Results 11 to 20 of 22
- 4 Weeks Ago #11
- Join Date
- Jun 2020
- Posts
- 175
- 4 Weeks Ago #12
- Join Date
- Jan 2021
- Posts
- 10
Same here, hoping others may chime in. The more I think about my current warmup, lifting, and ab routine I think my biggest weaknesses are my adductors and abs. I focus a ton of time in my warm ups to abductors (banded squat walks) and glutes (good mornings) but hardly anything for the adductors. As I’ve done research about my core exercises (TRX oblique crunches, v-ups, strict hanging toes to bar), I’ve realized I’ve probably relied mostly on my hip flexor strength rather than my actual abdominal muscles, so switching up that routine will help a lot to target the right muscles.
- 4 Weeks Ago #13
- Join Date
- Jun 2020
- Posts
- 175
Do you feel it in your hip flexors sometimes when you do core workouts? That could explain something too
- 4 Weeks Ago #14
- Join Date
- Dec 2019
- Location
- United Kingdom
- Posts
- 360
This is normally called military posture where almost everything is tight. I don't think you have any weakness on the glutes, or hamstring, or abs.
Your calves are super tight. It is important as sometimes you may think hamstring are tight, but actually it is the calves that create tightness while knees are straight.
Your glutes are probably tight as well. The medius certainly is, and it is powerful in an athletic level.
Upper abs are tight too, they are the ones pulling the spine down.
Obliques tightness as well.
Without examining it is not easy to say, but the normal scenario is that when glutes are way more powerful compared to psoas, the psoas becomes weak. The body tightens it to protect it. That contributes to the arch in the back as well. Also with powerful quads, the body use them for leg flexion (not hip flexion) and psoas becomes less frequently used and thus stiff as well. It all reflects badly on levator ani.
Test your hip flexion stamina. In standing position, flex one hip above 90 degree while the obviously the other leg is on the ground. See if you can keep the leg up 30 secs (in normal people it is less than that time, but based on other muscles in your body if it is anything less, then it is weak compared to the rest).
Your situation should not be that hard to fix.
How is spine mobility? There's something in yoga called half lord fish pose. Can you do it?
- 4 Weeks Ago #15
- Join Date
- Jan 2021
- Posts
- 10
Hi Anthony, thanks for the detailed response. The hip flexion stamina test you asked me to do, with the hip above 90, do you mean raise my knee straight in front of me bringing my knee to 90 degrees? Or more like bringing my leg out to the side like a dog peeing? The latter is much harder for me but doable for 30 seconds. The former is very easy, I could hold my knee up against significant resistance for longer than 30 seconds easily. I think my hip strength comes from running and cycling. And while my abs aren’t weak, I thought there may be an imbalance there as I haven’t been focusing on them too too much as of late.
As for spine, my thoracic spine mobility is terrible. I tried the yoga pose, I can get my elbow to the front side of my up knee in either the right or left version, but it takes a fair amount of effort and use of my back arm to be able to touch my down knee with my hand, if that makes sense. Overall I think my spine mobility is poor.
I’ll try stretching my calves more, I definitely don’t give them enough attention. And I agree with your statement that probably many of my muscles hold tension, though I try to stretch out after cycling and lifting sessions. Not every time though.
- 4 Weeks Ago #16
- Join Date
- Jun 2020
- Posts
- 175
- 4 Weeks Ago #17
- Join Date
- Jan 2021
- Posts
- 10
I realize now you probably meant just lifting my leg straight out in front of me to create 90 degrees between my 2 legs. If that’s what you meant, then it is quite difficult for me to get to 30s. It was a struggle from about 25s to 30, I got there but it was tough. Do you have suggestions on strengthening the psoas? Thanks again
- 4 Weeks Ago #18
- Join Date
- Dec 2019
- Location
- United Kingdom
- Posts
- 360
I meant assume your are going to go up a very high step, nothing acrobatic
straight forward, more than 90 degrees so you activate psoas without quads help. If you can hold that then it is only the stiffness of the back posterior muscles, in particular glutes. Or glutes are even more tensed and powerful than it shows.
Also check external and internal rotation of the hips (watch how to do it on youtube, lying down, rotating the knee stuff). You can't really say those by pics.
This is good stuff. I've never heard of military posture. How can you tell this is military posture over Lordosis? I was assuming due to the arch in the back this was Lordosis
For example if he didn't have that tightness on upper abs, he probably wouldn't have that excessive curve on the lower back.
- 4 Weeks Ago #19
- Join Date
- Jun 2020
- Posts
- 175
- 4 Weeks Ago #20
- Join Date
- Jan 2021
- Posts
- 10
Ah yes, I can definitely do that without issue. Must be some tightness in my glutes. Also will try to work on relaxing my upper abs through press ups (cobra pose).
Hey Sam, welcome to the...
A New Beginning