Gluteal stretch

One of the main functions of the gluteal muscles of the buttocks is to help fully extend the hip joint, which is a crucial part of the running motion. This exercise helps ensure that you get full range of motion in your buttocks muscles, and therefore your hips, which results in a long, graceful, fluid, powerful running stride.
To do this stretch, follow these steps:

1. Get on the floor on your hands and knees.
2. Bring your left knee forward as far as you can, and rest your knee, shin and foot on the floor.
3. Inhale and as you exhale, lower your left buttock to the ground, extending your right leg behind you and resting the front of your right thigh, kneecap, shin, and foot on the floor (see Figure).
4. 4Gently push your right hip toward the floor and hold the stretch for 30 seconds. To intensify this stretch, try moving your front foot farther away from your hip.
5. 5Repeat this stretch on your other leg.

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

• Do keep your hips facing front.

• Do support the weight of your upper body on your hands.
• Do lean forward, but don’t arch your back.
• Don’t continue holding the stretch if you feel pain in your front knee.

Guidelines You Don’t Want to Skip DUring Stretching

No matter what sport you engage in, you want to improve your athletic performance and decrease your risk of injury. So check out the following list for some basic flexibility training guidelines:

• Warm up. Make sure you warm up before you start to exercise. You need just about 10 to 15 minutes of dynamic stretching that mimics what you’ll later be doing full speed.
• Drink fluids. Your muscles and joints need fluid to stay flexible and lubricated. So here are the guidelines:

1. If you exercise for less than an hour, water is more than adequate.
2. However, if you exercise more than an hour, a sports drink improves endurance, reaction time, and concentration because carbohydrates are being used by both the brain and muscle during prolonged exercise.

• Focus on a particular area. Each sport has specific requirements: A runner needs a flexible lower body; racquet sports require flexibility in the upper body; and in contact sports, you need a strong flexible core. To enhance performance and help prevent injury, focus on the area you use the most.
• Don’t forget the rest of your body. If you’re serious about improving your game through stretching, you’ll have to engage in a flexibility program that stretches your entire body two or three days a week. Like everything else in life, you get out of it what you put into it.
• Cool down. Never forget to cool down after a workout because it allows the blood and oxygen to return to your heart and muscles instead of “pooling” or staying in your extremities. After your breathing returns to normal and your heart rate is under 100 beats per minute, your body has cooled down sufficiently.

Hip flexor stretch on one knee

The benefit of this stretch is that it can target your hip flexor — a very difficult muscle to isolate but one that’s important to stretch because it’s responsible for how you walk and all lower body movement.
If this kneeling stretch is uncomfortable on your knees, try placing a folded towel or pillow under your knee for cushion.
To do this stretch, follow these steps:

1. Kneel on one knee, place your other foot flat on the floor in front of you with your knee bent, and make sure you maintain good posture with your upper body. Make sure that the back foot and leg aren’t turned in. You’ll feel the stretch a little more in your hip flexor if your foot is directly behind your hip.
2. Inhale and as you exhale, squeeze your buttocks and tilt your pelvis under. Feel the front part of your hip lengthen. If you don’t feel the stretch, you may have to squeeze your buttocks and tuck your pelvis a little more.
3. Hold the stretch for 30 seconds or four to five slow, deep breaths.
4. Repeat on the other side.

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

• Do breathe throughout the stretch.
• Do keep your chest lifted and shoulders back.
• Do keep your shoulders directly over your hips — you want to lengthen the front of your hip, not shorten it.
• Don’t hinge forward at your hip.
• Don’t arch your back; just focus on squeezing your buttocks and tucking your pelvis under.