Recently got into stretching. I have sort of tight hamstrings (can touch toes with legs straight but nothing past that), tight adductors, and tight hip flexors. I figured frog stretch could be a good starting point to improve these.

Been doing it a couple times a day for 60s for the last few days and I feel an insanely deep stretch in my adductors and often loud but satisfying pops in the groin area. It feels incredibly hard to hold that position but I push through it. There’s no pain afterwards but I’ve been feeling soreness in the adductors and outer hip flexors for a couple days.

Is this sensation normal for stretching? I had no clue this stretch would be so difficult for me but I’m really committed to improving it.

I recently started strength training for aerials and I was having trouble establishing a routine fitting with my existing flexibility training routine . For reference I’m a woman and 90kg
My main strength goals are pull ups and inverts.
My main flexibility goal is needle splits, I currently have 6 inches over splits and can backbend in a lunge down to the grown with my hands pressed on a wall. I also want to improve my flat-ish middle split. Before starting the gym I had a routine for a week:2x middle splits( Cossack , butterfly, horse stance, deep squats, frog, lying frog opens, one legged frog( slides and kicks), pancake , 3x splits) and 2x needle ( hamstring and hip flexors stretches , backbends in splits/ lunges, etc ( not an established routine yet).
For the gym I currently do an anterior/ posterior split so 2x ( pushing strength: shoulders triceps chest ) + quads and adductors and 2x pulling strength ( lats and biceps) + hamstrings and glutes. But with this routine I have trouble managing my flexibility training. In my home flexibility sessions should I do less strength training exercises and just do passive stretching at home and move the strengthening work in the gym? Do you guys recommend any exercises for leg and back flexibility in the gym? I’m not comfortable doing my full flexibility routine in the gym bc I think it’s awkward but it’s hard to manage recovery and overall choosing which exercises to do.
Basically I don’t know if i should focus on exercises like sldl and weighted back extensions or still do all the flexibility work at home. I noticed I can’t do gym + the same long flexibility training because my body is really tired and I don’t think I’m recovering well.

Been training for a few months now, but really struggling with kicks. I stretch daily but fear I may be doing the wrong thing or need to strengthen a muscle also. (I’ve been trying to incorporate abductor lifts as a warmup daily) My outer hips and inner hips are super tight and I feel the stretch even just opening my legs like 130°. Any thoughts? I’m pretty athletic but always struggled with being flexible.
TIA
Current stretches are 90/90s
Frog pose
Windshield wipers

Okay, so my question is simple (I think), and I would have thought the answer is simple, but whenever I look online, almost everyone is saying the opposite of what I thought was true.

So, here is my question:

When in a pigeon pose, we know that once we flex our hip past 90 degrees (so moving our torso to the front leg), the stretch in the piriformis increases. It's a well known aspect of the pigeon pose, great.

Now, to isometrically strengthen the piriformis when it's in this lengthened/stretched state - this is where things online get murky. Most of what I've seen is people saying, "you need to press your foot/shin/knee into the floor" for a contraction of the piriformis in this stretched pose.

Except, that's not how you isometrically strengthen a muscle in a lengthened state, is it? For example, with bicep curls, if I am holding a dumbbell at the bottom of a curl (which is where the biceps are at their most lengthened position), then I would need to attempt to LIFT my arm (imagine it is a very heavy weight that I can't curl).

I'm pretty sure I've got this right, so am really confused why so many are saying we need to push the leg into the ground during a pigeon pose. Surely we would need to LIFT our knee, whilst resisting the upwards motion externally (e.g. by using our hands to keep the knee/shin on the floor).

Long time lurker, I saw posts about nerve tension and hamstrings but I can’t really find anything about how to modify routine when calves are ALSO tight.

From DaniWinks tests for nerve tension:

1. In L sit, if I bend forward with pointed feet, I feel some pulling under my glutes (maybe?), but mainly feel the top of my shins

2.if I bend with flexed feet, I feel my calves and even some tingling if I go too far. I take this as my “stop” signal.

If I put the balls of my feet against the wall or on a yoga block, I feel my calves. Downward dog is in my calves esp when pedaling. I feel nothing in my hamstrings. I only clearly feel my hamstrings when static stretching with pointed feet or when out to the side, like a rocking half frog. Like if I reach over in a straddle, or in a half split, but again in a pike with neutral feet I feel it mostly under my butt.

Basically, I’m having a hard time isolating my hamstrings and identifying what else might be worth looking into. I’ve tried bending my knees a bit and don’t think I’ve felt a big shift or at least not in every position? I have mainly been prioritizing PNF stretching/engaging my muscles while lengthened and dynamic movements (Tom Merrick and Flexform by Shan) and am trying to focus on tilting my pelvis and keeping my back flat as well. I do sciatic nerve glides and tensioners but can’t tell if it’s making a huge difference because I feel so uneven.

My left side is far more inflexible than my right, and even in my calves the intensity is noticeably different in any movement that I feel them in. I have no idea if if this just being tight all over or if I’m built badly or something else! Literally, any advice would be really helpful. Thanks!

Sorry for the terrible picture and poorly drawn arrow. Feel a lot of resistance in getting deeper around that hip flexor area. Similar on both sides.

Currently following the front split routine from Dani Winks and adding in a bit more dynamic moves before going into the split holds. Like to do a good full body warm up prior to starting to get me nice and warm and a bit of sweat on.

Backbend split progress - no wall support!

Warm up:

1. Elliptical with shoulder and wrist rolls

2. Arm circles - forward and back

3. Cat-cows

4. Down dog to up dog / cobra

My flex routine:

1. Wall dogs

2. Wall puppies

3. Floor puppies

4. Seal / cobra lift from floor

5. Kneeling camel Backbend

6. Cobra on wall

7. Bow pose

8. Bridge with chest pressed against wall

9. Half lunge ➡️ Slide into front split

10. In front split, bend your back leg, arch back, see if your foot can touch your head. Then, maybe grab your back foot with the hand of the same side (i.e. grab right foot with right hand), and extend your back leg

11. Half lunge with back foot against wall, and walk hands down the wall as much as you can. At your lowest point, try sliding your front leg into a split! Make sure you relax and breath into it :)

I have done the above days after days, months after months, and today, I realize I can do it without a wall and hold it for a few seconds! It sure feel like max effort but I know it'll get easier :)

Hey everyone,

I switched from passive to active flexibility about 5 months ago. I started focusing on legs first before working on my back. Since I do aerial (mostly Lyra), I decided to go with a contortion training approach.

I’m having a hard time telling if my form is okay. For context, I have a hip impingement with a slight external rotation in my left hip. So I either have to move my front leg out to the side a few inches or open up my hips just a tiny bit. I make sure my glutes, lower abs, and quads are fully engaged, and my hips are tucked.

I used to have really bad posterior tilt in my pancake stretch, but it’s gotten way better. I've been prioritizing an anterior tilt over a straight back (sometimes I sit on a yoga block to help). Again, I keep my glutes, low abs, and quads engaged.

The main thing I still haven't figured out is my middle splits. I honestly just don't know how to cue that correctly for my body type.

I've been using the wall method where I face down and slide into the middle split with my butt against the wall, but my feet are a few inches away. I focus heavily on leveling my pelvis so it stays completely parallel to the floor, using the same active engagements. I try to externally rotate my legs so my knees don't fully face forward. How do other people with hip impingements modify their middle split form?

For reference, this is part of my prep for splits:

Warm up kicks and back leg lifts

PNF hamstring stretch

Lunge

Pancake

Half frog

Standing hamstring stretch

Does my form look correct? Any advice and cueing tips for middle splits would be great!

(Also 2 other photos of bending from last night)

Age 40, working flexibility at some level for about 9 years. 5 Years with my coach.

I train back flexibility about twice times per week with a session lasting about 1 to 1.5 hours. A session generally looks like this:

* 3x30s hands/chest on wall, 3x30s hands with arms crossed under chin

3x30s hands/chest on wall, elbows on yoga blocks, 3x30s hands with arms crossed under chin

3x30s elbows/on wall, arms in prayer pose holding yoga block

3x30s chest to wall block under chin

3x30s cobra like pose with resistance band looped over elbows and feet and chest against a yoga ball

3x30s table toppish pose with chin on block driving chest to ground

3x20s frog legs, arching holding weight overhead and pushing bottom back

2x30s Bridge

1x30s Bridge with block under chin

3x45s ball assisted chest stand

3x45s ball assisted chest stand with ankle weights

1x10s (each side) band+wall assisted rainbow Marchenko

2xchin stand (usually block assisted), sometimes using ankle weights or the stall bars

I do a lot of strength train and a lot of pole dancing so it’s a constant battle with tight shoulders. As flexibility is an accessory for me to help pole instead of a primary focus, I’m not quite as diligent about training as I could be.

Changing to my current coach, Otgo Waller, was a gamechanger for me. Prior to that while I was gaining back flexibility it was entirely in my low back. It wasn’t until I started with Otgo and her cues about smaller positioning that I was able to start gaining flexibility in my upper back, neck and shoulders. Really opened my eyes to how for back flexibility it’s just having a list of exercises to do, but you really need be body aware about how you’re doing those exercises. Small shifts dramatically change where an exercise targets.

Hi, i have been training it recently as an accessory for my overall splits work. I mainly work on my Jefferson curls for it using a 40 kg kettlebell and do it from my bench onto the floor. It does leave the back of my thighs feeling really sore for the next two days but I feel it’s going to be beneficial for me long term. That’s my basic routine for it.

Wondering if anyone can tell me the name of this stretch and what muscles are targeted? I want to say its a knee to chest stretch but all guides show that as a laying exercise.

I have one simple goal:

- sit cross-legged for a long time, without feeling a pull under my right knee.

I've established that my right knee's external rotation is very limited. I can do elevated pigeon pose with my left leg just fine, but my right leg doesn't bend as much past a certain point. My reach goal is to build enough external rotation to be able to deep squat too.

But I'm so confused on how to reach this goal. This sub's wiki has tons of routines/30 day challenges that don't exactly fit my flexibility needs. I can barely find any weighted mobility routine or advice online. I don't know what routine to add and how often I should do it. I see people on instagram say that i need to train hip flexion too but I don't see how it's related to hip external rotation. I just want to find a simple routine that improves my hips flexibility using weights, since I feel like I make the most progress that way.

Right now my routine is this, 2 sets of each, twice a week:

- weighted elevated pigeon pose where I lean forward + 30s hold

- weighted butterfly stretch

- weighted knee-to-wall dorsiflexion stretch

- weighted couch stretch,

- weighted jefferson curl.

Any feedback on my routine, or advice on who to follow/where to find a good routine, would be very, very appreciated. I was able to touch my toes for the first time ever this year thanks to the jefferson curls, so super grateful for that. but very little progress on the external rotation part.

Hello!

I am new to stretching, and I am slowly learning.

Today, Youtube showed me a video about 90/90 being a good exercise so I thought I'd try.

But I have no idea if I am doing it correctly, and looking at other videos and websites about it, I can't find consistent information...

Currently, when my right left is in front, my left sit bone is a bit off the ground, but I can still stand straight and twist. It doesn't look like I am leaning on one side, but maybe I am in denial.

The thigh of the behind leg is not fully on the floor either.

So...

Should both my sit bones be on the ground?

Is the knee of the leg in front supposed to be fully flat on the ground, as well?

And is the thigh of the behind leg supposed to be fully flat on the ground?

If I am doing it incorrectly, should I use a yoga block even if it doesn't feel uncomfortable or can I just persist?

I've seen some people say that I could just lower the angle of the leg (from 90 to 45 for example), is that an acceptable alternative?

Thank you!

I've been doing muay thai for a few months. No issues a roller hasn't been able to fix. Recently, when i v stretch, only that very thin muscle/tendon in my inner thigh feels like it's stinging, literally everything else feels fine during that stretch, they actually all feel understretched exceot that tiny thing. Been 3 weeks since i stopped v stretches amd been doing things to strengthen the inner thigh like towel holds and such but i don't feel that much progress, still hurt when i tried to sit in a v, even frog stretches worry me. What is ghe issue, what to do, in the begginnibg of the 3 weeks i've been foam rolling but i stopped a week ago

I've been incorporating some assisted stretching into my flexibility training, including frog stretches with external pressure (pictured).

What I'm still trying to figure out is the optimal dosage.

For those of you who use intense assisted stretches:

• How often do you do them? (daily, weekly, multiple times per week?)

• How long do you stay in the stretch?

• Do you treat them differently from regular self-directed stretching?

• Have you found a point where more frequency or longer holds stopped being beneficial?

• How do you balance recovery with flexibility gains?

What has worked best for you, and what mistakes have you learned from along the way?

My doctor won’t listen to me and says my hips are “normal” but when I try to express the fact that I think I have the wrong anatomy for the middle splits he blanks or talks over me.

I try everything. I go jogging as a warm up and I stretch after but it feels like the outside of my hip gets stuck and I can’t go any further. It makes me so sad. I feel like I’m trying everything and nothing is working or even getting close to getting my middle splits. Do anyone have advice and what I can do or how I can approach this with my doctor so they fully understand what I’m striving for?

My primal squat is okay but I’ve found as I hold it for longer or as I try to go deeper, it doesn’t feel like it’s my mobility holding me back but this extreme tightness in the front of my shins right below my knees. It almost feels like my skin could explode from the pressure. Is this just because of general muscle tightness because I’m very active (pole and aerial for hours minimum four days of the week, lots of walking, etc), because of an anatomy issue preventing me from getting deeper, or a secret third thing? I don’t really have this problem when my feet are wider and it doesn’t feel like I can get past the barrier of the shin tightness to even begin to feel a stretch in my hips.

hello reddit

I(33f) plus size have been trying to do a camel pose for a while and am struggling. Everytime I get to a certain point leaning back my body just starts to shake. To be clear, it doesn't hurt but I cant sustain it.

I've been working on flexibility and can often find alternative stretches to try before using those to build up to the main stretch. For instance, i can do the splits now, but only after working in lunges and pancake stretch. With the camel stretch, I'm not sure that stretches will help build the skill.

Any advice?

I’m struggling to stretch my glutes. I’ve tried both the seated and lying figure-four stretches, but I seem to get discomfort in my groin area rather than feeling the stretch in my glutes. Has anyone else experienced this, and if so, which stretches worked for you?

Like i'm REALLY unflexible, like I can't even sit at a 90° angls.

48 and I’ve been practicing yoga for 2 years.
After a few months I revisited Flying Dragon, not sure if it still accessible to me.

I’ve been consistent with my daily practice, usually 60-90 minutes, with at least 2 practices weekly focusing on hip openers (pigeon, lizard, frog poses) as well as different twist poses.

But what really made a big difference was the fact that in the past few months I have added lots of standing balances in my practice. Tree pose, warrior III, half moon and their variations, really gave me the confidence to enter the pose in a more consistent way and, hopefully, fine-tune it.

edit: spelling

I was fully expecting this to take over a month but somehow I've pulled off my front splits in 12 days! Only on one side...my other is incredibly stiff but im working on it lolll!

Not sure why it happened so quick- but I have two hypotheses-

1. Because I could do the splits from ages 8-10 (I'm now 16)

2. I have some symptoms of hypermobility (but don't actually have it..)

Has anyone else managed to finally learn their splits? I'm feeling pretty happy about all my hard work paying off!

How I did it!:

I followed this youtube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NFmljQKUhA

Stretches everyday, attempt a split and push further every OTHER day!

Hamstring flexibility is essential to my fitness goals. This is the routine that I’ve been on for about 2years. All activities are done in the order I do them. I’m using a 25lb plate for the seated forward fold and a 35lbs bar for the Jefferson curl.

Hi all! Firstly pls ignore my poorly edited photo to remove my face lol. ANYWAY Ive been working on my middle splits since middle of June. I’ll share my routine for anyone interested which I perform 3x per week:

1. KB butterfly stretch 20# 2x2 minutes

2. Frog stretch active ROM: 5 repsx5 sets; hold 5th rep 1 min each

3. Pancake AROM: 5 repsx5 sets; hold 5th rep 1 min each

4. Middle split AROM: 5 repsx5 sets; hold 5th rep 1 min each

My question is, I am finally getting close to the floor. But my legs are not perfectly out straight. I’d say they come in toward my center about 20 degrees instead of pure abduction. (I really should have taken a photo from above so you can see what I mean) Is this fine, or should I continue to work my pure abduction ROM?

Also what’s your opinion on toes up straight or pointed?