If you want to become more flexible (and it doesn’t have to mean doing the splits!) I can help teach you the correct methods and exercises for yourself. Don’t accept tight muscles as a life long problem!
Video transcript
Hi guys, Charlie Hart from Charlie Hart Fitness here today to show you how to stretch a really tight muscle that most people have, the adductors. The adductors are the muscles here on the inside of the thighs, which are responsible for closing the thighs.
We spend a lot sat down, which can cause these muscles to get really tight and cause a lot of problems.
As a kickboxer the adductors are a really important muscle for me to stretch to allow me to get that leg up to the side. And who wouldn’t like to be able to do the splits? This is how you can build up to it.
Let’s try some adductor (inner thigh) stretches
Nice and easy. Stand with out legs slightly wider than the hips. Bring our fingers to the floor. This will stretch all the way up the back of the legs and across the adductors.
Make it a bit tougher by moving your legs wider and bringing our elbows down as well if we are really flexible. Most people won’t be able to do that at first.
As we become more comfortable we can move the legs wider and bring those elbows down again. This is why I’ve left my socks on, as it is easier to let our feet continue to slide out to the side.
I am quite flexible, but reaching this position has taken years of practice. There is no secret to flexibility, it’s just a case of stretching a lot every single day.
I’m trying to relax in to it, letting my feet go wider and wider. Then again I can bring my elbows down. If we’re feeling really clever we can bring our hands further back and point the toes on each foot to help me get that little bit wider and deeper in to it.
Then it’s a case of hanging out in this position for as long as we can. You can hear in my voice that I’m struggling. It’s not easy for me! For most people that would be too much.
To build ourselves up to that point we return to our starting position and we take both hands to a single ankle. We just stretch that leg once again. If you want to make it slightly more fun you can bring the head towards the knee.
Most people won’t be able to get the head all the way to the knee to start with unless they are already quite flexible. The trick is to not have a bent leg. If I bend my leg it’s really easy to get the head to the knee, when I straighten the leg it’s much harder.
If I straighten both legs simultaneously I get a really good stretch all they way up my inner leg and on the inside of the thighs on both sides.
A few deep breaths later…
It all takes time. There’s no magic solution to flexibility. The adductor muscles are commonly very tight and require regular quick stretching three to four times a week, or ideally every single morning. You’ll quickly find they open up and you can get in to a wide split style position in no time at all. Just three or four years 😉
Hope it helps guys, see you soon.
