Sarah Harradine (thatsquatbot), personal trainer and blogger, is here to talk you through a series of stretches to help you look after your everyday health and make the most of life, in partnership with Simplyhealth. They’re here to support you every step of the way, throughout your training, on event day and beyond.
Today we’re going to talk about specific stretches for your hips and glutes. A muscle group that unsurprisingly can become tight and inflexible and cause issues for a lot of runners.
A lot of us spend a lot of time seated at our desks, which in turn can lengthen your glutes, making them tight and weak. This is the opposite to what we want as runners to drive our legs forward.
When focusing on specific muscle groups it’s important to remember not to overstretch or bounce your stretch which can cause more problems.
Pigeon
From kneeling, bring one foot forward, then the shin to the floor. With the back leg stretched out behind you. If it feels comfortable, settle down onto the elbows.
Side stretch
Standing up tall, bring one foot in front of the other. Reach up with the arm on the same side as the crossed foot, and lean to the other side until you feel a stretch in your side and your hip.
Cross legged reach
Sit on your sitting bones on the floor or raised on a block to tilt the pelvis backwards. Cross the legs then reach forward until you feel a stretch in the lower back and glute. Change legs.
Laydown glute stretch on back
Laying on your back, bring one foot onto the floor with a bent knee. Bring the other foot to the other knee, then grab through the gap, and pull the knee towards you until you feel a stretch in your hip and glute.
