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The average person can bend there spine and joints only so far. For example, most people can bend their elbows 130 degrees, but no more. That's because the tissues that attach and keep together your bones to each other, called ligaments, have a limit to how far they can stretch. Ligaments are bundles of fibrous tissue called collagen. This tissue is soft and
stretchy. If it weren't, you wouldn't be able to bend your joints. But it can't be too stretchy, or your bones could move out of place.
One thing is that the performers tend to be females, who tend to be more limber and flexible than males. Because flexibility usually decreases with age, contortionists tend to also be young. In rare cases, genetics and genes plays a role also.
Most of a contortionist's amazing dexterity comes from very intense training, not just genetics. With the right workouts and stretches, says Sandier, "most people can be way more flexible than they can possibly imagine." But getting there isn't very easy Sandier says it takes about 15,000 repetitions or even more! For a contortionist to become good at that move. That amounts to years of practice. While they're on tour, the contortionists train for 45 minutes or even more.
Some contortionists are born with joints that can stretch farther than normal. People with this ability are called hypermobile, or also known as "double-jointed"— though that's a misnomer, as they don't actually have double joints. Despite their incredible abilities, most contortionists aren't born with extra flexibility.