anyone have specific stretches for lumbar, hips, and achilles that work well?
seems like no matter how much i stretch i can never get more flexibilities out of these areas. my flexibility is horrible i.e. cant touch toes or squat to parallel without weights. i always end up on my toes.
i think some of it has to do with not being able to balance while sitting back but i know flexibility would help
Yoga. Find a studio, take a class at your gym (if they are offered there) or look up some poses online. Try yogajournal.com. It’s not just for hippies, it will do amazing things for your hips, I promise.
mobilitywod.com. Search whatever you need in the search column but starting from the very beginning (vid 1) isn’t a bad idea. Dude knows his stuff. I’m in PT school and I think he’s more advanced in orthopedic and mobility issues than some of my professors
leave your lumbar region alone. it isn’t supposed to be mobile, it is supposed to be stable.
ankle mobility and hip mobility for sure. thoracic spine mobility, too (to help with your bench arch).
try holding a light plate out in front of you (5kg) and squat. it will help balance you so you don’t fall on your butt (you might need a heavier plate - try a heavier plate if you fall on your butt lolz). when you are down there you can use your elbows to push your knees out and wiggle around. most people feel a good stretch doing that.
with ankle flexibility you can stand in front of a wall and do little pushes trying to get your knee to touch the wall. then move your foot back a bit away from the wall.
some people find that using a foam roller / lacross ball gives them more mobility than they get from stretching alone. e.g., rolling away knots under the feet, up the calves, up the front of the shins can often instantaneously improve ankle mobility. rolling around the hips can often improve squatting mobility.
BigBird? Is that you, my long lost cousin?
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As stated above…nothing will get you as limber as Yoga will…do youtube videos if you can’t get to a class
like said above: mobilitywod.com offers stretches for every bodypart
rumble roller. My hip flexors feel amazing everytime I use the roller on them. I use the black edition
magnificient mobility E-book, has some great stretches.
YouTube hip mobility and watch the videos from defranco and squatrx
[quote]theBird wrote:
BigBird? Is that you, my long lost cousin?
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oh
dear
god.
i find ‘warming up’ before stretching really helps - ie a few KB swings, incline walks, crosstrainer.
how long do you hold each stretch and how many sets of each stretch? when do you stretch in regard to you workout?
[quote]alexus wrote:
oh
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god.
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Please don’t quote this idiot. It fucks with the fact I have him on ignore.
[quote]giterdone wrote:
[quote]alexus wrote:
oh
dear
god.
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Please don’t quote this idiot. It fucks with the fact I have him on ignore.
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aw 
he’s a decent guy. i’m surprised at how much the tweet tweet thing upsets people… i don’t quite get why, but perhaps it is one of those things that one either gets or one doesn’t.