How do I get "more flexible in the hips"?

[spatts]

Seashell, those ATF hip thrusts are the same thing. Those are great. ATF just means ass to the floor, so if you do some squats or front squats ALL THE WAY DOWN. That will help.

Can you squat down, feet shoulder width, ATF, arms out in front of you, shins vertical (straight up and down, 90* to the floor), and not lose your balance? You could work on just that. Some of the hip flexibilty is also dependent upon flexibility in the lower back. It's all connected up in there. lol

 

[Seashell]

ATF = ass to the floor.. and I thought it was going to be some scientific mumbo-jumbo..

Okay I just tried it.. (phew, that hurts the day after legs).. With my shins 90 degrees, I can JUST get to parallel without losing my balance. I can't get lower without my knees starting to go out over my toes..(shins not parallel anymore). So I should keep practicing that without weight, right? With my legs wider apart, I can go lower, but not at shoulder-width.

With the front squat, should one always use that wide a stance as in your video? Or is it also done with shoulder-width? For my purposes (flexibility), I would probably go shouder width right, because that's how I squat normally?

 

[spatts]

I do them wide because I feel like they help my sumo deadlift. You can do them narrow. I would practice squatting deep both narrow and wide. You can hold on to a pole or something for balance in front of you while you're working on going deeper. With the pulley, the weight counterbalances you, but you also have to recruit muscle and be explosive from the low plane. I would start with those two things, from varying foot positions (widths).

 

[pwr_machine]

Getting in a sumo deadlift stance and pushing my knees out with my elbows also helps a bit.

 

[Seashell]

Awesome advice, thank you!!!

 

[spatts]

Getting in a sumo deadlift stance and pushing my knees out with my elbows also helps a bit.

Yep. I find myself doing that between sets.

 

[Nonerz]

that works great for me too

 

[wend]

Spatts, that looks a lot like the frog pose in yoga (except the hands...in the yoga pose, the palms are pressed together, fingers pointing up). I use that to warm up before squats and between sets. Also, standing with feet spread, I bend at the hip (keeping my back straight), hands to the floor, then walk the hands over to the left foot, grab the outside of the left ankle with the right, and take the left hand up toward the ceiling, looking up at it. Hold that for a while, then lower the left hand, walk them over to the other side and do the same thing. This stretches out the hamstrings and the inner thigh nicely. Together, these two stretches work pretty nicely for squats. (I can't squat without doing them, actually.)

 

[bignate73]

i do those alot too, otherwise, i cant get down there when squatting.

 

[RottenWillow]

Yep. I find myself doing that between sets.

Image: http://www.asylum-strength.com/images/personal/spatts/kneesoutstretch.jpg

One of the guys will have that top pic reposted to the sheets by tomorrow.

When seashell first started this thread I immediately thought of the chinese splits we did in practice to stretch and warm up. I figured it would sound overtly sillyassed to mention it but spatts' sumo stretch pic is basically the same move.