Hooked Knee Drop

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11) Hooked Knee Dropclick here

This stretch is "in between" the Dual Knee Drop and the Cross Over. It is a bit more intense than the Dual Knee Drop, but less likely to be performed incorrectly than the Cross Over. However, if you have poor leg strength the weight of your top leg can pull your lower knee closer to the ground than your hip muscles might want to allow, so ensure the Dual Knee Drop is very easy before practicing this stretch. When performed correctly this is a good stretch for the Sartorius, TFL, Glutes (especially the Glute Med and Min), and the obliques.

Video coming soon.

Frog

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7) Frogclick here.

This is a good stretch for the adductors, but may be too intense for some people. A good regression of this is the Supine Frog passive stretch, and an even easier regression is the Butterfly active stretch. The adductors are notoriously tight on so many of us, so use the stretch that best suits you. We have many adductor stretches on this page.

Video coming soon.

Dual Knee Drop

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5) Dual Knee Dropclick here.

This stretch is a regression if a client is severely tight throughout the core and has difficulty with the Cross Over. This stretch should feel extremely easy for a person with proper functional movement ROM of the torso. It can be a good stretch for the obliques and lower/mid-back muscles, and possible the chest and shoulder if you are exceptionally tight.

Video coming soon.

Cross Over

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4) Cross Overclick here.

When performed correctly, this is an excellent stretch for the posterior chain and even the anterior shoulder (if the pecs, delta, and biceps are tight). It is important to shift the hips prior to kicking your leg across so that your spine stays inline as you rotate toward either side. Flexion of the lumbar spine is a common fault when practicing this stretch incorrectly and can lead to lower back injury. 

Video coming soon.

Active Stretches

Stretches and Functional Movements descriptions:

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Active Stretches

Below are links to printable instructions and video downloads of active stretches we recommend to get the most out of your SMR efforts. Some of them can be exercised as a functional movement as well as a stretch.

We recommend you try each movement and hold it for a short period of time to train your muscles to activate at full length prior to attempting faster repetitions. Moving quickly tends to utilize the nerve pathways you are already familiar with, which is why when you are learning new coordination you should move through the movements slowly to allow your nervous system to "learn" the new combination of activation for your muscles.

As you repeat any movement many times over, it becomes easier for your brain to send signals along the nerve pathways to the muscles needed for that movement. You can then begin to practice the movements faster without sacrificing proper alignment (which should translate into fewer injuries and faster recovery times).

 

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1) Airsquatclick here.
For a couple different variations of focus in the Airsquat, click here (hips focus), click here (knees focus).

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2) Bench Foot Grabclick here.





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3) Bench Hero Poseclick here.





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4) Bench Lungeclick here







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5) Bridgeclick here







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6) Butterflyclick here







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7) Calf Pressclick here










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8) Chin Pressclick here










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9) Cobraclick here







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10) Cross Over Toe Touchclick here






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11) Daisy Cowclick here






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12) Dual Knee Hugclick here






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13) Elevated Calf Pressclick here










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14) Good Morningsclick here






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15) Hero Poseclick here






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16) Hurdleclick here







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17) Kneeling Lungeclick here






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18) Lateral Head Pullclick here











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19) Lunge and Reachclick here










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20) Marching Corpseclick here






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21) Overhead Elbow Grabclick here










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22) Overhead Elbow Pressclick here










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23) Overhead Stick Pullclick here










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24) Overhead Tilt and Reachclick here










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25) Post Tib Lungeclick here










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26) Rear Foot Grabclick here






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27) Scaredy Catclick here






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28) Seated Piriformis Blockclick here










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29) Shifted Angelclick here






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30) Splitclick here







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31) Standing Cat Clawclick here






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32) Standing/Seated Head Pullclick here









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33) Standing Head Tiltclick here










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34) Standing Nose to Kneesclick here









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35) Standing Pecs Twistclick here










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36) Standing Rear Foot Grabclick here










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37) Standing Straddle Nose to Kneesclick here






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38) Trunk Tiltclick here










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39) Wall Lungeclick here










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40) Wrist Extensors Pressclick here










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41) Wrist Flexors Pressclick here






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Cat Claw

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1) Cat Clawclick here

This is essentially a particular modification of Child’s Pose from Yoga. The specific difference between Cat Claw and Child’s Pose is that with Cat Claw you reach across with both hands toward one side and drop your head underneath your armpit to allow a deeper stretch of the musculature attached to your shoulder. As you move your hands from one side to the other you should “walk” your fingers across, much like a cat’s paws clawing at the carpet. By walking your hands across instead of lifting and placing your arms on the other side you are less likely to stimulate the muscles attached to your shoulders which should allow a deeper stretch across the joint.

Video coming soon.

Stretches & Functional Movements

Passive Stretch: a passive position you hold for a long period of time (typically 2-5 minutes or more) to allow muscle tissue to lengthen beyond its functional capacity so as to encourage the growth of additional sarcomeres within each muscle involved to allow greater ROM and ease of movement.

Active Stretch: an active position you hold for a short period of time (typically 1-10 seconds) to lengthen and retrain muscles to more effectively coordinate across a joint and allow for improved movement patterns, especially when each muscle is at its full-range functional length.

Functional Movement: a constant motion movement you slowly practice to train muscles to more effectively coordinate across a joint and allow for improved movement patterns, especially when each muscle is at its full-range functional length.