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Stretch It: Hip Flexor Lunge

FitSugar — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 12:30:00 -0800

You know I am a big advocate of stretching, even before I learned that it can give you strength too. I thought I would show you all one of my favorite stretches for the hip flexors.

The hip flexors are the four muscles that attach to the front of the pelvis that bring your thigh bone (femur) up toward your torso. These muscles get worked a lot in running and any variation thereof, like the stair stepper or cross country skiing. It is important to keep these muscles flexible because if they get tight they can pull your pelvis out of alignment and give you back pain. Something we should all be working to avoid.

Hip Flexor Lunge

Keep your front knee at a 90 degree angle (don't let your knee go beyond your ankle)
Place the top of your back foot on the ground
Rest your hands on your front knee
Use your abs to keep the weight out of your back knee, or pad it with a pillow or a yoga mat

Hold stretch for 30 seconds, then repeat on the other side

Looking to get more flexible? Check out these stretches – there's something for every part of your body.

Source

Exercise Video: Hip Flexor Stretch with Foam Roller

FitSugar — Thu, 11 Jan 2007 14:30:00 -0800

Do you run? Do you sit? Do you bike? Do you drive? If you answered yes to any of the questions above, you probably have tight hip flexors. Here is one of my favorite stretches using a foam roller.

Watch it and try it.

If you have a yoga bolster, you can use that instead of a foam roller. The stretch might not be as intense, but it will still be beneficial.

Also, let me know if you have any questions about this stretch. I am always happy to clarify.

Low Back Pain? Try Stretching Your Hip Flexors

FitSugar — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 03:38:51 -0700

After doing a sprint interval workout, my running buddy complained that sprinting often made her low back feel tight. I had a notion that her psoas might be tight. This muscle is a major hip flexor and it attaches to the low spinal vertebrae. When the psoas gets short and tight from activities like sprinting, it can yank on the vertebrae, creating a sensation of tightness. The good news is that stretching out the hip flexors can alleviate a lot of lower back pain. Once you are warm, and especially after a run or sprinting session, you should stretch your psoas.

Learn two ways to stretch your psoas.

Wear Heels? Stretch These Muscles

FitSugar — Mon, 19 Mar 2007 04:00:05 -0700

We all know that high heeled shoes are pretty, and pretty bad for your body. Yet, we all end up wearing them sometime or another - a big meeting, a wedding, or almost everyday.

Basically the height of the heel pushes the weight of the body forward which interferes with your balance. The body likes to be in equilibrium so many muscle groups work harder to maintain your balance and keep you upright. Much of this muscular work occurs in the lower back since the lumbar curve get exaggerated while wearing heels. This exaggeration in the the low part of the spine affects the hip flexors in the front of the body. Plus the poor overworking calves get tight too after a day in high heels.

Since I know many of you still wear heels daily especially with Fab tempting us almost daily with the new shoes of Spring. I wanted to show you all some stretches that can help a girl out after a day in heels - if I can't scare you out of wearing them, at least I can help you feel better after a day in them. So check these recuperative stretches out, there's 2 options for you to try for each tight body part.

Low Back Stretches

Child's Pose

Squat in the shower

If you don't like to stretch in the shower, do this stretch on dry land.

There are two more body parts to stretch, so read more

The hip flexes the muscles that move your thigh bone toward your torso, can also get tight from wearing heels. You might feel the tightness when you try to stand up after sitting for long period of time, right where you legs start at the bottom of your torso.

Hip Flexor Stretches

Lunge

Psoas Stretch with Roller

If you don't have a foam roller you can try this with a yoga bolster.

Because the heel is lifted by the increased height of the shoe the calves get tight too. They can become chronically tight from wearing heels regularly, so try these stretches on for size. You can also do a Downward Facing Dog.

Calf Stretches

Hold up the Wall

Kiss the Wall

Fit's Tip: I say print these out and tape to the inside of your closet door...it'll help remind you to lengthen those short and tired muscles.

DVD Review: Yoga Link - Core Integration

FitSugar — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 16:00:00 -0700

Looking for some new moves to tone your core muscles? The DVD Core Integration ($19.95) is designed to strengthen you from the inside out. The exercises are meant to not only target your abdominal muscles, but they'll also strengthen weak muscle tissue, awaken sluggish organs, stretch scar tissue, and cultivate vibrancy in your nervous system. It's important to strengthen your core for spinal stability and digestive health, but it also makes us feel good about ourselves to have tight abs.

I'm a fan of this DVD because the instructor gives you a little three-minute anatomy lesson of your core muscles, and describes how each muscle moves your spine. Very cool. Then in the workshop portion of the DVD, she shows you how to use props (a mat, block, wall, and a foam roller) to do some really awesome core-strengthening moves that target your rectus abdominals, obliques, and your transverse abdominals, and psoas (you'll learn what these are if you watch the video). She does a great job of explaining each move as she's doing it, and describes what's happening in your body as you do each exercise. I haven't learned this much from a yoga DVD in a long time.

After the 71-minute workshop portion, she guides you through a 57-minute core practice, which includes a flow sequence of all the exercises you learned in the workshop. These moves were amazing, and I worked muscles in my abs I never reach with regular crunches. I definitely recommend this video if you're really into strengthening your core.