The Quads
Active Quad Stretching
Perform this stretch stanidng on your right foot with your left foot kicked up behind you. Grab your left ankle with your left hand, and gently pull back and up on your left leg.
The difference between this stretch and a standard standing quad stretch is that instead of just pulling up on your left leg to extend your quad, you start this stretch by first flexing your quad, then relaxing it and actually flexing your left glute, trying to extend your left hip. The idea is to activate your left quad for about 7 seconds, then extend it for 7-10 seconds by contracting it's reciprocal (the glute).
To contract the quad while in Position 1, squeeze your left quad muscle and actually try to kick your left leg down against the hand that is holding it up. After holding your left quad contracted, kicking down for 7 seconds, relax your quds and move to extend your left hip as pictured below in Position 2. Do this by pulling your left leg. back slightly while squeezing your left glute (the reciprocal muscles to the quads). Try nnot to lean forward. You should feel this extending your left quad. During this phase, breathe out by drawing in your stomach. Breathing out while extending a muscle helps that muscle relax. Hold this extension for about 10 seconds then stop contracting your left quad, and pull your left foot up towards your glutes as pictured below in Position 3. After 5 or 6 seconds in Position 3, relax, and switch legs. Perform this stretch two or three times for each leg. Be sure to read both our Breathing Tutorial and our Core Training Tutorial for more on controlling your abdominal muscles and breathing.
The Groin
Active Groin Stretch
To perform an active groin stretch, start from a wide stance with your feet pointed straight forward.
To begin the stretch, bend your left leg at the knee, and shift your weight and lean to the left (Position 2), keeping your right leg straight. This will stretch the muscles of the groin on your right leg. The further you get your feet apart and the further you sink into the stretch, the more intense the stretch will be. The active groin stretch is more like the calf stretches than the majority of active stretches in this tutorial. Rather than first activating the muscle you are stretching, and then activating the reciprocal of that muscle, the idea with this stretch is to move in and out of the stretch. Moving in and out of a stretch alternately contracts and relaxes the muscles you are stretching just like a normal active stretch, but in a different rhythm which seems to be more effective for stretching out the calves and the groin.
After bending your left knee and sinking into the stretch as deeply as is comfortable, hold a half second or so at the end of your range of motion. After this half second hold, rise up out of the stretch a few inches, take a deep breath in, then breathe out and relax back into the stretch again, moving back down into the position you just moved up out of. Try to go a little further, and, again hold for a half second at a comfortable level of stretch before moving out again. Be sure that you are making slow, controlled movements in and out of the stretch. Repeat this sequence 6-8 times.
You should find that you can move a little further into the stretch each time. As with the calf stretch, be sure to move at a slow controlled pace. after 6-8 times in and out of the stretch, switch sides, and repeat this sequence from Position 3. As you grow accustomed to this stretch, begin moving from Position 2 to Position 3, stretching your right groin muscles, then stretching your left groin muscles, in sucession, keeping your movement as slow and steady as possible. Each time you switch sides, aim to get a little bit deeper into the stretch.
The Hip
Active Kneeling Hip Stretch
In this stretch, start with your left knee down on a mat (Position 1) with your left foot extended straight behind you. Place your right leg in front of you, such that your lower leg forms a 90 angle with your upper leg. Make your spine is as straight as possible.
Begin the active kneeling hip stretch by trying to gently flex your left hip, moving your left leg forward. Were you to actually execute this motion, you would end up bringing your left knee forward and up towards your face. Of course, your weight agianst the mat stops your leg from actually moving forward. Hold your hip muscles gently contracted, trying to gently kick your left leg forward, for 5 to 7 seconds. You might find it hard to balance while doing this. If so, hold onto something stationary with your right hand.
After 5 to 7 seconds, stop trying to kick your left leg forward by contracting your hip muscles, and instead extend your left hip by contracting your left glutes. Squeeze your left glutes, and try to tilt your pelvis up towards the ceiling, bringing your left hip bone straight up towards the sky. At the same time, raise your left arm up in the air and reach backwards and up, and open your body up by turning to the left (Position 2). The idea is to stretch out your left hip and your whole left side while continuing to squeeze your glutes. Hold your glutes contracted for 10 seconds or so, stretching out your hip. After ten seconds, take a deep breath, release it, relax back further into the stretch, and then stop and come out of the stretch. Repeat this strech one or two more times on the left side, then switch sides.
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