Your adductors are the muscles in the groin area of your legs that are tight in most people. Groin pulls are a common injury that can result from a tight muscle and insufficient preparation for activity.
Two stretches that will improve the length in your adductors and prepare the tissue for exercise are the kneeling adductor mobilization and the lateral lunge. To make a dynamic stretching routine pick (1) ankle mobility stretch, (1) hamstring stretch, and (1) adductor stretch.
Kneeling Adductor Mobilitization – perform 12 times each side
You will feel this stretch in the groin area of the straightened leg. For a deep stretch, rock back as far as possible.
Lateral Lunge – perform 8 times each side
Keep your toes pointed straight and push your butt back as far as possible in this stretch. Hold the down position for 2 seconds and then switch to the other side.
-Chris
Chris works at the Boston Sports Club in Westborough, MA as a personal trainer where he helps clients with goals ranging from weight loss to athletic performance. He graduated from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst in May 2010 with a BS in Kinesiology. Chris is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) through the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA). In the fall of 2010, he completed his internship in the Rehabilitative Services department at the Fallon Clinic in Worcester, MA. During his senior year, Chris worked as a Manager and Personal Trainer at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst Residential Wellness Centers.
Get off your butt and stretch your hamstrings! When we are seated, our hamstrings are stuck in a shortened position, which leads to a great tightness in the back of our legs. You might even be so tight that the closest to touching your toes is just past your kneecaps.
Well, what have you been doing about it?
Your hamstrings are responsible for flexing your knee and extending your hip. If they are so tight that you cannot come close to touching your toes, chances are you are also a poor runner. Tight hamstrings significantly shorten the length of your running stride.
Use dynamic stretches to get some length in those hamstrings!
My two favorite dynamic stretches for the hamstrings are the inchworm and squat-to-stand. Pick one of the ankle mobility stretchesand then pick one of the following stretches for your hamstrings.
Inchworm – perform 5 times
In the inchworm you get the added benefit of a calf stretch and you are working your abdominals too when you reach out your arms. The stretch starts with your feet together and you reaching down to touch your toes. Walk your hands out slowly as far as you can while keeping your feet flat for as long as possible. Once your arms are fully extended, slowly inch your feet back to your hands, and get your heels on the ground as soon as possible.
Squat-to-Stand – perform 6 times
This stretch is great for stretching the hamstrings and for improving hip mobility. Stand with your feet slightly wider than shoulder width apart and toes pointed slightly outward. Curl your toes up and reach your hands under your toes, keeping your knees straight. Then, sit down into the stretch and get your butt as close to the ground as you can. Keep your arms inside your legs and push your knees outward with your elbows so you get a stretch in your adductors (groin). Keep your head up with good posture and do not shrug your shoulders…relax them!
-Chris
Chris works at the Boston Sports Club in Westborough, MA as a personal trainer where he helps clients with goals ranging from weight loss to athletic performance. He graduated from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst in May 2010 with a BS in Kinesiology. Chris is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) through the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA). In the fall of 2010, he completed his internship in the Rehabilitative Services department at the Fallon Clinic in Worcester, MA. During his senior year, Chris worked as a Manager and Personal Trainer at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst Residential Wellness Centers.
Today's guest blog post about stretching comes from personal trainer Chris Chapman, a friend who suffered through Organic Chemistry with me this past spring. Chris will be guest blogging more in the future, so feel free to leave questions for him in the comments section...
Are you getting the most out of your warm-ups?
Before beginning a workout, whether it is a 3-mile trail run or an upper body strength day, you need prepare your body for the specific demands of that workout. Done are the days where before we start exercising we do some arm circles, maybe a toe touch, and of course, the standing heel-to-butt quad stretch.
The best way to prepare the body for exercising is to use dynamic stretching (a.k.a. mobility drills). Dynamic stretching is a sport-specific movement that prepares the body for exercise by actively moving a joint through range of motion used in your sport or activity. Contrary to static stretching (holding a stretch for 15-30 seconds to lengthen a single muscle), dynamic stretching forces muscles to work together while raising your body temperature and increasing blood flow to the muscles.
You are wasting your time by walking on the treadmill for 10 minutes or running a couple of laps to “warm-up” the body and then picking a couple of stretches to hold for 15 seconds. A proper warm-up should take 10-15 minutes, and most of that will come from dynamic stretches (remember these will increase your body temperature and blood flow).
Over the next couple of weeks I will tell you which dynamic stretches you should be using that will increase your mobility (the quality of your joint’s movement), reduce the chance of injury in your exercise, and best yet, improve your performance in your activity!
ANKLE MOBILITY
One source of knee pain is poor ankle mobility. If you do not have quality movement in your ankles, your knee becomes less stable and this increase in force on your knee can lead to pain. Luckily there are drills you can do before you exercise that can decrease the stiffness in those ankles! My two favorites are the Wall Ankle Mobilization Drill and the Rocking Ankle Mobilization. Alternate which days you use each drill and perform12 repetitions on each ankle.
Wall Ankle Mobilization
Eric Cressey does a great job of explaining this drill.
Rocking Ankle Mobilization
In this drill it you want to rock back onto your heel as far as you can, and curl your toes up off the ground, then you will point your toes as straight as you can.
Check back soon to see my dynamic stretching recommendations for your hamstrings!
-Chris
Chris works at the YMCA of Central Massachusetts as a personal trainer where he helps clients with goals ranging from weight loss to athletic performance. He graduated from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst in May 2010 with a BS in Kinesiology. Chris is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) through the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA). In the fall of 2010, he completed his internship in the Rehabilitative Services department at the Fallon Clinic in Worcester, MA. During his senior year, Chris worked as a Manager and Personal Trainer at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst Residential Wellness Centers.
