My Top 5 Stretches
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Some of my top stretches to keep hips loose and body moving properly. Check it out!
I like to do these pre/post workout to add much needed length in the hip muscles and anterior shoulder.
1. Hip Flexor Stretch
The key here is to keep neutral spine and squeeze the glute. Neutral spine allows movement to occur at the hip and keeps optimal lumbo-pelvic position. Use the Glute to initiate and produce movement which will allow the hip flexor to relax into a stretch. For greater stretch in the quads, try elevating back foot. Careful not to come forward too much, which will focus stretch on the hip capsule, not good! Should feel the stretch of the quad and hip flexor muscles in back leg.
2. Hamstring Stretch
Once again the key here is neutral spine and bend forward at the hip. Do not bend at the back, which is what you will see 99% of the time anyplace else. It is okay to that sometimes for recovery, but not before you are about to train. To facilitate the stretch more, we will focus on trying to straighten out the front leg, but not actually do it. This will engage the hip flexors/quads which help relax the antagonist hamstring muscles.
3 Glute/Piriformis Stretch
Start on hands and knees in neutral position. Cross foot behind and sit back into your hip. Keep neutral spine as much as possible throughout and try to get a stretch in the glute, not the hip capsule. This is tricky, but you should feel like a muscle is being stretched which will be more peripheral and not as deep.
4. Groin Stretch
Start in same position as the glute stretch but bring one leg out to the side while keeping neutral spine throughout exercise. Once in this position sit back in your hips and feel a stretch in the groin on the leg that is out to the side. Try not to allow the back to round.
5. Standing Pec Stretch
This one can be done with a single wall or in a doorway. The key is to pinch your shoulders back. This will pull the shoulders back more and allow a greater stretch in the pecs. As you can see in the shoulder anatomy the pec minor and short head of biceps attach to acromian process which both internally rotate the shoulder. Since most shoulder problems involve poor scapular control and tight internal rotators, I elevate the arm close to 45 degress to get after the pec minor fibers.
How to incorporate these into your workouts?
They should all flow together from one to the next and take less than 3 min. So…
1) Hip Flexor
2) Hamstrong
3) Glute
4) Adductor
5) Pec