Physics...Physiology...Physical Therapy

Video: How Many Different Ways To Stretch Your Hips?

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People are often surprised when I tell them that their ‘hip flexor’ is more than just one muscle. There are actually at least six on each hip! Each of these contribute to hip flexion, but also have other unique responsibilities. One of the muscles targeted in today’s video is the Tensor Fascia Latae (TFL). All of you that zoned out halfway through that name can come back now, no more crazy latin terminology I promise!

This muscle is located at the front and side of each hip and directly attaches onto the IT Band. This muscle, along with your Glute Med and Glute Min comprise the lateral musculature of your hip. Your Glutes also attach onto your IT Band, but don’t influence it as much as the TFL.

A common imbalance with runners is tight TFL with weak Glutes. Have you been accused of not using your Glutes properly? Give this stretch a try. Have you felt pain or tightness in the TFL or IT Band? Give this stretch a try. Are you interested in keeping all your muscles happy and healthy? Add this one into your arsenal of stretches!

When your lateral hip is working harmoniously, life is so much happier for your hips, knees, and low back. This stretch can help restore balance to an otherwise susceptible area.

As always, please share this with a friend who may find it useful. Please also leave me a comment on youtube, the facebook page, or on the blog itself, to let me know how this stretch is working for you! Also, tune in wednesday evening on the facebook page for a live video covering this and other topics. Run fast friends!

Video: Most People Stretch Their Hamstrings Incorrectly…Don’t Be One of Them!!

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Everyone complains about tight hamstrings right? Many people regularly stretch their hamstrings, but see no results.

The two biggest mistakes we make when stretching our hamstrings, is starting with a straight knee and flexing our low back. Both of these bad habits cause our stretching attempts to be ineffective and set us up for aggravating our knees and low back.

Our hamstrings attach onto our sit bone (aka ischial tuberosity) before crossing our hips. Because of this, the movement that best targets the hamstrings should come from our hips, not our low back! Unfortunately, many of us have learned to move incorrectly when we bend toward the floor. Males seem to be especially prone to this!

We’ll cover this in more detail in our facebook live session wednesday evening.

When your hamstrings are working correctly it makes us more efficient runners and takes a lot of stress off our low backs and knees. All good things right!

As always, please share this with a friend and holler with any feedback you have for the video and the site as a whole. Run fast friends!

Video: Stretch Your Glutes for More Efficient Running

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Are your glutes working properly? Have you been encouraged to ‘activate your glutes’ while running? This concept seems to be getting more buzz than core strength these days, which is a good thing!

But…how many of us know if we are ‘activated’ properly? Indeed, this is a tricky concept because it can be much more complicated than to simply squeeze a little or perform a few donkey kicks before you run.

I won’t promise that there is one magic exercise that is going to solve this for you, but today’s video will perhaps bring you one step closer to using all your muscles properly and harmoniously! In order for your muscles to work properly, they need to have enough flexibility for the activity you’re doing. As runners, we don’t need to be as flexible as gymnasts! Our glutes need to have enough flexibility to absorb when our foot hits the ground. This impact is what loads our muscles and prepares them to have maximal power output (picture a slingshot being pulled back). Our muscles can only fire well once they’ve been loaded in this way.

But ultimately, if our flexibility is off, then our muscles will not fire properly!

All of us could benefit from the stretch featured in today’s video, but it will be especially helpful for anyone who has hip, hamstring, or low back discomfort. Or anyone wants to be more efficient and graceful in how they run!

Please holler with any questions you have and please share this with a friend. I greatly appreciate it! Also, check out the Facebook page for live videos and Q&A going into more detail on these concepts and exercises. Run fast friends!

Video: Hip Flexor Stretches for Smoother Running

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Are your hip flexors too tight? ‘Possibly’ you say, ‘but I have no idea, how do you tell?’

Our hip flexors (muscles in the front of our hips) are blamed for many of our ailments, including low back issues, hamstring crankiness, as well as hip and groin pain. In answer to the above question, chances are good that yours’ are tight if you’ve ever experienced any issues around your hips or low back.

As runners, it’s critical to have adequate flexibility in our hip flexors. When they’re working well, it’s a big contributor to proper form, when they are too tight, they can make our strides very inefficient and get in the way of other muscles working properly.

Our hip flexors consist of 6 muscles that run at all angles across the front of your hip. Because of the unique angles that the muscles run, it’s important to add twists into your stretches.

Today’s video demonstrates my favorite ways to stretch the hip flexors in a very targeted and functional way. Try these as a warm up for running, or before a strengthening routine in order to calibrate your hips and make life that much smoother!

As always, please share this with a friend and leave some feedback on how these work for you!

5 Minute Routine for Hip Strength: More important than all the crunches and planks in the world!

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How important is hip strength for running? Absolutely crucial! With every step you take, the hip muscles are the primary drivers of swinging your leg forward. Even more important than that, they are absolutely necessary for stabilizing your core, which will allow the rest of the core muscles to keep your spine in alignment and fire properly.

Indeed, proper hip strength sets you up for success as a runner more than all the crunches and planks in the world can do.

That’s the focus for today’s video. This is a 5 minute routine that can be done without equipment or going to the gym. Do this routine twice per week and see how your form improves!

As always, please share this with a friend who would find it helpful. Also, check out the Facebook page for live videos, Q&A, and other helpful content!