Stretching is more important than we give it credit for. It is especially important as we get older.
When we do not stretch on a regular basis, it does not just affect our mobility, but it also puts us at a higher risk of muscular damage, joint pain, and injuries.
Any of the above can easily stop you from feeling happy and healthy.
Our neck, back, shoulder and such often get the brunt of our attention when we stretch, but inner thighs are often one of the most forgotten areas.
It’s not an area we typically think about targeting.
However, not targeting this area could be a bit more risky than we thought. So, why should we do it, how should we do it, and (surprisingly) when should we do it?
Stick around to find out what you need to start integrating into your stretching routine.
What Are The Benefits?
The other name for our inner thigh muscles is our ‘adductors’. Stretching your adductors can actually be beneficial to many other areas of your body.
We typically forget them, thinking they are insignificant to the rest of our body. Oh, not at all.
It is actually really important to improve the mobility of this area, because it affects the ability of the joint to move in many motions.
Having a lack of mobility in this area can result in your pelvis being poorly positioned, thus causing knee pains and lower back pains.
Adductors work with your abductors to provide your pelvis with stability, so stretching them on a regular basis actually helps you remain more stable and better balanced.
Stretching exercises should also be paired with strengthening workouts as strengthening adductors provides long term change.
When you are stable, you are more likely to prevent injuries. If you were to fall over an object, for example. Your body will be more able to stabilize and stop you from tumbling over.
It can prevent you from sprains, breaks, or worse.
Of course, mobility and stability is important, but stretching overall helps the circulation in your body get to your joints and muscles easier.
It can help to reduce tension in areas and helps to reduce stiffness in your muscles also.
Overall, adding some muscle stretches for your adductors into your routine is worth it, especially since they take mere minutes!
Is There A Best Time To Stretch Your Inner Thigh?
A vast majority of people will stretch before they do a workout, and some may stretch after. Some may do both!
With your adductors, it is best to dynamically stretch this area, meaning you should move through a motion range with pauses at the end of the range before an activity to benefit the most.
It will improve your circulation and prepare your muscles or the movement ahead.
You should never stretch static, meaning that holding the stretch for 30 seconds before activity, as it actually decreases the output of your force, and makes your performance shoddy.
Stretching Slowly
Before we dive into the best stretches you should do, we want to tell you why you need to do it slowly.
You are not just stretching them for the sake of stretching them, you need to remember that how you stretch them is important too.
You need to do each stretch slowly, making sure that you are pain free doing it, that you are comfortable, and ensuring you reap the most benefits of doing so.
You should move slowly into the stretch to allow your body’s neurological system to get ready for the range of motion.
Stretching will allow your body to tolerate more deep levels of neural discomfort.
Slowly move into your stretch, then pause, and repeat the motion. Make certain that each time you go a little deeper into the stretch to improve your range, in turn leading to improved mobility!
How To
So, how do you stretch out your inner thighs properly? There are many stretches, but these three are the most highly preferred by medical professionals for how they benefit you.
They will safely and securely stretch your inner thighs, giving you everything you want from doing so.
Here are the top 31
Frogger Stretches
When performing a frogger stretch, follow these instructions:
- Start yourself off with your knees and forearms on the floor. Have your knees and feet as wide as you can, trying to keep the inside facing part of your feet against the floor.
- Sit your bottom down on your heels, and feel the stretch on your adductor muscles.
- Pause the stretch for 3 seconds, come out of the stretch, rocking into your starting position, and repeat.
- Do this around 10 to 15 times per day for maximum results!
Adductor Stretches (Kneeling)
If the above stretch is a bit tricky for you (it’s not for everyone), you can try a kneeling adductor stretch.
This is how you do it:
- Start off with both your knees and your hands against the floor. Similar to the first stage of cow pose.
- Then, straighten one of your legs out to one side. Keep your leg against the floor as much as you can.
- Rock your rear end up to the heel of the knee which is still bent and feel the stretch on your adductors in your straight leg.
- Hold this for 3 seconds, come out of the stretch and repeat 10 to 15 times.
Half Kneel Adductors
If the previous was a bit tricky for you, try this one!
- Start off with a half-kneeling pose, have a single knee on the ground and your other bent round with your foot flat on the floor.
- Move your bent leg to your side as much as you reasonably can, keeping your foot below your knee.
- Hands on hips and dip your body toward your bent leg. Feel the stretch in your leg where the knee is on the ground. Repeat 10-15 times.
To Conclude
Stretching your inner thigh is more important than you think. You can choose to do it in the ways we suggest, or in ways you would prefer to do. Just make sure you stretch and you stretch correctly!
The positive effect yoga had on me was indescribable. Every aspect of my life improved, from social to mental, physical to emotional.
I want my website to help more people get into the world of yoga and teach them how to be present for themselves - even if that’s just for a few minutes a day.
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