Fast Fitness - Quick Relaxing Hip Stretch
Friday, December 21, 2007
Jolie Bookspan, M.Ed, PhD, FAWM
Here is Fast Friday Fitness. A stretch for front hip muscles, often tight from sitting and
counterproductive forward-bending exercises in fitness and Pilates classes
- Lie over a bed or bench with hips right at the edge and legs dangling
- Feel wonderful stretch in front hip muscles
- If your lower back hurts, you are probably arching your lower back, as in the left photo, see this post. Tuck your hip by flattening lower back toward the bed (right photo).
Reader Bernie supplied these photos. His story of registering for my back pain workshop then skipping it to do surgery instead, then returning in pain two years later to successfully fix the worsened situation will be posted soon.
Labels: fast fitness, hip, leg stretch, lower back, stretch
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5 Comments:
At Wednesday, May 07, 2008 10:51:00 AM,
Anonymous said…
Great stretch. Here is one I learned from Tom Furman who got from one of the Dog Brothers (kali)
Lie on your stomach, propped up on your forearms. Squeeze your feet, thighs and buttocks together. While doing so, slowly bend your legs like you are trying to touch your feet to your buttocks. Also, press down with your groin area into the floor. Releases the psoas and stretches the front of the thighs, flexors and quads. Nice stretch.
At Wednesday, May 07, 2008 11:07:00 AM,
Jolie Bookspan, M.Ed, PhD, FAWM said…
Readers, I understand that it is a common assumption that squeezing one set of muscles will relax another. However many people manage to squeeze both sides and not relax anything. The inhibition of the muscles on the other side is not always automatic or achieved. It is also not functional to squeeze the backside muscles (your own), although it seems to be so popular.
At Wednesday, May 14, 2008 3:48:00 PM,
Anonymous said…
Perhaps I'm not correct, but I thought reciprocal inhibition, where tensing one muscle would relax the antagonist, was a given.
Example: a dancers stretch ( I think you won't like, but please stay with me) Stand, feet forward, bend forward BUT at the hip, NOT the lower back, KEEP the small arch in the lower back. Now they say ("they" is your fellow comrade Pavel :) that if you do this and squeeze the glutes, that 1. your hamstrings will release better, and 2. squeezing the glutes will protect the lower back.
I presume physiology is, by definition, quantifiable, so either one should be able to prove or disprove this, no? Please educate me, thank you...
At Wednesday, May 14, 2008 3:51:00 PM,
Anonymous said…
Also, your bed hip stretch here.. if you tuck your hip and flatten your lower back, aren't you by default squeezing your glutes to perform this?
At Thursday, May 15, 2008 3:46:00 PM,
Jolie Bookspan, M.Ed, PhD, FAWM said…
Anonymous, no, don't tense or squeeze anything. Even if you did, it is not the gluteals that tuck the hip, it is the abs. It is bad biomechanics to tighten a muscle to move the bones. Scratch your nose and see that you move without tightening or squeezing or clenching your arm (hopefully).
Again as above, although it is a common assumption that squeezing one set of muscles will relax another, many people manage to squeeze both sides and not relax anything. Inhibition of the muscles on the other side is not always automatic or achieved. Co-contraction often overrules. This is explained in my book Stretching Smarter Stretching Healthier.
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