Matt's Movement Log

[Nathan]

5 hours ago, Matt Chung said:

breathe and relax

I can't read these words without hearing Kit's voice in my head: "Breathe... and relax."

[Matt Chung]

Day 493 of stretching and flexibility journey

This is my first time posting on the form, using voice transcription. I’m pretty sure I recall kit often using voice transcription so feeling a little inspired after this morning I was testing the feature out using Apple notes and was super surprised how well I was working so I was like I will try it on this forum

on Friday, I did a limbering session and someone else at the gym came up to me and said "whoa. Seems like you’re quite flexible." At first I felt a little embarrassed cause I’m far from where I’d like to be in terms of flexibility (and still proud of the progress over the last 1.5 years).

He said “ I was never able to get into stretching”. Long story short I may be spent 10 minutes chatting with him - a muscular gym rat (I say this with flattery) in his late 40s- about how I got into stretching this past 1.5 years despite all the previous failed attempts and hopefully gives him enough of gives him a little nudge to give it a shot himself as well

Summary

• Getting into (very slow) duck walks - in my dance, I've been avoiding "floor work" for some time (despite previously breakdancing for years) over the last 2 years because I had previously injured my shoulders (obsessive training induced injury), felt too stiff during squats. Recognizing I was avoiding certain position however I am applying some of what I've learned during flexibility work and in short, just getting myself into positions (very slowly), and performing micro movements and continually finding little pockets of stiffness to lubricate with movemet

Felt inspired to work on various positions to be able to work towards a movement like:

[Kit_L]

That guy's legs are crazy strong, and beautifully coordinated. I do a lot of exercising in the duck walk (or just up from the bottom of the duck walk) position – and it is absolutely sensational for leg strength, and glute strength as well. And because you have to take all of your weight on alternate legs one at a time, these are like being in the bottom position of a pistol. Noice.

[Matt Chung]

Day 511 of stretching and flexibility journey

I'm suddenly feeling very appreciative after waking up this morning and realizing some aches have vanished (for some time, but not sure when exactly). In particular:

• No left hip flexor pain when rolling out of bed - I think for the better part of a 1.5 years (more or less since I joined stretch therapy forum) I've had this nagging pain in my left hip flexor that tended to feel irritated first thing when waking up (somewhat similar experience to Kit's reported back pain he experienced back in the day). However, this flare up is gone. Though I cannot pinpoint the exact exercises leading up to this moment, it's probably a combination of several of them.
• Have not experienced upper back / right shoulder pain - there was once a period where I would intermittently experience right shoulder pain such that I could not even sit up from the laying position .... I'd have to carefully roll over on my side

So despite my continuous, constant desire and effort to increase flexibility and eliminate my left shoulder pain (pain used to be about 8/10 and probably now at a 2/10 after almost every day of puppy pose and holding and breathing) and perform single leg squats, I just wanted to acknowledge that my body has been repairing itself.

Now, with that said, I also had a recent observation:

• After doing some leg strengthening exercises on Monday (it's now Thursday morning), I'm still limping on my right leg - the pain was worst on day 2 (i.e. yesterday) and I could barely sustain weight. What's ironic is that during the exercise on Monday, I even cut the exercise time short, because I didn't want to "overdue it" and yet still, it happened. At the same time, I recall watching one of Kit's interviews where he said something along the lines of there's no such thing as over-training, just not enough rest (or something to that effect)
• My right plantar fasciitis kicks almost always after I allow my daughter to sit on my shoulders while I walk her around town - my 6 year old daughter loves to sit on my shoulders and I almost always say yes. However, I think there's some part that's weak in my body (foot, ankle? not sure) but I only drew the connection recently after this weekend. I'm going to tinker around and see what sort of strengthening exercises I can emulate since I would like her to continue sitting on my shoulders ... but without excruciating right plantar fasciitis pain.

[Kit_L]

A famous professional bodybuilder once told me, "Kit, there's no such thing as overtraining—there's only insufficient rest, or inadequate nutrition". At the time I was writing a book on stress, and I thought I understood "overtraining", and this comment literally turned my world view around. He was right, of course (and this is only one reason I recommend, and practice, such relatively small amounts of strength training myself—two sessions a week is enough for most people. One session a week if you are really strong—the paradox is that the stronger you are, the longer you need in the recovery phase. And none of us here is a professional athlete (complete with massage on demand, and no need to hold down a job, etc.). 

Re. plantar fasciitis: can you stand in bare feet, then gently walk on gravel, letting the feet mould to the changing surfaces? A few minutes every now and then will start the process. The plantar fascia actually needs the stimulation from the proprioceptors and mechanoreceptors in the skin and fascia to reset what it reports to the brain. There is a long thread here on this:

https://kitlaughlin.com/forums/index.php?/topic/33-flat-feet-pronation-in-response-to-a-q-from-coach-sommer/#comment-76

The exercise you need is shown there. And work done by any of the lower leg muscles pulls on the plantar fascia (it's an extension of the Achilles tendon), so stretching and strengthening the lower leg will affect this area too.

Great work!

[Matt Chung]

> The exercise you need is shown there. And work done by any of the lower leg muscles pulls on the plantar fascia (it's an extension of the Achilles tendon), so stretching and strengthening the lower leg will affect this area too.

Thanks for the reminder. I still periodically walk on gravel and though that has improved the plantar fasciitis, I do believe that strengthening (using the exercise listed in the comment, the one where you deliberately pronate the foot) will help and I'll start experimenting.

[Matt Chung]

Day 514 of stretching and flexibility journey

Summary first time ever experience a cramp in (I think) internal oblique

In my dance practice, I started attempting spinal twisting / rotation and on Friday, rotating my upper body left or right, while keeping my hips faced forwards. During the first few initial attempts, my internal oblique started cramping and immediately, I had the thought of: "Oh, I guess this muscle has hits its limits at the end range of motion." Similar to hamstring cramp and foot cramps, I know that if I continue to stretch my body in this waste — and breathe and relax — over time, the cramps will subside.

Today

• Hung on my pull up bar for probably 1 minute
• While I was taking a hot shower, lifting my arm upwards so that my finger tips were pointing towards the ceiling, and then rested the arm against the tile. This position tends to cause a cramp & spasm in my left shoulder and I'm slowly increasing the strength and end range of motion to (hopefully) over time, eliminate pain. The left shoulder has taken exponentially longer than my right shoulder to heal and no problem. I know it will vanish on its own over time

 

 

[Matt Chung]

Day 517 of stretching and flexibility journey

On hamstring injury, regrets, and facing the pain

For the first time since I began my stretching journey, I somehow managed to injure my right hamstring due to either too much load/sets of new exercises: duck walk, variation of single leg squats. Been limping the last few days and while I laid off and rested (very challenging for me to do) last 3 days, I decided today to very very gently and slowly stretch the hamstring today. Breathe. And Relax.

Timeline of events

• Oct 6 (Monday) - went to the gym, inspired to introduce duck walks (and variations) and continue with single leg squats. Stopped the exercise early because I didn't want to "push it". Regardless of proactively stopping, I ironically woke up to right hamstring pain
• Oct 7 (Tuesday) - initially thought it was my IT band but turns out, it's my right hamstring. It's very uncomfortable and I thought perhaps I could get away with my Tuesday ritual of 4 hours of intense training. Big mistake. Regret #1
• Oct 8-9 (Wed-Thurs) - Rest, no physical activity. Shooting pain along hamstring
• Oct 10 (Friday) - Still painful but went out to support my friend dancing at her performance and ending up lightly dancing at the after-party. Regret #2
• Oct 11 (Saturday) - A DJ I been following is in town in London. On a whim, decided to go watch him play and ended up dancing for 2 hours. Regret #3
• Oct 12-14 (Sunday-Tuesday) - Complete rest. Limping. Cannot get into squat position. Sat out of my Tuesday training. Thought of something Kit had mentioned: "Pay now or pay later." Decided to pay now
• Oct 15 (Wednesday/Today) - Been avoiding the squat position due to shooting pain in right leg. Although I rested fully last 3 days, I realized that some light stimulation with some light stretching may help the process

 

[Kit_L]

In my experience, there is little to no load on the hamstrings WRT the duck walk (so, IMO unlikely that these caused the hamstring injury); duckwalks are all lower back, glutes, and quads. Is it possible the duck walks set off something in piriformis? "Shooting pain in right leg" sounds like sciatica, and if piriformis is in spasm, it can cause this.

Get into the advanced p. start position—if p. is involved, you'll feel this immediately.

[Matt Chung]

> In my experience, there is little to no load on the hamstrings WRT the duck walk (so, IMO unlikely that these caused the hamstring injury); duckwalks are all lower back, glutes, and quads. Is it possible the duck walks set off something in piriformis? "Shooting pain in right leg" sounds like sciatica, and if piriformis is in spasm, it can cause this.

I'll test the piriformis position now.

I actually don't think it was the duck walks themselves; I recall that I tried a few repetitions of a new movement (.gif below) that I didn't capture on myself on footage but it resembles something like below, but more of a twisty action:

[Ned]

13 hours ago, Matt Chung said:

On hamstring injury, regrets, and facing the pain

As always I like your updates.  In this one though, I'm sorry to hear about the injury and wish you a smooth recovery.  
 

[Matt Chung]

> As always I like your updates.  In this one though, I'm sorry to hear about the injury and wish you a smooth recovery.  

Appreciate the thought Ned. And likewise, enjoy following your journey and as I've mentioned before, almost every time I read about your LRP, I'm reminded to keep trying.

[Matt Chung]

> Is it possible the duck walks set off something in piriformis? "Shooting pain in right leg" sounds like sciatica, and if piriformis is in spasm, it can cause this.

Thanks for the tips @Kit_L. I tested out the advanced piriformis stretch both last night and this morning and doesn't feel as though piriformis is in spasm. However, I think you are absolutely right that there's something going on with sciatica. Some more data points:

• The sensation of the pain feels more like an electrical like pulse shooting up and down from top of the calve to the lower outer right hamstring
• I can transition myself into a squat position, but if I lean towards my right, shifting the weight to my right leg (so far okay), but as I slowly lift my right heel off the ground and move on to the toes, that's when I feel this nerve like sensation
• So, the pain does not seem to be solely located in the hamstring and instead sometimes in the top right calve, sometimes bottom right outside hamstring, sometimes both
• It comes and goes and is unlike a muscle like tension (e.g. my left shoulder) and more sharp pain that radiates and comes and goes
• Very odd, very interesting

 

[Kit_L]

Try working on piriformis anyway, and get as deep as you can going towards the foot of the affected leg with a back as straight as you can hold it (the advanced piriformis exercise). You might need to get into it in some depth before you can work out whether or not p. is involved. Piriformis syndrome mimics disc-induced sciatica perfectly – and the exercise I'm describing is the only action one can take to distinguish these two causes.

What you describe certainly sounds like sciatica – and there are two main causes of this. One is disc impingement, which you can search on, but which normally has some kind of trauma as its background (and what you've been doing would not be considered traumatic) or piriformis syndrome which I have had myself and which occasionally has been debilitating.

What you describe certain sounds like sciatica, particularly the shooting electrical pain sensation, and what we need to do now is find out what the cause of this is. 

As well, search on "nerve tethering tibial plateau"; the sciatic nerve splits to form two parts above the knee, and one of them is very near where you put your finger on in the original video where you show the pain is – there is a ligament loop that the outside part of the sciatic nerve has to pass through and I have had patients who have done something to that ligament which affects the capacity of the nerve to glide through it and as result there is pain downstream of that. That twisty movement you describe in the GIF may have done something to that area of the body.

 

[Matt Chung]

> Try working on piriformis anyway, and get as deep as you can going towards the foot of the affected leg with a back as straight as you can hold it (the advanced piriformis exercise). You might need to get into it in some depth before you can work out whether or not p. is involved. Piriformis syndrome mimics disc-induced sciatica perfectly – and the exercise I'm describing is the only action one can take to distinguish these two causes.

Thanks @Kit_L . I ended up trying the advanced piriformis again and although I felt a deep stretch in my piriformis, the nerve pain/sensation itself did not trigger (in this position).

However ... something unexpected happened after I lodged a lacrosse ball behind my knee, the ball making contact on the outside of both upper calve and lower hamstring, and for some reason unknown to me, enabled me to transition deeper into seiza position without the sharp pain triggering. After a few repetitions with the lacrosse ball, I was surprised to find that I could then transition back into the seiza without triggering the shooting pain.

Placing the lacrosse ball into this position reminds me of one of the ST videos where you place a stick behind both knees while stretching in the seiza position.

I'm about to hit the sack however will report back tomorrow.

 

[Matt Chung]

Day 531 of stretching and flexibility journey

A bit radio silence from me for last week or so. The sciatic pain abated and then most recently increased in pain significantly; the uptick in pain — concentrated recently behind the knees and preventing me from getting into a squat position as well as a prayer / seiza position – has to do with physical movement practices. At the forefront of my mind is "the body whispers before it screams" as well as "pay now or pay later." Though I now typically (partially due to my involvement with ST community) choose to pay now, in this particular instance (of my sciatic pain) I am choosing to pay later; this past weekend I danced (despite my body whispering loudly) since this is a once a year event that I was very excited for (communal gathering). Also, I am further delaying the much needed rest since I have a planned trip to Lithuania for a dance workshop and competition. Following next weekend, I will wind down my dance practice and training for several weeks and strictly focus on rehabbing my sciatic pain in my right leg I am more or less been limping for the past 2 weeks, on and off.

[Gareth O Connor]

What do you think is causing the sciatic pain?

[Matt Chung]

Day 537 of stretching and flexibility journey

In short: saw a physical therapist, received an ultrasound, and learned that I tore the bicep femoris tendon

After 4 weeks of this injury, while recovery has occurred (just glacially), I decided to see a (well respected in the local London dance community) PT and turns out, I tore the bicep femoris tendon. Here's the ultra sound clip:

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/-fV3fUK-fcU

Honestly, I cannot recall which exercise — or exercises – that could've caused the tear 4 weeks ago but I recall I had only felt the pain come on 24 hours later; apparently, this is normal, since it takes about 24 hours (or so) for the fluid to rush to the location in the body (from what he shared with me).

Nonetheless, I'm happy I got a diagnosis and silver lining is that I learned that I should be including eccentric loading exercises for my hamstring to strengthen the ligaments and tendons surrounding the muscle, not just all the plyometric exercises that I've been doing increasing. Lack of knowledge on my side and never considered working the ligaments and tendons so now I know.

With this new understanding, I now regret (useful emotion) dancing for 4 hours the day following the tear (4 weeks ago). I likely exacerbated the issue.

Finally, this injury has solidified my understanding of where the bicep femoris is located and feels like in my body 

[Matt Chung]

Day 563 of stretching and flexibility journey

• Still recovering from torn bicep femoris tendon - probably another 2 weeks away until it's fully healed. Though I'm still unsure what caused the tendon to tear in the first place, I do know that even after I fully rehab my hamstring, I will be devoting more time to strengthening.
• Feeling more and more confident that stretching is now deeply integrated in way of living - during this season of injury, although I am stretching less, I still maintain a daily routine, a habit of limbering head to toe. Yes, I'm no longer making as significant gains or leaps in range of motion like I was during my first year, however, I'm more focused on that (lack of a better word) metric and more interested and understanding my own body, understanding my own limitations.
• Playing a lot lately with spine rotation, flexion - I recall when I first started the "Starter" series, I had the thought of "I don't think my spine is that stiff." Only 1.5 years later, based on some restriction I ran into during my dance practice, did I become aware and accept that my whole upper body lacks just as much (if not more) my lower body.

[Kit_L]

I think anybody that has been pushing the boundaries will have experienced what you were experiencing now, Matt. With regards to strengthening and rehabbing a biceps femoris injury, there is no exercise that comes close to the single bent-leg Romanian dead lift – done with only body weight in the beginning. It is both stretching and strengthening. I'll see if I can find you a video link.

And don't forget you are close to your goals now – so less effort is needed and less improvement required. What you're doing currently is integrating that new range of movement into all of your movement patterns. That makes it permanent.

[Kit_L]

This is the exercise, but I have an important modification. Instead of using the back leg to counterlever your trunk as he shows, keep the back leg (or what is shown here is the back leg) bent and underneath your body – this way all of your balance and coordination will be done on the single working leg – plus the counterbalancing will not unweight the trunk. The main effect will be felt in biceps femoris as you will soon feel. Bodyweight only to begin with.

 

[Matt Chung]

> I think anybody that has been pushing the boundaries will have experienced what you were experiencing now, Matt. With regards to strengthening and rehabbing a biceps femoris injury, there is no exercise that comes close to the single bent-leg Romanian dead lift – done with only body weight in the beginning. It is both stretching and strengthening. I'll see if I can find you a video link.

Thanks so much @Kit_L. You're right: as much as I'd like to avoid injuries (and prevent them at well), seems that through this process — stretching, dancing, pushing limits — that injuries may be part and parcel of the process. 

> And don't forget you are close to your goals now – so less effort is needed and less improvement required. What you're doing currently is integrating that new range of movement into all of your movement patterns. That makes it permanent.

To this point, there are some movements that I had avoided half a year ago (or more) due to restrictions and limits around my hip flexors and over the past couple weeks, I'm finding that I can perform these movements without the pain that use to follow. So, definitely, something is changing.

[Matt Chung]

Day 581 of flexibility and stretching journey

Primary focus has been rehabilitating my (what the PT said) is my bicep femoris tendon. That said, the exercises prescribed to me by the PT do not actually trigger any (what I consider) any noticeable sensation. However, upon experimenting on my own body, when I perform the below exercise (see GIF) — where I sit on my bottom, bend my right knee, and drive heel down into the floor / drive foot forwards — I feel ("good") pain in the torn tendon and believe this particular movement/exercise is conducive to my repair my injury.

Although I don't doubt that bicep femoris is torn, I do wonder if there are some other tendons/muscles that were impacted since neither the

    1) single leg dead lift as Kit had mentioned and
    2) single leg eccentric hamstring curl (see video below) spark sensations in the torn area.

 

[Kit_L]

Matt, if the single-leg RDL does not affect the problem area, perhaps it's not the biceps femoris tendon. What else might cause this pain? And can you do the advanced piriformis movement on the affected side?

[Matt Chung]

> Matt, if the single-leg RDL does not affect the problem area, perhaps it's not the biceps femoris tendon. What else might cause this pain? And can you do the advanced piriformis movement on the affected side?

I should've clarified. The single-leg RDL does affect the problem area, just not intensely.  Curious about this, I experimented with ChatGPT, my question to ChatGPT below, followed its generated response.

Although the full response is below, I think what stood out to me the most was: "Loads the hamstring at long length"

> i recently went to a physical therapist because my leg was hurting and after doing a catscan, the pt told me that i had a tear in my bicep femoris tendon, connecting the heads. to aid in the recovery of this injury, he suggested that I perform eccentric hamstring curls. that is, hamstring curl with both legs, the on the way down, load all the weight on to the (right) injured leg. This used to be unbearable and now has improved. However, I noticed what affects the location of the pain the most is if I am in the following position: sitting on chair, I then elevate my (right) injured leg and draw my knee towards my chest and allow the sole of my foot rest on the seat; then, I draw my knee towards my chest. while pulling my knee towards my chest, I do feel some moderate pain however the strongest sensation I feel is if, when in this starting position, while both hands wrapped around the knee or shin to keep my leg tucked in this position, I try to either drive the heel of my foot down into the seat of the chair, or when I try to kick my leg outwards (slowly). Is this still the bicep femoris tendon or some other muscle/tendon? and how might i use this exercise (that I discovered) -- or another -- to heal my recovery. that is, can i use a banded version or can I continue this version without any external devices (e.g. weights, bands, etc)?

I’ll answer this in a mechanistic + rehab-oriented way, not as a diagnosis. Since you already have imaging and a PT involved, think of this as helping you interpret what you’re feeling and how to use it safely.

---

1. What structure is most likely being stressed in that position?

Short answer

Yes — it is still very likely the biceps femoris tendon / proximal hamstring complex, but you are biasing it in a very specific way that explains why it feels different and more intense than your hamstring curls.

Why this position lights it up

Let’s break down what your position does biomechanically:

You are:

• Hip flexed deeply (knee toward chest)

• Knee flexed

• Actively attempting:

  • Knee flexion isometric (driving heel down)

  • Knee extension effort (trying to kick out)

The biceps femoris (long head):

• Crosses both the hip and knee

• Is maximally lengthened when the hip is flexed

• Still contributes force even when the knee is flexed (especially isometrically)

So in that tucked position, when you:

• Drive the heel down → isometric hamstring contraction at long muscle length

• Try to kick out → eccentric hamstring control from a shortened leverage position

👉 This combination produces very high tendon strain, especially at the proximal tendon and musculotendinous junction, which matches:

• Your known tear

• The fact that this was unbearable before and is now tolerable (classic tendon adaptation)

---

2. Is this something other than biceps femoris?

Possible contributors (but less likely as the main issue)

• Semimembranosus / semitendinosus: also involved, but your lateral-biased symptoms + history point more toward biceps femoris.

• Neural tension (sciatic nerve): less likely because:

  • Pain increases with active force production, not just stretch

  • Neural pain usually changes dramatically with ankle movement or spinal position

If this were primarily neural, you’d feel:

• Sharp, electric, or burning sensations

• Strong changes with foot dorsiflexion/plantarflexion
  That doesn’t match what you described.

---

3. Why this feels different from eccentric hamstring curls

Your PT-prescribed exercise:

• Loads the hamstring through knee flexion/extension

• With hip relatively neutral

• Emphasizes controlled eccentric loading

Your discovered position:

• Loads the hamstring at long length

• Emphasizes isometric → eccentric tendon loading

• Is closer to how hamstring tendons are stressed in real movement (running, kicking, dancing)

This is actually very relevant for tendon rehab — if dosed correctly.

---

4. Can you use this exercise to aid recovery?

Yes — but only if you treat it as graded isometric → eccentric tendon loading

This is a valid rehab stimulus, not a random pain trigger.

How to use it safely (important)

Phase 1 – Isometric holds (best starting point)

This is where tendon rehab often starts.

• Sit in the position you described

• Hug the knee in

• Gently drive the heel into the chair

• Hold 20–30 seconds

• Pain during hold should be:

  • ≤ 3–4/10

  • NOT worsening afterward

• 4–6 reps

• 1–2× per day

👉 Isometrics:

• Reduce tendon pain

• Improve load tolerance

• Are safer early in tendon healing

---

Phase 2 – Controlled eccentric attempts

Once isometrics are well tolerated:

• From the same tucked position

• Slowly try to extend the knee 2–4 inches

• Stop before sharp pain

• Use hands to assist return

• 6–8 reps, slow (4–6 seconds down)

This mimics your hamstring curl eccentric — but at longer length.

---

5. Bands vs bodyweight — what’s better?

Bodyweight is actually ideal right now

Because:

• The lever arm is already long

• Tendon strain is high even without external load

• You can modulate force very precisely

When to add a band

Add a very light band only when:

• This position feels stable

• Pain during loading stays ≤ 3/10

• No symptom flare the next day

Band placement:

• Loop around foot

• Anchor forward

• Use it only to add light eccentric resistance

---

6. What to avoid for now

• Stretching aggressively into pain

• Fast or ballistic knee extension

• Adding load and range at the same time

• “Pushing through” tendon pain (tendons hate that)

---

7. How this fits with your existing eccentric curls

You’re actually doing something very good already.

Think of it as:

• Hamstring curls → mid-range strength

• This tucked isometric/eccentric → long-length tendon capacity

Together, they cover the rehab spectrum.

---

8. One very important check

Please run this exact exercise by your PT and say something like:

“This position reproduces my symptoms but feels load-dependent and is improving. Can we integrate it as a long-length isometric or eccentric?”

A good PT will recognize this immediately as appropriate tendon loading, not something to avoid.

---

If you want

I can:

• Help you progress this over weeks

• Map it to dance-specific demands (especially relevant given your training goals)

• Help you distinguish good tendon pain vs warning signs

Just say how far post-diagnosis you are and whether pain lingers the next day.