Quote:
Originally Posted by WorkThoseGlutes
Is it a little weird that the pull is in the exact same location in both legs?
What are the best stretches for the hip area?
Thanks.
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I think the stretch is called the "mountain climber's stretch:"
http://www.easyvigour.net.nz/fitness...xorstretch.htm
This is not the best picture of the stretch, as I find that I have to get the hip which is being stretched a lot closer to the floor than what that picture shows. But that is the basic form and the page does have some useful info. If you want more diagrams of the stretch, just do a google of "iliopsoas stretch"
I have a chronically strained right iliopsoas, just due to one leg being shorter than the other. The shorter leg is always getting overworked/overstretched.
As I'm sure you know, the function of the flexor is to bring the leg towards the chest. And the stretch thus is to move it away from the chest. That being the case, it's no wonder it's easy to tweak it when doing deadlifts. If you're not loosened up or are doing a new weight, a burst off of the floor or trying to maintain perfect control on the descent of the last rep of the set when you're psoas is pretty taxed could be possible culprits.
Alan and Steve's advice is really good. Resting and stretching is key, same with making sure you body has the proper nutrition (through food and supplements) to repair a pull or inflammation.
Just a couple of other thoughts that come to mind:
- 1) If you don't already do it, you might want to end your last rep (especially when doing heavy DL's) in the 'up' position. That is, avoiding that last negative which could put a good amount of stress on worn hip flexor muscles. Don't get me wrong, if you can do the last rep with decent form and no pain, do it, but if you're just burnt and you're straining too much/in a lot of pain its something which could help. You might already know this and use this technique, so forgive me if I'm just telling you something you already know.
A lot of people will put the bars of a squat rack down so that they are at the level where they can grab the barbell off the rack to start the exercise and to place it back on as they finish the exercise. It's something you could play around with to eliminate that last barbell back to the floor.
- 2) I don't see a lot of guys do this, but it's something which I do almost all the time when I DL -- do each rep separately. Meaning, you don't go down and 'bounce' off of the floor into the next rep. You go up, and when you come down you go all the way down and then regrip and do the next rep. This IS a bitch, and sets take a lot longer, but one of the main advantages of it is that you skip the 'bounce' part that so many people do. That's a part of the lift where you can easily tweak the muscles, same as a guy 'bouncing' a bench off of his chest on each rep. A lot of times this isn't a bad idea, but if you're tendons and ligaments aren't used to it, it's easy to get pulls from that type of thing. Basically, the 'one rep at a time' is a little bit safer, but it is also more of a pain in the ass. It's not necessary, but if you keep having the issue you could try it and see if it helps.
- 3) Stretch after your sets. You're working the hell out of your hips with the lift, so do a little stretching between sets to keep the area from progressively tightening over the course of your sets. This can help a lot, and could take care of the problem entirely for you. I stretch my right side between each set and that helps me big-time.
Some guys hate to stretch, but it can same you a lot of aches and pains and downtime. I hope some of these ideas can help you out. Play around with what different people have said and see if it helps you out. If you have to, cut your weight back a little bit on the lift and see if that helps.
Good luck. I get hip flexor issues all the time, and deadlifts are certainly a prime irritant if I'm not careful. Try this stuff out and hopefully you'll be all set.
