Ankle to buttocks, on your side

Give yourself a kick in the buttocks (literally) with this quad stretch. Okay, it’s really not that hard. This stretch has you lying on your side, and contains two unique features: It’s one of the most accessible quad stretches to get into, and after you’re in it, proper form is easy to maintain. I recommend this stretch if you’re new to stretching.
To do this stretch, follow these steps:

1. Start by lying on your right side with your knees bent close to your chest.
2. Rest your right arm comfortably in a bent position underneath your head (to support your head) .
3. Grab the top of your left foot and gently pull your ankle back toward your buttocks. You should feel the stretch in the front of your thigh. If you squeeze your buttocks, you can increase the stretch, but don’t let your hips roll back. Always keep your hips stacked on top of each other, and focus on bringing the knee back. Don’t force your heel toward your buttocks, which can put undue pressure on your knee joint.
4. Hold the stretch for 30 seconds, and then repeat the stretch with your right leg and lying on your left side.

A few do’s and don’ts for this stretch:

• Do breathe as you hold the stretch.
• Do squeeze your buttocks and slightly tuck your pelvis under to deepen the stretch.
• Do keep your bottom knee bent for balance.
• Don’t jam your heel toward your buttocks.
• Don’t hold your breath.
• Don’t lift the knee — try to keep your inner thighs touching each other.

Modified hurdler stretch

You may remember the hurdler stretch from PE class, sitting on the grass with your bent knee twisted behind you. Fitness folks now know that that extreme position can put a lot of stress on your knee. I hope you find this modification more comfortable and less risky. You also get the added benefit of stretching your back and calf muscles, too. This stretch is more comfortable and effective to perform by using the aid of a towel or stretching strap.
To do this stretch, follow these steps:

1. Sit on the floor with your right leg straight out in front of you, your left leg bent inward at a comfortable angle, and your arms to your sides.
2. As you exhale, hinge forward at the hip, keeping your right leg straight and your foot relaxed.
3. Reach forward toward your toes as far as you can without bending your knee. If your right knee begins to bend or your upper back begins to tighten and get tense, you have gone too far. You can also imagine your tailbone moving toward the back of the room and your heel reaching toward the front of the room. This visualization should help you lengthen the back of your leg from both directions. Your tailbone should be reaching back as you hinge forward at the hips.
4. Breathe deeply and hold the stretch for 30 seconds. Deepen the stretch with each breath by tilting your pelvis back, lifting your chest, and flexing your foot so your toes are moving toward your shoulders.
5. Switch sides and repeat the same stretch on your other leg. stretching strap around the ball of your foot and then gently pulling on the ends of the towel/strap. Don’t get discouraged if your chest is nowhere near your leg. As long as you’re feeling a good deep stretch in the back of your thigh, you’re doing great!

A few do’s and don’ts for this stretch:

• Do gently hinge forward at your hips with your eyes looking forward.
• Do keep your knee straight, and try to keep the back of your knee on the floor.
• Do keep your back straight, not rounded, and don’t tense your shoulders.
• Don’t bounce or force the stretch.
• Don’t look down at your knee; look at the floor in front of your toes.

Standing stretch with foot on chair

If getting on the ground is uncomfortable or inconvenient for you, try out this hamstring stretch. You can use a chair or bench or even a fence if you’ve just finished running outdoors. Just make sure that where you place your foot is no higher than your hips.
To do this stretch, follow these steps:

1. Stand up straight with your feet flat on the floor and your abdominals lifted.
2. Lift your right leg and rest it on a chair or bench straight in front of you. Keep your hips squared to the front and both legs straight.
3. Inhale and as you exhale, lean forward from your hips and feel the stretch deepen in the back of your . Avoid rounding or bending your back.
4. Hold the stretch for 30 seconds or four to five slow, deep breaths.
5. Repeat this stretch on the other leg.

One trick I use to get a muscle group to relax is to contract the opposing muscle group. Try contracting your quadriceps (the muscles in the front of your thigh) while you stretch your hamstrings (the back of your thigh). This can help relax your hamstrings while you hold this stretch, and if your hamstrings are relaxed you get a deeper stretch.
A few do’s and don’ts for this stretch:

• Do breathe as you hold the stretch.
• Do progress through the stretch gradually.
• Do tilt your pelvis back, not under.
• Don’t round or bend at your waist; hinge at the hips and keep your back straight.

Lying leg extension

The lying leg extension is one of the easiest positions in which to isolate your hamstrings without having any other muscles pulling or straining. If you know you have tight hamstrings, I recommend using a towel or stretching strap to help keep your upper body relaxed and tension free.
If your hamstrings are extremely tight, you may find it more comfortable to do this stretch lying in a doorway with one leg on the floor and the other leg extended and resting against the doorjamb. As you get more flexible, your hips will get closer to the wall.
To do this stretch, follow these steps:

1. Lie on your back with your feet flat on the floor and close to your buttocks.
2. Lift your right leg and extend it upward.
3. Place one hand behind your thigh and one hand behind your knee or calf. Try to keep your leg straight but remember to stay in your comfort zone.
4. Inhale and as you exhale gently pull your leg closer toward your shoulders. Remember to keep your shoulders on the ground. Feel the stretch deepen with every exhale until you’ve reached the deepest point of the stretch.
5. Hold the stretch for 30 seconds or four to five slow, deep breaths.
6. Repeat the stretch on your other leg.

Your goal is to feel the stretch in the back of your thigh, not to get your knee to your nose. It’s important to anchor your hips to the floor, not to tuck your pelvis under or round your back. Don’t worry about how far down your leg gets; just feel the stretch in your hamstring.
A few do’s and don’ts for this stretch:

• Do breathe as you hold the stretch.
• Do progress through the stretch gradually.
• Do lie comfortably on the floor with your arms and shoulders relaxed.
• Don’t tuck your hips under or lift them off the floor.
• Don’t bend your knee.

Tight End: Back of the Thigh

Three primary muscles bend your knee and extend your hip: the biceps femoris (fem-er-is), the semitendinosus (semi-ten-duh-no-sis), and the semimembranosus (semi-mem-bruh-no-sis). Together, these three muscles are collectively known as your hamstrings. All of them are found next to each other in the back of your thigh.
Because you use your hamstrings for just about every movement your legs make, an injury to this area takes a long time to heal, and these muscles are easy to reinjure. A pulled hamstring can sideline you for a long time — just ask any professional athlete what a “pain in the butt” it is! So it’s important to do all you can to avoid a strain or pull in this area. A hamstring pull — a strain injury caused by a violent overextension or rapid contraction of the muscle — could be caused by an imbalance of strength between your hamstrings and your quadriceps or because of an imbalance of strength between your right and left leg. But in most cases the cause of the injury is a fundamental lack of flexibility. Keeping your hamstrings flexible is your best defense against this type of injury. So get stretching!

Seated external rotator stretch

Dancers love this stretch because it targets the muscles that outwardly rotate the hips and thighs — your gluteus medius and gluteus minimus (muscles that get used a lot if you’re a ballet dancer). As an added bonus, you get a nice stretch in your core muscles, too.
To do this stretch, follow these steps:

1. Sit on the floor with your right leg straight in front of you and your left foot crossed over your right thigh.
2. As you inhale, pull your left knee toward your chest with your right hand and sit up very straight as if a string was attached to the top of your head, lengthening your spine.
3. As you exhale, look over your left shoulder, rotating your spine and tilting your pelvis back .
4. Hold the stretch for about 30 seconds, deepening the stretch with every breath. Feel this stretch in your buttocks and pay close attention to the position of your pelvis. Imagine a string attached to your tailbone pulling your tailbone toward the back wall.
5. Switch sides and repeat the same stretch on your other leg.

A few do’s and don’ts for this stretch:

• Do bring your knee close to your chest before you twist.
• Do look over your shoulder so you lengthen your neck muscles as well.
• Do sit up straight to lengthen your spine before you rotate.
• Don’t tuck your pelvis under or round your back.

Buttocks stretch

Believe it or not, nine muscles make up the buttocks area. And, believe it or not, this lying hip and buttocks stretch lengthens them all — even the smaller, deeper muscles. If your buttocks is tight, specifically your piriformis muscle, it can pinch your sciatic nerve and cause pain similar to sciatica. This stretch specifically targets the piriformis.
To do this stretch, follow these steps:

1. Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor.
2. Lift your right foot and place the outside of your right ankle on your left thigh, just above your knee.
3. Raise your left foot off the floor, inhale, and as you exhale, gently pull your left knee closer to your chest with your hands. Don’t forget to interlock your fingers behind your left knee for support. If it’s uncomfortable to interlock your hands behind your knee, try wrapping a small hand towel around the back of your thigh and use that to gently pull your leg toward your chest.
4. With your right elbow, gently press your right knee away from you.
5. Hold the stretch for 30 seconds, gradually deepening the stretch with every exhalation.
6. Repeat the stretch by switching legs.

A few do’s and don’ts for this stretch:

• Do keep your shoulder blades down and your upper body relaxed.
• Do be patient and let the stretch deepen with each breath.
• Don’t lift your hips off the floor or lean to one side.
• Don’t bounce or force the stretch.

Lying buttocks stretch with foot to opposite shoulder

This lying buttocks stretch specifically targets your gluteus maximus. To do this stretch, follow these steps:

1. Lie on your back with your legs straight out in front of you.
2. Bring your right knee toward your chest, keeping your left leg straight.
3. With your right hand, hold your knee (on top of the knee) and grab your right ankle with your left hand.
4. Inhale and as you exhale pull your foot toward your opposite shoulder and your knee toward the midline of your body. Make sure to keep your shoulders and head on the floor.
5. Hold the stretch for 30 seconds or four to five deep breaths.
6. Repeat the stretch on your left side.

This stretch can also be done sitting with your back against a wall, but remember to keep your back upright and your opposite leg straight.
A few do’s and don’ts for this stretch:

• Do keep your shoulders and head on the floor.
• Do breathe throughout the stretch.
• Do progress through the stretch gradually and slowly.
• Don’t pull on your foot only; this places undue stress on your knee.
• Don’t tuck your pelvis under — think of tilting your tailbone toward the floor.

Runner’s lunge

The runner’s lunge is one of the best stretches for everyone, not just runners. The stretch targets your iliopsoas. Because of the importance of these muscles to your back health and overall leg health, no matter what, stretching this area is a must. If this stretch is uncomfortable for you to get into, try doing it with your back leg extended on an exercise bench and your front foot on the floor.
To do this stretch, follow these steps:

1. Begin standing with your legs spread about two feet apart with the right foot in front of you and the left foot behind you.
2. Inhale and as you exhale, bend both knees until you can place both hands on the floor directly behind your right heel.
3. Slide your left leg back far enough so you can lower your knee to the floor without putting weight on your kneecap.
4. Inhale again and as you exhale gently press the front of the hip of your left leg toward the floor.
5. Hold this stretch for 30 seconds or four to five slow, deep breaths.
6. Repeat the same stretch on the right side.

A few do’s and don’ts for this stretch:

• Do keep your chest lifted and your shoulder blades down.
• Do keep your front knee at a right angle and directly over your front heel.
• Do progress through the stretch gradually and slowly.
• Don’t jut your front knee forward — if your front knee is moving forward, you could be putting undue strain on your knee.
• Don’t put your weight on the kneecap of the leg behind you. Instead, your weight should be supported on the softer part of your leg just above your kneecap.

Behind the Scenes: Hips and Buttocks

What does an athlete who never stretches and a dedicated couch potato have in common? If you said they both really need to read this book, you’re right! But another answer is that even though one is actually an athlete, they both probably have tight hip flexors. To enhance your wealth of knowledge about your body, here are a few terms to tuck away regarding the hip and buttocks muscles and their functional roles (no, not the role of swaying to and fro to attract that special someone’s attention):

• Hip flexors: These muscles are also known as the iliopsoas (il-ee-oh-so-as) and are made up of three muscles — the psoas (so-as) major, psoas minor, and iliacus (il-ee-ah-kus) that run across the front of the hip and pass through the pelvis, attaching to your lower back area. They work together to flex the hips and rotate the lower spine. This area can get very tight because it gets a lot of use. The hip flexors are the muscles that lift your knee or move your leg forward is such movements as going up stairs, walking, running, or just about anything that has to do with forward motion. Ironically, these muscles can also get tight and shorten if you sit all day. And, because this muscle group attaches to your lower back area, if it is tight it can cause lower back pain.
• Glutes: One of the primary muscles of the buttocks; “glutes” is slang that collectively refers to the three muscles in the buttocks:
• Gluteus maximus: The largest and most superficial muscle in your buttocks, the maximus is responsible for hip extension, and it also helps rotate the hip outward.
• Gluteus medius: This muscle is the mid-size glute, and its function is to move your leg to the side (abduction of your hip joint). It also helps rotate your thigh inward and outward.
• Gluteus minimus: The smallest and deepest of the glutes. It also functions as a hip abductor and rotates the thigh inward and outward.
• Piriformis: The piriformis (peer-i-for-mus) plays an important role in stabilizing the spine, working together with the iliopsoas to create pelvic balance. If either the iliopsoas or the piriformis is excessively tight or weak, you can experience low back pain or other postural problems. That’s why it’s important to balance the strength and flexibility of the iliopsoas muscle (front of the hip) with the strength and flexibility of the glutes and piriformis (buttocks).

Stretches for your Bottom Half

The muscles of your lower body — your hips, buttocks, thighs, calves, ankles, and feet —all work together like the many different instruments in an orchestra. When they’re all doing their part, they make beautiful music together, but when one of them is out of tune, the entire performance suffers.
Tightness in the lower body can be the hidden culprit in a wide variety of ailments that, at first glance, you may not blame them for. Poor posture, disorders of the back such as lordosis (swayback) or scoliosis (lateral curvature of the spine), indigestion, headaches, and even difficulty breathing can all be caused to one degree or another by imbalances in the lower body due to muscle tension and tightness.
For yet another example, a runner with tight hamstrings can have a shortened stride due to the tightness. A shortened stride means more steps, which means expending more energy, which means energy wasted. It also means more impact, which can lead to more injuries. But stretching can stop this cycle of doom, once and for all. In this chapter, I break down the muscles of the lower body into sections: hips and buttocks, hamstrings, quadriceps, groin and inner thigh, lower leg, and feet and ankles. Each section gives you a variety of stretches for that particular area. Experiment with each stretch to see which stretches suit your body best.
Throughout the following stretches for your hips, buttocks, and thighs, be aware of the position of your pelvis. All these muscles are attached to your pelvis in one way or another, and if your pelvis isn’t correctly positioned, you can diminish the effectiveness of these stretches