Tight hip flexors despite all your lunge stretches?

In partnership with

Tight hip flexors can ruin your day, limiting your flexibility and even causing serious pain!

I used to be queen of tight hip flexors. The only relief came from daily deep lunges, preferably with someone pushing on me. These days, I can’t remember the last time I stretched in a lunge and my hip flexors are relaxed and strong. What’s the difference? Hamstrings!

Let’s get into it! But first…

Want to learn my favorite hamstrings training tools?

We have launched my new series on hamstrings health and mobility! There are four different programs depending on your needs.

If you want to receive more information about the program that is right for you, answer this question so I know more about your hamstrings’ needs and desires…

Hip Flexors and Hamstrings: Symbiosis

The hip flexor muscle group, containing approximately 11 muscles, is antagonistic to the hamstring muscle group. There are only 3 hamstrings. Fortunately the hamstrings have the lower gluteus maximus to help them out.

In muscle terminology the word “antagonist” makes it sound like those two muscle groups are fighting each other, but actually they exist in a symbiotic relationship of mutual support and dependency.

Hip flexors work to bring the thigh bone towards the chest. There are so many of them because that is a very, very important job.

Hamstrings (and the lower glute max) work to bring the thigh bone away from the chest, even into hip extension. This is also an important job that falls to these few but vital muscles.

In a perfect world these muscles are evenly balanced so that they can work to hold the pelvis in alignment and move your hips and thighs through a full range of motion with strength and control.

Exhibit A:

Think of the hip flexors and hamstrings as dance partners in the groovy disco of your pelvis.

What Happens when the Hamstrings Get Sleepy

Hamstrings get sleepy.

I use the term “sleepy” to describe a muscle that is not neurologically snappy. It may not be firing consistently, and it doesn’t respond with the appropriate amount of force to the demands of your activity. It may also be weak, but the main problem is that it doesn’t respond when needed. Sleepy.

The root causes of sleepy muscles are myriad. In the case of hamstrings it is often because we sit too much, which shortens and squashes the muscle, impeding blood flow and deadening the nerve communication that facilitates contraction and sensation.

When hamstrings get sleepy, the hip flexors are without their dance partner. They start to feel solely responsible for the movement and stability of the hips and thighs, and that level of responsibility stresses them out.

What happens to anyone who gets stressed out? Tension.

Why Lunges Aren’t the Best Solution for Tight Hip Flexors

It may feel like your tight hip flexors desperately need a good, deep stretch. You can spend a lot of time stretching them and even feel better for a while afterwards, but if they are alone on the dance floor that tension is going to come right back in.

Passive stretching of a muscle functions only to lengthen the tight muscle when we may need to focus on the muscle that needs to shorten.

It is very challenging for a muscle to get super short. If you have ever gotten a hamstring cramp when trying to touch your heel to your butt you’ve experienced the hamstrings’ vehement opposition to shortening.

What happens when a muscle doesn’t want to shorten? It sends a message to the brain saying “Yikes this is scary” and the brain, being very helpful, sends a message to the antagonist muscle on the opposite side of the joint to tighten up and prevent deeper movement.

Since the antagonist muscles of the hamstrings are the hip flexors, you can see where I’m going with this.

Your hip flexors may be chronically tight because your brain (at lizard level) is protecting your hamstrings. A lunge will not fix this.

How Do I Know if my Hamstrings Are Limiting my Hip Flexibility?

Here are a few tests (not comprehensive or conclusive) that can give you some clues:

1. Are you able to lay on your belly and tuck your pelvis and lift your leg up off the ground without arching your back at all?

2. Are you able to bend your knee in this position and bring your heel towards your butt without a hamstring cramp?

3. Are you able to do a low shoulder bridge maintaining a deep pelvic tuck while keeping your hip flexors relaxed?

If you answer “no” to any of these questions, you might need to wake up your hamstrings a bit so they can shorten!

This is such a common issue that I actually start all of my hamstring mobility workouts with hamstring activation exercises. Without that activation your mobility will always be limited.

Got questions? Just reply to this email and let me know!

Happy Bendings,
Kristina

Coming Soon to Your Doorstep: Seasonal Plant-Based Meals from Purple Carrot

Are you sick of the evening scramble to put a tasty and nutritious meal on the table? Purple Carrot has got your back with fully plant-based, chef-crafted meals delivered right to your door.

Purple Carrot offers three time-saving options that let you skip the stress of meal planning and grocery shopping and spend more time doing what matters, whether that’s helping your kids with their homework or squeezing in a quick workout.

Choose from prepared meals that are ready to enjoy in two minutes or less or meal kits featuring delicious recipes with the exact amount of ingredients you need - meaning nothing gets wasted! You can also shop their “plantry” to find a curated selection of plant-based grocery items - perfect for days when you want to get a little more creative in the kitchen.

Can’t pick just one? You don’t have to! Purple Carrot plans are fully customizable. Each week, you can choose from any combination of meal kits, prepared meals, and grocery items.

Plus, if you need a break, you can skip a week or cancel at any time, so your food won't go bad while you head off on a well-deserved vacation.

Now is the perfect time to try Purple Carrot. This summer, they’ve launched 5 new seasonal prepared meals that are light, vibrant, and perfect for enjoying outside or on the go.

Discover the power of delicious, fully plant-based meals. Pick your plan today.