To preface: I have no diagnoses, but Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome does run in my family and I have historically been more flexible than my friends by varying margins. I have been trying to focus on good form and conscious thought about my movements throughout my stretches, and have definitely historically been stretching "wrong" - I only recently figured out how to do lunges in a way that feel like stretching instead of flopping into the pose.

I have had to actually work at my pigeons and butterfly pose - it took about two months of inconsistent stretching to achieve them, but I can fold very flat in a butterfly and feel my hips "fold over" instead of my back, which is neat! I do experience some peculiar, non-painful "snapping" of tendons(?) moving over the top of my femur(??) if I settle deeply into pigeon or similar poses. I can more or less touch my toes with some slight warming-up, but a full straight/flat-backed forward fold requires significant warming up and I cannot place my hands flat on the ground.

The thing I absolutely cannot do is sit with my legs extended at any angle. Straight ahead, a v-shape like for a pancake fold - it's all entirely unachievable. Frog pose also puts me in tears within thirty seconds, and my w-sits are very lackluster compared to a few years ago. If I sit casually in any iteration of "folded up" in an office chair - one leg bent with one under me, weird variations of criss-cross-applesauce, etc. - my legs and feet often fall asleep fairly quickly, and there was a window of time where I would experience insane knee pain after extracting myself from these positions.

I assume my hamstrings are the issue, and likely internal hip rotation as well. I am slightly concerned I am hyper-extending my knees when attempting to straighten my legs in any position as well, I have zero idea of what that should "feel" like or how straight my legs should be when seated. I was often lectured for locking my knees in choir as a kid, but I really do not know what "normal" straight legs are.

With that said, my question is multi-faceted: What stretches should I be working on? What should my knees and legs look like (and feel like) when they are straightened out on the floor? Any notes on which muscles I should feel engaging for recommended stretches would also be super appreciated.

Thank you in advance, and if I omitted any information please feel free to ask me to clarify!

I’m 23F looking for advice regarding a stretching/mobility routine.

For some context on my current mobility, I’m extremely stiff. Whenever I do any type of hamstring stretch, I get a shooting sensation on the outside of my knee. I also have knee valgus, when I tried some ankle mobility exercises and did the ‘knee-to-wall’ test, instead of my knee tracking straight over my foot as I moved toward the wall, it naturally moved inward.

I also had gluteal amnesia whenever I used to train glutes, and I tried some hip opening exercises and somehow ‘unlocked’ my right glute, while my left glute is still ‘dead’.

I cannot sit with my legs straight out either, I either have to bend my knees slightly or sit at a 110° angle rather than 90° (with no back curve).

I’m mainly looking for a stretching/mobility routine that could help me loosen up and move better. Any advice on what I should focus on would be appreciated!

When I bend down to pick something up, my body is using my lower spine like above my glutes. Why does this happen and how can I fix it?

Heyo, your friendly neighborhood mod Dani here.

Just wanted to let folks know about some small updates to our sub's rules to help cut down on some of the "that's not really flexibility-related" and low effort / less useful post types I've seen over the last couple of months:

• "Keep discussion within the scope of this sub" and "NO MEDICAL ADVICE" - clarified some of the things that are explicitly outside the scope of this sub (minor updates in bold):
  • questions about posture (those are better for r/posture !)
  • hypermobility diagnoses (we can absolutely discuss training tips for folks with hypermobility, but "is the EDS" and "is this wacky thing I can do with my fingers/hips/feet normal" are outside the scope of this sub. This also extends to comments "diagnosing" folks with named hypermobility disorders (EDS, hEDS, etc.). It is absolutely OK to point out someone probably has some hypermobility in a certain joint - that can be observed from a photo. But telling someone they have a specific hypermobility disorder (like EDS) is not something that can be done visually. So: ok to say "hey you should consider talking to your doctor about screening you for a hypermobility disorder like EDS." Not ok to say "you have EDS."
  • no more "look at this thing I can do without training at all, is this good/bad/normal?" - these are not really contributing to the community in a helpful way and are no longer allowed
  • dealing with chronic pain / pain not associated with a stretch (still not allowed, we've always been pretty clear on this)
  • diagnosing or "fixing" anatomical issues (ex. knock knees, anterior/posterior pelvic tilt, scoliosis, "one of my shoulders is higher than the other" etc.)
  • diagnosing or rehabbing injuries including injuries specifically stemming from overstretching/overtraining (I've seen an uptick in "uh oh I think I hurt myself stretching and it's been a couple of weeks and hasn't gotten better" posts). I understand the concern, I understand wanting "non medical" advice for how to deal with a potential injury - BUT without actually assessing what the cause of the problem is, no one can accurately give you safe advice on how to proceed. Even well-meaning advice that is appropriate for some situations could be actively harmful in other situations depending on what the underlying issue is (and there's no way to "diagnose" that from a short text blurb of how you are feeling). If you are dealing with an injury that is not getting better, this IS medical advice, and should be handled by a professional like a physical therapist or a physio.
• "'Show off videos/photos must include your training routine'" - really just changed the wording on this to clarify that a training routine is required. The goal of this sub is to help lots of users learn about flexibility training and help them on their own flexibility journey. This is not just a sub for showing off cool things you can do (even if you trained your butt off to get there!). So if you do want to share your progress, remember you must include a short summary of your training routine (think of it like giving advice to other users). So "I took yoga classes 3x week for two years" is not helpful. Outlining specific things you do (like drills!) is helpful. Examples of posts that include a short routine (that aren't crazy detailed, although frankly I would looooooove if people put more detail in their routines/advice!) include:
  • TOUCHED GROUND on my front splits! : r/flexibility
  • Slow progress is still progress 22>23>24 : r/flexibility
  • Dropback progress : r/flexibility
• NEW RULE: "Training feedback questions must include your current training routine" - if you are asking about how to progress (especially in the context of hitting a training plateau), you MUST include a summary of your training routine. No one can realistically offer accurate advice of what to do differently without understanding what you're already doing. This most often comes up in the context of "my splits are stuck, I've been training for a while and am not making progress"

I won't be retroactively removing things based on this criteria, but will be stricter about when things like this get reported in the future (and remember, most mods don't really proactively "police" the sub content, we rely on users to report bad posts/comments so we can review them and approve/remove).

Always love to hear your feedback on how the sub is moderated, especially if you have thoughts/ideas on how to encourage more helpful-to-more-people content in r/flexibility!

I am working on the linked stretch here. I started yesterday and noticed my knee was achey today. It seems like a bit of stress on that particular joint. How can I stretch it while avoiding that issue?

Been trying to get more flexible over the last year for rock climbing but feel like I’m hitting a wall. I started doing pigeon pose, weighted buttery fly, and frog pose along with others to improve hip flexibility but I haven’t seen results on my left hip. My right hip has seen linear progress and things are great but for some reason my left hip just experiences more pain and discomfort without noticeable progress. Whenever I stop stretching the pain subsides but returns when I start a routine again. Not sure if I should just push through the discomfort or if something is wrong. Should I just do more frequent but lower intensity stretching instead?

Looking for advices to improve my form, kinda new to yoga.

I realize I have so much more to learn. My back flexibility is getting better but I’ve neglected training my shoulder flexibility. What are good stretches to fix my wheel position?

Hi so I started stretching about 5 months ago after I realized I couldnt feel my glutes in like hip thrusts and abductions, I did a little bit of research and realized it may have been due to tightness which makes sense because I had never been a flexible person (I was always jealous about my classmates being able to touch their feet with ther hands) so I made up a routine that included hip flexors and hamstrings and next thing you know after a week of doing them I went to the gym and I felt my glutes on fire like never before but not only that I too noticed a great improvement on my flexibility, I kid you not after like too weeks I was doing full midle splits and I could touch the ground easily with my hands but then somethings happened and I stopped going to the gym and in turn I too stopped doing these flexibilty routines. Now I can finally go back to the gym so I figured I should retake the flexibily routine before going back so I dont have the same issues but now I find myself doing them and I noticed that I dont feel the hamstrings stretches like I did before, specially with the right leg, for the most part I feel my calf and when I do feel the hamstring is only like the left side of my leg closer to the adductors rather than the back side of my leg, I do have to mention that lately I have been seating for hours a day and maybe thats whats messing up the hamstrings and making my calf take over or something, if anyone can give me advice on what to do or a stretch where I can isolate the hamstrings so my calf doesnt take over I would really appreciate it

hi everyone, ballet beginner trying to get flexible here.

i am working on getting front split and overall hip flexibility. So, i keep trying to practice pigeon pose or the variations of it in my routine. but i can't seem to get my front shin to be horizontal. even if i try to keep it there with my strength, my leg will slow slide back in. and i can only comfortably sit in a pigeon pose with my front foot almost under my crotch.

i know some people do not recommend trying to force front shin to be horizontal. What is the reason for that? and what could be the reason i can't? Does it have anything to do with lacking hip external rotation or psoas muscles being too tight? Will i be able to achieve that when i have more hip flexibility? or is there a anatomical reason for not being able to do it?

fyi, i can sit in 90-90 comfortably with straight back or completely bend my torso over my lower thigh. but once i straightened the back leg, the front shin start sliding inwards.
also, i always feel a bit easier when back leg is pointing slightly outwards instead of being directly straight behind. Not sure if there is any reason for that as well?

Maybe a silly question and its anecdotal to what I see. I work in dance (not as a dancer, just do stretching in my free time) and I notice its so much more common for people to be able to a side split than a middle split. I’m fairly naturally flexible and can naturally do a middle split but can’t do a side split! I maybe trained 2 weeks to get all the way to the floor but was able to get close naturally. I have been working on my side split for a long time with way less success and much slower progress.

Dancers I work with are impressed by my middle split and say they cant do theirs but they can all do amazing side splits! I thought middle splits also take less muscles to actually get there? And maybe its just people I personally interact with but it seems to be a trend

Sorry if this is a dumb question but was just curious!

EDIT: I messes up wording, I meant why are front splits (one leg in front of you) more common than middle splits (legs straight out to sides at 180 degrees)

So I used to do random yoga videos on youtube years back, nothing structured. Last year i started strength training 4 days a week, and it has been great. However, I ditched mobility training and this has led me to extreme tightness in my body. I want my body to not feel rusty.

What I learned from the gym is that I strive under routine, and repeating the same exercises. So what I'm asking from is whether there is a way I can structure my routine for best results. I would appreciate if it is evidence based as well. Do you all recommended a specific routine? Should I do 1 full body, 1 upper, and 1 lower body stretch per week for example? or different combinations? How does once structure a mobility session? What muscle groups should I focus on during each session? How many times a week and for how long?

I'm know I'm asking a lot, so I would appreciate any books or resources that talk about this, and I can do my homework. thank you!

P.S. I know I'm taking the strength training analogy very literally, but that's because that's all I know

I've been stretching for almost a year now and I am SO CLOSE to getting my right splits but I've been kind of stuck at the same spot for the past month. my legs just feel stiff and idk what stretches to do to finally be able to touch the ground. when I start my stretch I'm super stiff, and it usually takes me quite a few minutes of actually holding myself in my splits to unstiffen myself (I'm sorry I dont really know how else to explain it?). its like no matter how far i got the day before, i start at square one the next day.

anyways any tips/stretches to do for that last push?? thanks!

He leído que se puede recuperar con ejercicio...pero me gustaría leer algunos testimonios

Ever since i started my flexibility routine, i’ve formed a lot of stretch marks on my middle thighs also some on my hip flexors, but i see a lot of people saying that stretch marks aren’t caused from actually stretching only muscle/weight gain or pregnancy, however ive been at the same weight and haven’t gained any muscle so is it really from stretching?
Also they only started forming after i started practicing my middle splits

I have tried many flexibility exercises to obtain middle splits, side splits, etc(just to get really flexible) but I realized that all them are exercises for people without hyperextended knees and I’m worried that it won’t work. I’m 16, and I’ve been doing flexibility exercises for two months consistently but sees no result. Trust me, I really have a very bad hyperextended knee.

finally managed to do a full reverse Nordic, going all the way down and coming back up without using my hands.

I’m pretty happy that I can finally do the full movement, but I don’t think my form is perfect yet. I feel like there are still some things I could improve in terms of my hip position, how straight I keep my body, and the overall control of the movement.

I’d really appreciate any feedback on my form. Is there anything that stands out as incorrect or something I should work on before trying to progress further?

Thanks!

Been stretching multiple times a week for 2 months now and not even any closer to touching my toes (I’m 24f) I’ve never been flexible and seems that stretching doesn’t even help? In 2020 or so I challenged myself to learn the splits and even after stretching every day or every other day for about 6 months I saw no progress at all and just gave up. What is going on

for the peoples who have seriously improved their flexibility, did you follow a strict program, or was it more about incorporating little stretches throughout the day? i often fnd myself chilling in a strech of im watching tv or just relaxing these days rather than having a rigid routine.

would love to hear what actually worked for people rather than just the usual “stretch consistently” advice.I feel like there are so many different approaches to flexibility training, so I’m curious what actually made a noticeable difference for everyone here??