MarkusO

Hey, yes I can do that 8-). But you can also find another person who does it with you. I can let you know when I put up another workshop. It usually makes sense to include this release into a longer sequence of preparatory pancake stretches. We just did that on a workshop yesterday, unfortunately I just read it now :-). PM me if you like.

I'll just leave this here, I haven't seen anything like it. 😐 https://www.instagram.com/reel/CbSonBhLdbR/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet

Hi Cameron, welcome! I second what Nathan said. I want to add that contractions can sometimes be a bit overwhelming. If one is new to a particular stretch or doesn't have a lot of experience with stretching, adding contractions might just be too much for certain individuals at times. So it really depends how it feels to YOU. With that being said, if you feel comfortable in a stretch, it doesn't harm to add some contractions. You can also experiment with how strong you contract.

One more suggestion: Bend your leg(s) a bit, hinge (much easier in this position) and then straighten your legs. The quad contraction will inhibit the hamstrings and the pelvis usually stays in place.

How does it feel? This is mostly for you to judge. If you start with this much elevation it's fine I would say, but you cropped the hips so we cannot see how your hip flexors are doing 🥲. Be cautious with the lower back though, as @Nathan already mentioned. The main problem with high supports is getting into the starting position but it seems like you managed that well. Regarding passive back bends, the foam rollers probably won't be high enough. You can put something underneath it though. You can use some kind of box or one of these aerobic steps, for example. It's also helpful to have something to hold on to with your hands, to pull yourself deeper into the stretch.

That's actually why I recommended it. 🙂 A single stretch that targets as many tight spots as possible and counters our sedentary lifestyle across the whole anterior chain. Of course there are more efficient stretches for individual muscle groups. And if we consider individual muscle groups, I agree wrt hip flexors!

I would say that it's probably the one you aren't doing right now 🙃. I'd go with some (assisted) bridge progression. It covers the whole front line, including hip flexors and counters our sedentary lifestyle. It's also the one I'm not doing right now 🥲.

Hello there and welcome to the forums! You have a long list of goals. Here is how I would approach it. Other people would go a different route: I would split them by function and keep things simple: - forward bending - legs apart - backward bending, including dedicated hip flexors work The pancake and the bridge will cover most of these things, including shoulder mobility. The pancake covers the forward bending and legs apart part. The backward bending/bridge work will cover the whole anterior chain including the hip flexors and the shoulders. If you work on those two there will be a carry-over to front splits (hamstrings+hip flexors) and side splits. ST offers a lot of partial poses that let you focus on YOUR weaknesses in these poses. There was the excellent Stretch Therapy mastery series which covered all these elements in detail. I'm not sure what happened with it after the re-launch of the website. Maybe @Nathan knows? 🙂 Happy to iterate with you to come up with a plan to master your goals!

Amazing idea Jim! 😮 I'll have to build one of these. Now all that is left is to add a car jack in the middle to adjust the height during the exercise!

I have a similar model, they vary in quality though. Try to get some samples maybe. If you use them on a wooden floor the mats tend to slide. I got some of those rubber mats you put under carpets, that worked great.

I've recently discovered this gem of a stretch. I've named it the Slingshot ! There is also a longer post in German on my website about it and also more pictures which might be helpful. The thing that excites me the most about this stretch is that solo hip flexor stretches hardly can get you the intensity of the Slingshot. The ST partner HF stretch still is the best one, but few solo stretches come close, if any. Standing variations can come close to the intensity but they also have some strength or balance component that doesn't allow for full relaxation (though these exercises of course have their place too!). To perform the stretch you'll need a power rack or some similar structure that allows to attach some strong bands. A pair of table legs might work too but I haven't tried it. Happy about feedback or suggestions. A weak band won't help much, the only language the hip flexors understand is intensity! To perform this stretch the setup is as follows: First figure out a proper height for the band(s). You dont want the band to extend your foot. In the stretch position the band should be at, or slightly below ankle height. The intensity is determined by the band strength but also by the knee position. The more back you bring the knee behind the line of the band the more intense the final stretch will be. All standard positions from the ST hip flexor stretches work: Hands on floor, arms resting on chair, etc..My personal favorite, if performed in a rack, is as shown in the image above as it brings the upper body in an upright position. A third option is to grab some rings hanging from above (see blog post) To enter the stretch, first kneel on all fours and bring the back leg into position, only then swing the front foot around. Push back into the bands until your setup is complete. Once your are correctly set up slowly let the bands push you forward into the stretch. Should it not be intense enough, go out and bring the knee further back. Also remember to use strong bands. Standard contractions work. I like pressing the foot into the resistance, release, breathe, relax, ... I have also found that this stretch works great dynamically. Move into and out of it for repetitions. At the deepest point in each repetition, press the back foot into the resistance for a count of three, breathe out, bring the hips a bit more forward, push them back and repeat. Some advantages of this version: External support: No partner needed to push the hips forward. It's not the same but the vector is quite efficient. Relaxation: Easy to relax in this position, and it's safe. Accomodating resistance: The band support will get weaker the deeper you get. As the intensity increases I find this works quite well. Easy to adjust the intensity: Band strength combined with the back knee's position in relation to the bands gives plenty of options to set up the right intensity for your body. Please give it a try and report back how you like it! Markus

Thanks Danny! I will add that to the confirmation screen. I might come back to the offer when I get to the translation, taking a short break from this now. Thanks Kit!

Hey Nathan thanks a lot! I'll let you know when I get to it. 🙂

Hi Stretch Therapy community! I am happy to announce that I wrote a little guide for the German ST community. It is now available on stretchtherapy.de for FREE! The topic is the "Daily 5" and the guide contains pictures as well as a written description of each exercise. There is also an introduction to Stretch Therapy and general advice on a safe and effective stretching practice. Here are some impressions how the guide looks like: So, should you speak German, want to learn it, or just enjoy looking at the guide, you can get it here: https://stretchtherapy.de/dehnen-lernen-daily5-guide/ I hope you enjoy it. Happy stretching! Markus Edit: I forgot to mention, I'll translate it at some point to English!

Fully agree! I just wanted to point out that even the best chair isn't good for the body if one sits in it 12 hours a day without doing anything else 🙂. I'd argue that this can be prevented by a sufficient amount of "forearm hygiene". It's the same as with sitting. I wonder how many of these people actually work out their hands and forearms in some way. Getting up won't fix it, as the arms will just dangle around. Even simple strength training is probably not enough. I type for 8+ hours a day and play the guitar. But I also train my grip strength on a hangboard and other tools. I've never had a single issue. Of course these are just my observations. Edit: I forgot the excellent ST wrist stretches, which are highly beneficial 😃