The 2 Best Leg Flexibility Exercises That You're Probably Not Doing, and How to Do Them.

You probably all know of someone that has said something along the lines of "There's no way I can touch my toes with straight legs" or "I can't even sit upright with my legs out in front of me." Perhaps you are that person. 

The truth is, I was that person. 

Let me explain how bad it was to you so you can picture the situation. You might relate, you might even laugh. Maybe both.

The penny drops:

​About 4 years ago, I remember taking a submission grappling class at a great club in London. We practiced a particular technique during the class, and at the end we had some free time to try it on different people during the games. 

I wasn't doing too bad with the grappling because of my movement background, but I was by no means an expert. I remember getting caught up in a really strange leg tangle with my partner that resembled a pretzel. I immediately mapped out an escape plan in my head and was about to go for the execution. Bear in mind one of my legs was trapped in a straight position. The escape consisted of turning over onto one side, bending forward at the hip, proceeding to under hook my partners leg, and using it as leverage to unbalance him so I could get out. Truth be told, it was a genius plan. ​

Here I go. Turn, look down at the target leg, start bending forward and no. Just no, was the result. My forward bend was so utterly pathetic, that I couldn't even reach my hand down to the bottom of my own shin, let alone around his thigh. 

Just just to give you some context, this situation was akin to a normal forward bend, except lying down on the floor. I didn't even make it to my ankle. 

Back to the class, as I lay there in disbelief my partner proceeded to move himself into a better position and won the contest. I couldn't quite fathom how that had just happened to me. I went home that night and in my perpetual state of disbelief I walked into my room, stood up with straight legs, hinged at the hips to see how far down I could reach. Again, I didn't even make it to my ankles.

​The results were in. I was incredibly immobile and I needed to do something about it. 

If you can relate to the feeling I had when I found out how immobile I was, I'm going to help you out a little later. 

​Generally speaking, there is no one size fits all approach to the body. But i'm going to lay out some actionable steps in this post for you, in the form of a program to help with your leg flexibility. 

Before the Flexibility Program, I just want to make a few important distinctions.
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Active vs Passive Flexibility:
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Firstly, we will look at the difference between Active & Passive Flexibility. 

• Active Flexibility: The ability to assume and maintain an extended position using only muscle tension​
• Passive Flexibility: The overall ability to achieve a range of motion using any means including external force

I'm going to explain this using a very simple example below. 

Just imagine standing up straight and trying to lift one leg straight out in front of you as high as you can (Picture 1).

Now picture the same situation, except you are grabbing your leg and lifting it up as far as it will go for you (Picture 2).

​There will very likely be a big discrepancy between your capacity to achieve range of motion in those two scenarios. That is the distinction between  Active and Passive Flexibility. 

Active Flexibility is the range you can actively achieve and use by yourself. Passive Flexibility is your overall capacity to achieve a range via any means including external forces. 

Let's take our picture above once again, as an example. If Lauren has all the passive flexibility to lift her leg up that high (meaning the lengthening aspect of the stretch is adequate) she is also going to need to have strong enough Hip Flexors and quads to actually lift the weight of the leg up into that position without her hands.

So In order to balance this out for ourselves, we will have to work the muscles that are responsible for compressing the closing side of a particular stretch or position, as well as "loosening" the lengthening side. Working both of those attributes will help us effectively use that position inside of a movement context. 

Why is this important? 

Because even if you have the passive ability to reach an end range, it doesn't always mean that you can use it on command. Flexibility without strength can decrease your ability to control motion. This can compromise the position of your joints and cause injury. 

So what can we do about all this? 

Well, I'm going to lay out a simple and actionable program for you down below that you can start immediately implementing it into your weekly practice. 

Seeing as our context is Movement training, we want to create as much usability in our end ranges. One way to achieve this, is by adding a bit of weight to our Flexibility training. 

*Note* there's a lot more to this field than a single blog post can cover. But this is a start. Here we go.
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Leg Flexibility Program: Click on the names of the exercises for video examples.

• Warm yourself up - increase body temperature, focus on moving the legs 5/10 minutes, skipping, bouncing, unweighted squats.
  
  
• Seated Pancake stretch - 10 reps with 4 to 12kgs for 3 sets. Hold the last rep at the bottom for 10 secs: Sit in a straddle on top of some stacked yoga blocks/stack of books or on the floor depending on your current level of mobility. While maintaining a neutral spine, bend at the hip to lower forward into a pancake stretch. When you feel you're losing the natural curve in the back, continue to lower with a dished lower back. Hover above the floor or touch elbows/forehead/nose/chin/chest, whatever you can get to floor. Finally, reverse the motion, pushing yourself back up from the heels/back of the legs. Repeat this for reps. on the last rep, pause in the lowest possible position and hold for 10 seconds. (Raised version if you're really stuck, click here to watch)
  
  
• Jefferson Curl - 10 reps with 4 to 12kgs for 3 sets. Hold the last rep at the bottom for 10 secs: Stand on a raised platform/box. Toes close to the edge but not completely over. Start bending at the chin, and lower from the top of the spine all the way down vertebra by vertebra, then start hinging from the hips into a pike as deep as you can. Try to imagine your belly button being drawn in towards the floor, then reverse the motion. Initiate it from the glutes/hamstrings, don't lift up from the back. On the last repetition of the set, hold the bottom position for 10 seconds.
  
  
• Seated leg raises in Pike or Straddle - 10 reps for 3 sets: Sit on the floor with your legs extended out in front of you and your torso upright. If you struggle to keep your torso upright, lean back a little bit. Place your hands on the floor next to you, and use your abdominal muscles, quads and hip flexors to lift your legs off the floor and back down. Repeat this for reps. Check out the straddle version here.

Start with a lower weight that you are comfortable with. Get used to the pattern and technique. As you get stronger you can gradually increase the weight. You want to be doing this 3 times per week. ​

What to expect:

Training and preparation can quickly become complicated when we try to do too much too fast. Keep it simple, and stick to this program for a minimum of 4 weeks. You will feel an increase in your range of motion inside of the first 2 weeks already if you stick to the prescription. It will change the way you move and also the way you relate to your body. 

Because there is a strength element to the stretches, you should feel some muscle soreness in the areas that are being targeted. Namely the hamstrings and inner thighs. Scan your body after a session and check in with where you are feeling worked.  If you are not feeling any muscle soreness in the key areas, you could be doing something wrong, or the weight is simply too light. 

During the seated straddle leg raises, it's very common to endure cramping at glutes as they work hard to keep your legs out. This is OK and to be expected. Pause, take a small break, adjust your body and carry on. Do as much as you can. When you get used to the exercise, cramps will decrease. 

Don't be tempted to up any of the weight too fast, or start too heavy. If you have any injuries, get yourself checked out and cleared for training prior to any of this. 

Giveaway:

​I'm giving away my own copy of the famous book "Stretching Scientifically" by Thomas Kurz. 

​It has lots of great additional information regarding stretching. A great resource to have for anyone interested in this area. 

For a chance to get your hands on it for Free, just share my post on Facebook. I will then pick a random person from the list of sharers and contact you. 

If you have the book already, share the post anyway. If you win, you can pass the book onto to someone or leave it in your local gym. 

And that's it team,

If you are interested in further Mobility/Flexibility or Movement Training go to: www.faridherrera.com/onlinetraining

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Writing by @farid_herrera - 2018