Tight hip flexors can cause a number of problems with your body. Two of the biggest problems is back pain and hip pain.  When the three primary hip flexors known as Psoas Major, Illacus and Rectus Femoris are tight they can tilt your pelvis into a position that extends the spine. This may cause back pain. Most people will try to fix the problem with stretching; however, in my opinion stretching will not permanently help and may even lead to further dysfunction.

When a personal training client comes to me with tight hip flexors the first thing we do is try to figure out why the hip flexors are  tight. When you have a tight muscle it’s generally tight for a reason; therefore, just doing stretching is not going to solve the problem. It will eventually tighten up again as soon as you ease up on your stretching program. Furthermore, stretching a tight muscle might open up a range of motion that your body is not ready for and can lead to a more serious injury. What you really want is flexibility (or mobility) with stability.

How do you get Mobility and Stability for the Hip Joint?

Whenever I want to increase the flexibility of a muscle or joint I take a three-prong approach.  The first thing I do (with my personal training clients) is look at the body as a whole through a range of motion and muscle testing evaluations. Sometimes when you have a tight hip flexor the problem is really coming from a different part of the body. You may have an issue with your ankle or knee that’s making the hip compensate and tighten up. Let’s assume for purposes of this article that the problem is isolated and in the hip. Now if the problem is isolated to the hip there are two main things I would do. The first thing is starting them on a joint mobility program. Secondly, I would go after strengthening the antagonistic muscle group.

I like joint mobility movement because when you move through comfortable ranges of motion without trying to stretch your muscles you release synovial fluid within the joint, which lubricates, protects and heals the joint without forcing yourself into positions of instability. Here is a link to an article I wrote about joint mobility movement so you can better understand it. In addition, here is a video I made for one of my clients who was having some hip issues.

When it comes to permanently increasing the flexibility of your hip flexors (Psoas Major, Illacus and Rectus Femoris) the key to doing this is strengthening the opposing muscle groups. Check out this post I did called Muscle Tightness Comes from Muscle Weakness. Many times when a muscle is tight, it is because the opposing muscles are actually weak. For example, if you have tight hip flexors your body will not let you do the opposite motion completely. You will be limited in hip extension.

Therefore, what you have to do is strengthen your hip extensors. In this case, it would be primarily your Gluteus Maximus and hamstrings. What’s happening is that your body is sensing weakness and instability whenever you try to extend your hip so to protect itself it tightens up the hip flexors.

Good exercises to strengthen the glutes and hamstrings are bridges, hip thrusts and kickbacks. These movements will increase the flexibility of the hip flexors. Here is a video of Bret Contreras performing and explaining the hip thrust. You should start with your body weight.

Now to review: the first thing you have to do is look at your body as a whole if you determine that the problem is isolated to the hip. Thereafter, start a joint mobility program and then strengthen your hip extensors. If you do feel like you’re in some type of compensation pattern and that’s whats making your hips tighten up, I recommend you see a professional to help you solve the problem.

I hope this article helps your hip flexor pain.  I know how hard it can be when your body can’t do the things you want it to.

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Best – Mike Cola

To a large extent muscle tightness comes from muscle weakness. Muscles become tight to protect the body from injury. When the body identifies a weakness or instability in and around a joint the body will tighten up to prevent injury.

This raises the following question. Should you stretch went you’re tight or should you strengthen the body? Most people think you should stretch a muscle if it is tight, but why is a muscle tight in the first place? Stretching it will make it temporarily more flexible but now you have flexibility without strength or stability. Moving into positions that you have no strength in doesn’t sound like a good idea but that is exactly what most people do.

The main reason why people lose flexibility when they get older is because they are getting weaker.  The weakness is what is making them tighten up. I would rather start someone out in a strength training program to increase their flexibility as opposed to a stretching program.  I have seen it first hand; as soon as someone gets stronger they move better, have more balance and are definitely more flexible.

When you’re performing strength training movements you’re increasing your flexibility at the same time as building strength.  For example, if you’re doing an arm curl (bicep curl), you are contracting and shortening your biceps but at the same time you are lengthening the antagonistic muscle of your triceps or there would be no movement. When curling a weight you’re making your biceps stronger while making your triceps more flexible.  If you just stretch your triceps to make them more flexible without the strong biceps that are suppose to come along with the increase in flexibility you could be risking an elbow injury by allowing your arm to flex into a position of instability.

What I want you to take away from this article is flexibility without stability is dangerous. Any position you put your body into should be strong and stable. If you are tight, try to figure out where you are weak and strengthen that area. In addition, there are also safe ways to stretch like active stretching which is actually strength training. Check out this video I did on Safe Stretching.

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Best – Mike Cola

Helping People Build Healthy Bodies

I got an e-mail a few weeks ago from a woman who could not get rid of what she calls her belly pooch. She told me she has been eating right and working out and has lost some weight but her stomach is still sticking out. In response, I told her I will make a video explaining what I think might be the problem.

Getting rid of the belly pooch may have nothing to do with your diet or your aerobic program. For many people who are eating right and working out regularly but still have a belly pooch (stomach sticks out) the problem might be tight hip flexors. When your hip flexors are tight it tilts your pelvis into a position that makes your stomach stick out.

You can flatten your stomach by stretching out your hip flexors and strengthening your hip extensors. Stretching the three primary hip flexors known as Psoas Major, Illiacus and Rectus Femoris and strengthening the hip extensors known as Gluteus Maximus and Hamstrings could solve the belly pooch problem for good.

Let  me know if you have a belly pooch problem and waht you have done to get rid of it.

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Best - Mike Cola

Demystifying Weight Loss

There seems to be a lot of debate about stretching. Is there any real benefit to stretching? Do I need to stretch before playing sports? The New York Times just published an article called “ How Necessary is Stretching” which pointed out that runners who had tight hamstrings seemed to run easier (better running economy) and perform better.

Being a personal trainer and gym owner for over 25 years and attending numerous lectures on the subject, I have seen it come full circle. Many years ago when athletes were not really stretching everyone was advocating stretching to prevent injuries. Now there are numerous studies that show that static stretching before speed and strength activities inhibit muscle and temporarily make them weaker. If you talk to a yoga instructor they give numerous examples of students who feel stronger and healthier from the increased flexibility from practicing yoga.

Why I think there is so much confusion about stretching is that “all stretches are not created equal”. There are so many different ways to stretch just like there are so many different ways to train. Doing static stretching will produce a totally different result then active stretching or dynamic stretching. To determine which stretch protocol, if any, is best for you, you first have to determine your fitness goals.

Three Different Types of Stretching and How to Use Them:

Static Stretching: is what most people think of when talking about stretching. It involves passive relaxing and elongation of a muscle or muscles while holding it for 10 to 30 seconds. An example of a static stretch would be to put your heel up on a chair and let your hamstrings relax and elongate for 30 seconds. If you go to a gym you might see trainers passively stretching their clients on a treatment table. It seems like this type of stretching temporarily increases flexibility. For how long is hard to say, it depends on how often you do it. The negative is that there are many studies that conclude that static stretching before a speed or strength activity can inhibit or temporarily weaken the muscle being stretched. You have to decide if giving up a little strength is OK for the increase in flexibility. A ballerina might need extreme flexibility and be willing to give up a little bit of strength and stability for a performance but a 100-meter sprinter may not. A sprinter may want to do more of a dynamic warm-up. As a general rule I would save static stretching for after your sport or workout.

Active Stretching: is when the person stretching supplies the force or the contraction to the stretch. I like to call this contractile stretching. It can be dynamic with movement or static as a hold. I like active stretching very much. I think active stretching with a static hold, is one of the safest ways to stretch. When you are actively stretching you are really working out. It is very similar to performing isometric exercises, where you contract and hold a position. Its really safe because any position you can contract in to, is a safe position so you are building mobility and stability at the same time. Active stretching involves reciprocal inhibition, which means that when you contract one muscle or groups of muscles their antagonist has to relax and elongate. An example would be to stand up with your feet shoulder-width apart and rotate as far as you can one way and hold it. Half your body is contracting while the other half is elongating. I did a video called Safe Stretching, which explains active stretching in more detail. I don’t see any real down side of active stretching. You can do it anytime; before, during or after a workout or sport. If you are doing it as a warm-up; however, don’t over do it. It can tire you out because it’s a workout within itself.

Dynamic Stretching: involves using movement, most often sport specific movements to warm the body up and make it more elastic before an activity. Dynamic stretching is active stretching with movement. An example of dynamic stretching would be a sprinter performing high knee-ups with exaggerated arm movements while running to warm-up before a race. Besides opening up your range of motion from these movements you are also making a proprioceptive connection by patterning these movements. When you are moving, your muscles are always communicating with your central nervous system and sending messages to your brain. Dynamic warm-ups or stretches create better communication throughout your whole body. You’re actually warming up the wiring in your body. I think sport specific dynamic movement is a great idea before any activity. I don’t see any down side as long as you don’t force the range of motion or use too much momentum when stretching.

These are three different ways to stretch. Give them all a try and let me know what’s working best for you.

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Best – Mike Cola
Fitness Contrarian

One of the biggest mistakes people make in the gym is not warming up properly before a workout. In fact most people do more harm then good and set themselves up for injury.

Most importantly, an appropriate warm-up should increase your body temperature (warm you up) and get you ready for more strenuous exercise. When your body temperature increases, your muscles automatically become more elastic and flexible. One of the most common mistakes I see people making in the gym before working out is static stretching a cold muscle. Static stretching a cold muscle is dangerous because you are forcing a cold muscle into a lengthened position which can make you more vulnerable to injury.

The proper way to warm-up before a workout is with dynamic movement for five to ten minutes in all three plains of motion. One of my favorite ways to warm-up my personal training clients before a workout are with medicine ball drills. I have my clients hold a light medicine ball and squat while moving their arms up and down in the sagittal plain (forward and back). Then I have them move side to side with their arms and legs in the frontal plain, and finally I have them rotate the torso with the medicine ball in the transverse plain. The movements can always be changed and modified to whatever type of workout or sport you plan on performing. The basis concept of the warm-up; however, should not change.

The basic concepts of the warm-up are:

1. Gradually increase your body temperature
2. Move in all three plains of motion ( Sagittal, Frontal and Transverse)
3. Make the movements specific to the activity you will be performing

Try this type of warm-up; I know you will have a safer and better workout because of it.

Best- Mike Cola

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