My Achin’ Back and Hips
Many IC members, especially beginners, experience tenderness or soreness deep within the lower abdomen and along the lumbar spine and hips as a result of functional training. No fun!
What stretches have helped you mitigate muscle soreness and potential injury while at the IC?
Well, that figure-4/pigeon stretch is very good. Also spinal twists while lying on the ground. And the one where you grab your opposite elbow and raise it over your head, to stretch the triceps.
I like the pigeon pose too, child’s pose and down dog. I really like when laying on your back, one leg croosed over the opposite knee and then pull that one knee in towards your chest…ahhhh.
doing spinal twist and then you a little pop….nice!
not that I am exactly the poster child for preventing injury these days but seated spinal twist is good for the hips. so is ankle to knee pose (seated with ankles stacked and knees stacked). lately, my favorite stretch is camel pose over a heavy medicine ball. aaahhhh….
butterfly for hip flexors, pigeon for back….poor old back…
my favorite stretch is the one where i lay flat on my back, usually with head supported by a nice soft pillow, reach with left hand across body, grasping Advil bottle on night stand, twist bottle with right hand, slight headlift while bringing pills to mouth. repeat with glass of water.
Mars – you are killing me!
Any stretch that involves twisting the spine like you would a well rung out mop.
My first thoughts when reading this were along the line of Mars’: I was pretty convinced during the first month at IC that muscle relaxants should have been handed out with enrollment.
As far as stretches go pigeon and the laying-on-back-spinal-twist are my current favs.
Mars, I’m impressed that you could reach for the Advil. Or find the strength to grasp or twist. I can clearly remember laying flat on my back, on top of a very large ice pack, with other ice packs strategically placed over the rest of my sore muscles. I think that was last week…