Nice topic Panzer.
Like you, I have similar problems with squat depth and also issues with rounding with
deadlifts.
Does anyone here have any suggestions for hip flexor stretching besides the old ‘kneeling
wih one leg out and pointing the arms upwards’ stretch?
And how long should I be holding this stretch. At the moment I do 5 sets of 5 seconds.
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yeah, i’ve been finding that the regular hip flexor stretch doesn’t seem to help much for squatting.
i do one (at home) where i lie on my back, hold a hard lumbar arch, then try and pull my knees up so i’m squatting lying on my back - if that makes sense. use my hands to pull on my knees / feet. important to keep a hard lumbar arch to feel the stretch in the flexors.
another one (at home) starting on hands and knees holding hard lumbar arch. move arms to elbow plank position. sit butt back as far as you can while maintaining lumbar arch. easy? widen your knees. this is perhaps more of an adductor / groin stretch, but it helps my squats.
the best one:
holding a single dumbell / kettlebell. holding hard lumbar arch and pushing knees out (use your elbows to guide / push them out on the way down if needed). sit as hard into your hip flexors as you can. slowly. not sure why but the dumbbell (about 10kg) is enough to help me keep everything really tight so i can get a good stretch from hanging out as low as i can.
sorry if these have been posted already. they work really well for me, though.
[quote]alexus wrote:
yeah, i’ve been finding that the regular hip flexor stretch doesn’t seem to help much for squatting.
i do one (at home) where i lie on my back, hold a hard lumbar arch, then try and pull my knees up so i’m squatting lying on my back - if that makes sense. use my hands to pull on my knees / feet. important to keep a hard lumbar arch to feel the stretch in the flexors.
another one (at home) starting on hands and knees holding hard lumbar arch. move arms to elbow plank position. sit butt back as far as you can while maintaining lumbar arch. easy? widen your knees. this is perhaps more of an adductor / groin stretch, but it helps my squats.
the best one:
holding a single dumbell / kettlebell. holding hard lumbar arch and pushing knees out (use your elbows to guide / push them out on the way down if needed). sit as hard into your hip flexors as you can. slowly. not sure why but the dumbbell (about 10kg) is enough to help me keep everything really tight so i can get a good stretch from hanging out as low as i can.
sorry if these have been posted already. they work really well for me, though.[/quote]
Thanks buddy. Ill give that a go today.
We should keep in touch for moral support.
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[quote]theBird wrote:
[quote]alexus wrote:
yeah, i’ve been finding that the regular hip flexor stretch doesn’t seem to help much for squatting.
i do one (at home) where i lie on my back, hold a hard lumbar arch, then try and pull my knees up so i’m squatting lying on my back - if that makes sense. use my hands to pull on my knees / feet. important to keep a hard lumbar arch to feel the stretch in the flexors.
another one (at home) starting on hands and knees holding hard lumbar arch. move arms to elbow plank position. sit butt back as far as you can while maintaining lumbar arch. easy? widen your knees. this is perhaps more of an adductor / groin stretch, but it helps my squats.
the best one:
holding a single dumbell / kettlebell. holding hard lumbar arch and pushing knees out (use your elbows to guide / push them out on the way down if needed). sit as hard into your hip flexors as you can. slowly. not sure why but the dumbbell (about 10kg) is enough to help me keep everything really tight so i can get a good stretch from hanging out as low as i can.
sorry if these have been posted already. they work really well for me, though.[/quote]
Thanks buddy. Ill give that a go today.
We should keep in touch for moral support.
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I saw this one on mobilitywod.com and had to try it, it’s a staple of mine for stretching the hip flexor now. I have some bands (light from elitefts works, but jump stretch or a partner with a jump rope will work).
with a band, hook one end onto a machine or anything anything knee to hip height. place your leg through the band and rest the band on top of your hamstring on the crease of your ass. walk back until you get a lot of tension then lunge back with that leg resting your knee on the ground. the hip flexor stretch is amazing.
This is the one I was talking about, they must have reposted it, I saw it a couple months ago…
Hi friends.
When trying to do the goblet squat stretch, and I push out my knees with my elbows, I only feel a stretch in my groin area, not my hip flexors. Am I doing something wrong?
Also when I do the “traditional hip flexor stretch” and I pull up my trailing leg(as if im stretching my quads), I feel a deep intense stretch on the very top end of my quad. Question is: does anyone know what I am stretching there? Is that stretching a part of the hip flexors or just a real intense quad stretch?
Thanks in advanced.
Bird style.
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The link shows how the hip flexors insert (or originate or whatever) into the spine. You won’t feel a stretch in your hip flexors if you aren’t maintaining a hard lumbar arch - though you may still feel an intense stretch in your quads.
Did you check out the Rippetoe article on holding your lumbar arch???
If you are a tall guy and also have trouble with rounding your back on deadlifts then it might really help for you to do the diagnostic tests Rippetoe outlines to check that you have neurological control over your pelvis.
Thanks Alexus!
I was doing the hip flexor stretch wrong. I cant beleive how inflexible I am. This is going to take ages to correct. I suppose thats what you get after all of those years of soccer. Im going to have to find a extra 40 minutes a day to stretch.
Rippetoes article was great. And yes I consider myself tall at 6’2.
sidenote: dont you love it how girls are so flexible. When lying in bed I like to grab their legs by their ankles and move them around in all sorts of crazy positions/angles.
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if you work on it, one day some chick will be able to move yours around like that, too.
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Thanks for all of this great information everyone. I’m in the same boat as the OP and all of this information has really given me some great ideas.
james
theBird when you pulled your trailing leg up, you were stretching your rectus femoris (also a hip flexor).
Thanks for your help friends.
In my quest for flexibility today I decided to add 3 sets of 10 reps of straight leg deadlifts, in an attempt to help with my hamstring flexibility. Would this be a good thing to do at the end of my mobility routine 3-4 times a week?
My mobility routine is now really becaming time consuming. Took about an hour today to get through all of rolling and stretching. I suppose I need to stop procasticating. Never ever liked stretching, I hope it gets easier and the pain becames more tolerable!
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