It wasn’t always this way; as children, touching our toes was easy. So, why has it become such a hard task? Personal trainer and author Carly Rowena believes the problem is multifaceted: “We could blame our lack of flexibility on our sedentary desk job, age or genetics (which are all contributing factors), but mainly it’s because, by nature, we are quad-dominant creatures,” she explains.

“As a society, everything we do is mostly forward motion and forward-facing, and we don’t tend to train the back sufficiently. But it also is down to poor posture when sitting, standing or sleeping, genetics, day-to-day physical activity and where you position your centre of gravity.”

Luckily, there are things we can do to dramatically improve our range of motion. “Adding designated strength training moves into your workout can certainly help with the flexibility of those muscles we engage when we touch our toes,” Rowena says. “Deadlifts, kettlebell swings, planks, Superman moves, back extension exercises and sumo deadlift high pull are all great to strengthen the hamstrings and back to give us a better range of motion.”

How to improve flexibility: 5 stretches that will get you touching your toes in no time