I read and enjoyed this article as I do all of Ians programs anyway I pulled this from the article:
A single joint-exercise is not equal to, and does not compete with, or negate the consequences of a compound movement. Despite what appears to be the common belief, a leg curl or a stiff-legged deadlift does not equal/negate a squat! This is the little recognized power of MATCHING.
Ok now here is my question what hip-dominant lower body excercises negate /equal the squat?
I do bent legged deads and good mornings but still have problems with toght hip flexors.I stretch them every other day so I think I may be missing something in my program.Thanks.
I am assuming you are a Quad squatter, my guess as to what could equal the poundage you put up in the olympic squat are the goodmorning (maybe a long shot) and/or a “powerlifting” squat (ala westside)
Well in Ian’s Get Buffed book, he says that the deadlift is the exercise that balances out the squat. Just look at his limping series to confirm that. For your tight Psoas and tight hip flexors, you could find a person who does structual intergration massage like me.
There is more of an issue here than balancing quad-dominant exercises and hip-dominant exercises. Although, the traditional bent knee deadlift IS the exercise to balance/match the squat. There are five major muscle groups that contribute to proper pelvic alignment. They are 1) Abdominals (rectus abdominis, I/E obliques, 2) erector spinae, 3) rectus femoris, 4)gluteals, and 5) hamstrings group. There are also other muscles that play a lesser role in neutral pelvic alignment (such as the Iliopsoas and adductors), but the ones mentioned above are the major players. Proper ratios of both strength and flexibility between the agonist and antagonistic muscles will help maintain or achieve proper pelvic alignment. If you say you are stretching your hip flexors everyday but still have an anteriorly rotated pelvis, there could be a number of factors. First, your abdominals may be weak while your erector spinae may be disproportionately stronger. Second, your gluteals and hamstrings may also be the weaker muscles compared to their antagonists the hip flexors. A lack of flexibility in the low back and hip flexors may also be the problem. Once you determine the cause, rewrite your strength/flexibility training program to prioritize your weak links. Any further questions, feel free to ask.