Don’t Confuse Hip Flexor Weakness For Tightness
I get this one all the time, “Posture Guy help! My hip flexors are tight and I don’t know what to do!” Alright, well maybe not in such a dramatic tone, but you get the point. Unfortunately though, most people’s way of dealing with this to simply stretch the ever loving you know what out of them. Worse yet is that hip flexor weakness is often confused with tightness. So all that stretching does is just make things worse. But what if there was another way? A way to simultaneously strengthen your hip flexors while feeding them slack. Sounds crazy, I know. But stick with me and I’ll explain…
Alright, so first of all, if you haven’t already seen the “Q&A With The Posture Guy” episode, go ahead and do so now. I’ll wait…
(NOTE: From 22:25–30:27 I share with you how to tell if your tight muscles are short and tight or long and taught. This is a VERY IMPORTANT DISTINCTION!)
Then watch the video above and use the exercise routine below to learn how to return your hip flexors back to their normal length and tension.
Tight Hip Flexor Routine (for those in hip extension)
Static Back — Hold for 5 minutes or until lower back flattens.
Flexion Abdominal Position — Hold for 4 min.
Elevated Child’s Pose Pressure Glide — Hold for 3 min.
Supine Foot Circles & Point/Flexes — Do 40 circles each way and 40 point and flexes. Then switch sides and repeat.
But if you’re more in the mood for some easier to digest little tidbits of information then check out the following Viddys (short 30 sec or less daily videos that I post):
Day 147: Stop stretching and start strengthening
Day 166: Are tight muscles weak muscles?
Day 222: Muscles don’t just tighten up to piss you off
And as always, if you have any questions or need any further help along the way, you know where to find me. Happy hip flexor strengthening, eh stretching, eh…you know what I mean ;-)
Take care and be a good human,
Justin Archer formerly known as “The Posture Guy”, now co-host of
The Optimized Self Dojo: Where people go to practice Mixed Mental Arts and Lifestyle Design Strategy to elevate their physical, mental and emotional well-being so they can see, be, do, have and give better.
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“I learn, think, ask, listen, discuss and do A LOT. Therefore I am.
And I define myself by how I choose to serve others.” — Me; WE>me
Why, How and What I Do: http://justinarcher.me
P.S. If you enjoy and have learned a lot from this content, but still feel you need more of a customized approach to help with your particular pain, posture, and/or performance issues that you’re currently struggling with then make sure to check out both the 1-On-1 Individual Sessions and Mentoring Programs that I offer. This way we can work together to reach your goals as effectively and efficiently as possible.
