain after yoga classes in the hamstring muscle attachments. 

[solascriptura]

I can, but my legs are short. Haha.

[freesia]

I can and my 12 year old who is sitting next to me can. Everyone else is out or in bed, so I can't ask--but I think they all can.  I have usually been able to touch with hands flat==my legs are short compared to my torso, though.  (I am almost 5'5,but need petite pants)

[Tap]

LOL yep, I can easily make a fist and touch the floor that way too......and if i want to stretch a bit, I can lay my palms on the floor.  My older kids can do this too with minimal effort.  Dd can touch with the tips of her fingers (not-my bio-child so different genetics).

 

Dhs leg muscles are more thick than long and lean.  He probably can only bend over to mid calf. 

[Guest]

Even with my big fat belly in the way. But I have long arms and legs and a flexible torso, even 100+ pounds overweight ;)

[Jean in Newcastle]

I just tried.  Today I can get within a half an inch.  On bad pain muscle contraction days I can't even touch my knees.  It has nothing to do with my level of fitness. 

[Paige]

I can even at 7 months pregnant. I'm not super fit, but I'm short so I don't have far to go. 

 

My kids can all do it but they stretch a lot. DD w/ CP can do it now because she's worked hard on her hamstrings, but there's been times when she has been too tight to get near them. I don't know about DH.

 

I was not flexible at all as a kid, but I could always touch my toes.