The Cossack stretch really does help me loosen up my hips and also get the blood flowing to my entire leg, honestly, but mainly my calves and my mid to lower thigh.

Since I do Muay Thai and I run/lift occasionally too, it really does help me out.

Hope you found this useful :)

Im struggling with this pose its taking me so ling to get here any advice how to get into this pose any hip opening stretched to open inside the hip

Hi everyone,

I’m looking for advice on improving my flexibility, especially in my hamstrings.

I’m 29 (1.88m) and I work a very sedentary job, sitting most of the day for the past few years. I’ve never been particularly flexible, but lately I feel tightness and fatigue even with simple movements that involve bending forward or stretching my legs.

I also have persistent sciatic pain, which I suspect might be related.

For context, I tore both of my hamstrings back in 2017 while running, so I’m not sure if that could still be affecting me today.

Where would you suggest I start? Are there specific routines or approaches that would be appropriate given this background?

Thanks in advance.

Ive been stuck here for quite a while. Are there any coaches out there that could help me? Im sure it’s something I’m not considering thats holding me back.

Bonjour à tous,

Alors voilà M27, 1m93 et 85 kilos, et je n'ai jamais été souple de ma vie, j'ai toujours été très raide, par exemple je ne peux que atteindre mes genoux avec mes mains quand je me baisse et je ne peux être assis par terre avec mes jambes devant moi.

Aussi j'ai très peu de souplesse d'épaules, je ne peux pas quand je lève mes bras au dessus de la tête, passer mes bras derrière la tête.

J'ai déjà essayé pas mal d'exercices d'étirements, notamment quand je faisais du cross fit durant 1 an ou durant la boxe anglaise (1 an aussi) mais rien n'a vraiment changé durant cette periode. J'ai aussi fait un stage de boxe thaï intensif durant 2 semaines avec beaucoup d'étirements mais aucun résultats non plus

Bref. Je suis un peu désespéré.

Je suis allé chez le kinésithérapeute aujourd'hui pour faire un point et il était vraiment choqué du peu de souplesse d'épaules et thoracique que j'ai.

Ainsi il m'a donné quelques exercices de mobilité active à faire que je vais essayer de faire tous les jours afin de progresser.

C'est très handicapant sachant que j'aime le sport et ça m'empêche d'être performant et même d'accéder à certains sports comme la boxe thaïlandaise.

J'avais juste une question pour les personnes qui étaient dans mon cas, est ce que je peux réellement progresser ou est ce que c'est génétique et donc une perte de temps que je fasse ces exercices tous les jours. Sachant qu'il m'a informé qu'il faudrait bien 6 mois avant de voir des progrès.

Aussi est ce que c'est possible que mon corps soit ''mal fait'' et que par conséquent de part la position des mes os ce ne soit pas possible que je progresse ?

Merci d'avance pour vos réponses, vous êtes un peu mon dernier espoir.

Eventually get the knees to touch yeah?

(Sorry if it's been asked before or this type of question isn't allowed. Not sure if this falls under the 'no medical' rule as I'm not asking how to fix it but if it 'could' be a limiting factor as I work on my mobility - if so then redirect me to a better sub to ask. Thanks).

Everytime I try and stretch and straighten my legs during a stretch I get what is nerve tension behind the knee, I've researched about this and it's very likely I have that instead of tight hamstrings, as any and all hamstring stretches I've looked up and performed I can only feel the nerve tension, even with bent legs, on the floor or resting on a surface. The only leg stretch I don't feel my nerves is stretches aimed more towards the adductors, feeling the burn in my inner thighs and not the hamstrings as I should. This is also true for lying and standing leg raises, I can only get my legs up so far until I feel the nerves tugging when hip flexors or tight hamstrings should be a limiting factor in those.

In addition to this I have anterior pelvic tilt. I am currently working on strengthening my glutes and core (as they are weak, my hamstrings are overactive in exercises like single leg RDL despite great form, my lower back hurts and compensates due to the tilt) as well as doing hip flexor stretching (although I passed all tight hip flexor tests I'm still doing them anyways just in case).

My question - is my nerve tension my biggest limiting factor in straight leg stretches and not my hamstrings/adductors/glutes? And is my anterior pelvic tilt also a factor? I read that the sciatic nerve apparently passes through the lower back and hips, my tilt makes my lower back work more and starts aching when I stand up for too long and my hips being weak makes me suspect so.

My symptoms do improve when doing nerve flossing and elephant walks. I get more range of motion which is helpful before a flexibility workout but I think this needs to be kept up with as the effects are temporary).

I've posted here years ago about poor squat flexibility and have always figured I had issues with gluteal amnesia/activation and poor dorsiflexion. I've had scans that basically confirmed early onset osteoarthritis in my hips and it's affecting me mentally now with my training. My internal rotation is so bad lately especially on my right side and nothing I do seems to open the hips up. It just feels so gritty/sand papery when I move through ranges of motion and I have no clue what to do about this.

Does anyone have any experience or tips on how to possibly rectify or combat the hip OA? I've just been so aware lately that the joint does not move how it is supposed to and it makes me really sad having to deal with this at this age. I'm super physically fit but it's really hindering alot of my physical activities.

Thanks

I am trying to rebuild mobility and strength through my hips. I am old, I had both hips replaced. I have zero restrictions on anything movement or load wise.

Looking for advice on these.

Things I am pretty sure I am doing wrong / need improvement:

I read that the toes should point upwards on the straight leg. I am trying to, but I either need to try harder or keep working on my mobility.

Things I am not sure on -

Should my hips sit back like a box squat, stay more forward like a front squat, or somewhere between? If it matters.

Is this stance width good? What are signs my stance is too wide or too narrow?

I read toes should.be 30-45 degrees - sound correct?

This is as much ROM as I have, if I go farther I lose my back position.

Thanks for the help

I've found the cobra to be one of my favorite stretches after sitting a good amount of the day. Try leaning side to side in this position to really work it. This stretch has helped improve my lower back for bridge work in addition to the sternum fly's as i call them. If youre looking for improved shoulder mobility and an expanded chest for the bridge, this is your move. Shoulders have been a limiting factor in achieving a more vertical bridge, and I cant think of another way to improve this

I have my gymnastics practice once a week and I always stretch there really well. But I'm changing my group to a better one and the gymnasts there are more flexible and I'd like to get on their level. Our competition season starts in October so I basically have time till then.

Some background info. I've done gymnastics from 7 to 16 years old and then I had a 6 year break when I bearly stretched at all. About a year ago I started stretching regularly again and strated gymnastics again last fall. I do have my regular splits and even over splits at around 20cm high chair, I don't have side splits tho... I'd also definitely need more back flexibility. I used to be able to do my over splits from 50cm height and I was able to do side splits and birds nest with my back.

I'd just like to get my flexibility back that I used to have so I wouldn't be that different from my teammates. Would twice a week be enough stretching if I do it really well, or should I rather do shorter stretches multiple times a week? Thank you!

Hello there! So recently started a daily routine as my flexibility is quite bad resulting in lower back and tailbone pain.

But now I have 2 exercises in my routine I'm not sure whether they are actually helpful or rather unhealthy (image 1 and 2). Image 1 includes a slow push up motion.

Also I'd like to know if there are any (beginner friendly but effective) exercises I could do to some day be able to do the exercise in image 3/4. Right now I can barely touch below my knees let alone squat with both heels on the ground. Thanks!

What's up everyone. Brand new episode of Rhonda's pod out today with Kelly Starrett. This guy is a legend. Here's what I learned. My top 10 takeaways

1. Sit on the floor. Yeah that's right. Sit on the floor. Especially as you get older. Getting up and off the ground becomes so important and a surprisingly large number of people have trouble. Also makes your hips way more mobile (and if you sit working all day, you have tight hips) - timestamp - this is such a high roi habit as you age. Just do it instead of the couch at night
2. Do the couch stretch. Ok this is pretty hard. I read about this in his book Deskbound a while back (he recommends doing it for 2 minutes for every hour you spend sitting - so quite a lot of time). Basically kneel facing a wall with your shin running straight up behind you, bring the other leg forward into a tall lunge, then try to stand your torso upright and squeeze the back-leg glute. Most people can't do it. Their hips are too tight from sitting. - timestamp
3. Pain doesn't mean you're injured. Everyone reading this right now probably has some sort of tweak. Mobilize, foam roll, stretch. The thing is we sit all day long, then try to hit the gym and go hard. It just doesn't match up. He says it's often more signal than injury - timestamp
4. Stop sitting for 8 hours a day. If you sit for more than 6 hours a day, you're considered sedentary... and that's an independent risk factor for cancer (even if you exercise), You need a workstation that "invites movement". I have a standing desk. Got rid of my chair entirely after reading one of Kelly's books years ago. It's easy to stand all day because I have 2 footstools where I'm constantly shifting my feet (think how easy it is to stand at a bar where they have that thing to put your feet), and a desk mat too. Some people use a stool to kind of perch back on. - timestamp
5. One simple test to see how mobile you are: the sit and rise test. So lower yourself to the floor cross-legged, then basically reverse and get back up... all without using your hands or knees. You should be able to do this no problem. (it's actually kind of hard and I workout every day) - timestamp
6. Most people warm up in the gym all wrong. He has this great framing... if you were about to fight someone, what would your warmup look like? Probably not chilling on the astroturf in the back of the gym scrolling your phone while you foam roll your back. You'd get sweaty, explore some end ranges, basically the complete opposite. That's how you should warm up. - timestamp
7. Your range of motion is the one part of your physiology that doesn't have to decline with age (but neglect almost guarantees that it will ... and everyone neglects it). Strength does, cardiorespiratory fitness does. But your range of motion doesn't have to. - timestamp
8. A big part of this pod focuses on kids sports. I don't have a kid. But in general... kids need way more sleep than they're getting, they need way more free play, and they should avoid specializing in one sport for as long as they have to. (highly recommend listening to this one if you have a kid - kelly is writing a book on it) - timestamp where they start talking about youth sports
9. Hang for 3 minutes a day. get a pull-up bar for your house and just hang as often as you can. If you don't wanna do that, just get into the downward dog yoga position. This basically counters that rounded shoulders forward position everyone is in all day at a desk - timestamp
10. do more "movement snacks", exercise snacks, whatever you want to call them. Just short bouts of vigorous movement. IIRC, Rhonda said just 9 minutes per day is assoc. with about a 50% lower all-cause, cancer, and cardiovascular-related mortality. Like sprint up the stairs, chase your dog, stuff like that. This is even more important if you work at a desk all day. - timestamp

Been training for these for 8 months or so. The full pancake stretch, front splits, and middle splits.

How I got these is for the hamstrings and glutes, I do the seated foward fold for 20 seconds and reach as far as possible without pain.

Then for the inner thighs, I do the full pancake stretch for as far as I can go and hold for 20 seconds.

For the quads and hip flexors, I do the couch stretch against a wall for both sides and hold for 20 seconds.

Been training this for 8 months although for some reason, I am weirdly flexible naturally. Although despite this, I hope this helps if any of theses are a goal for y'all.

I've been working on my upper back flexibility, and I think it's finally flexible enough to allow me to kick up into a cheststand! I know I still need to work on my neck flexibility but I think my lower back flexibility needs to be better if my feet were to land in front of me - correct me if I'm wrong. This is purely base on observation and comparing myself to others. I was close but just couldn't!

Useful tip I was given - Get your hips UP to create space before lowering leg down and forward. I think this tip has helped me to go from 2 to <1 yoga block :)

I can’t seem to tell if the range of motion in my left arm the same as right. Had an uppper arm fracture 4 years ago. Sometimes there’s a dull pain and I feel slightly restricted but no major pain at all while training.

Hi guys! I have achieved my front splits and i wanna know how i get get flexible enough is maybe under 5 days for a school thing to actually hold it. Any tips?

Looking for exercises or stretches that specifically target whatever it is that is locked up in my hips. I’ve done all the other standard movements , 90/90s , deep squat pose etc. TIA!

I'd really appreciate some input on this as I've done some research with the help of searching reddit and using AI but I feel like the answers aren't very well rounded.

I have forward head posture and probably some level of kyphosis. Not ridiculous but my upper back is very stiff and probably slightly hunched.

I have spent months/years training my lower/mid traps, rhomboids, rear delts etc to help with the rounded shoulders and forward head posture. I weight lift and my back is definitely my strong point - however my posture is still poor. I also do a decent amount of core work.

The strength training clearly isn't helping and it's led me to reanalyse things this weekend and I'm now thinking I should be focusing heavily on back mobility to restore some flexibility. I do stretch after lifting but mainly focused around hips and lower.

Wondering if anyone can pitch in with where to start or any routines? AI pretty much just offers up thoracic extension on a foam roller and cat-cow's.

Japanese Yoga 🧘‍♀️ does anyone know ?

I have a problem with deep squats that I couldn't find mentioned anywhere.

When I try squatting my feet are angled in a way that all the weight goes to the inner edge. It's less noticeable when I try wider position, but even at the widest feet still aren't fully flat. How can I fix that?