When I said "until nothing hurts," I was referring to once you start rolling. It's going to HURT.
Get a med ball when you can. A softball, lacrosse ball, etc. will work in the interim.
A PVC pipe will be ideal when you're really fine-tuning the trigger points and keeping new knots at bay, but it's going to be a challenge to be able to relax through the level of pain that it will bring, and the major rule of SMR is to stay relaxed. In other words, if you can handle the pain and not tense (unlikely) it's fine, if not you may want to get a cheap starter one for now.
As far as stretching goes - the goal of it, for you, is to relax fully. Muscle tension jumps from one muscle to the next, losing intensity the further away from the primary tension spot it gets - like shock waves from an earthquake. So while stretching it's very important to have superior body awareness and be sure that nothing that isn't required for structural support is tensing. So if you want to stretch the hamstrings, for example, bending forward at the waist isn't your best bet since it will be hard to relax the majority of your body in that position. Is this making sense?
Bringing it back to the asian squat stretch - if you're down there to stretch, just let everything go loose and try to keep the weight either on your heels or evenly balanced across the foot. I like to use my elbows to pry my knees apart an extra amount when I'm down there too, because I'm prone to adductor and groin tightness. I recommend you do the same.
Stretching routine (Remember, this is AFTER the SMR, preferably. It can and should also be done after leg or back day)
The goal for all of these is at least a minute once you're in the stretch, and make it zen/meditation like with your breathing and body awareness. It helps to increase the stretch when you exhale.
Start with a lying
hurdlers stretch, working on pushing the hip on the side you're stretching up into the air, which will stretch the rec. femoris as well as the vastus group of the quads. Rec. femoris usually gets neglected when stretching. MAke sure you keep the foot in line with your lower leg, and propped under the glutes if you can.
From there, you can simply lean forward to get a decent hamstring stretch. Take your time with this one since it's a primary focus. Remember to lean your torso to the left, right, and center of your leg to stretch the biceps femoris and semitendinosus and semimembranosus.
After that, slide into a
90/90 glute/piriformas stretch. Again, take your time with this one, being thorough in the left, right, and center directions.
Next would be the
supine trunk rotation. Hang out here for a while and enjoy it, it's a great lumbar stretch. And since you should be doing some intense lower back strengtheners like RDL's and back extensions to make sure you don't tail tuck, you're going to want to keep your back healthy with this stretch.
From there just stay on your back with your feet together and drawn toward you and let the knees open towards the ground, stretching the groin and adductors. Don't rush this one or try to stretch too far too fast.
Last would be a
kneeling hip flexor stretch, which you probably already know. Make sure you're tucking the hips under solidly before you let your lead leg take the back hip forward, as in the picture.
That should do it for a stretching routine. Again, all this comes either right after a leg/back workout and/or after SMR. Let me know what other questions you have.
