Introduction and Straddle/Pike Help

[MichaelCan]

Hi all,

Found this forum from Gymnastic Bodies: currently in the early parts of F1/H1, with rock climbing as my primary sport. I have horrible straddle/pike flexibility – never been able to touch my toes, which is hindering my progress a lot.

Whenever I try to touch my toes with straight legs I get an incredibly strong burning sensation behind my knee. This includes your one-legged dog stretch. I’ve been trying these straight-legged stretches for years and don’t seem to have made any progress.

I can squat in bare feet keeping my heels on the ground. I do feel like I’m falling backwards somewhat, so I’ve recently been working on gastroc/soleus flexibility as per your super-duper ankle stretch routine. I’ve been doing the hamstring lunge stretch as well.

I’ve been working on your gracilis/inner hamstring release from the straddle position (works wonders!). Whenever I attempt either side-splits while standing, or straddle while sitting, I get a lot of inner knee pain. I’ve attempted to bring my legs close enough together so that the pain isn’t noticeable when I’m stretching, but it still shows up right after I stand up for ~10 mins.

Any pointers would be great, and I’m excited for the GST stretching courses!

[Kit_L]

Welcome, Michael. I am flat out today, but if you search the forums, you will see answers to the same questions in a number of locations. Have a read of those first, and if you still have questions, post them and one of us will reply.

The search engine works pretty well, too. Cheers, Kl