As a marathon runner who has a day job that requires me to spend so much of time sitting behind a desk, it might be a miracle if I didn’t have tight hips. In an try to launch them within the run-up to my sixth marathon, I added the lizard lunge to my stretching routine for per week.
This yoga posture is likely one of the finest methods to undo the results of extended sitting. In addition to stretching your deep hip flexors, you’ll even be working into your glutes, quads and hamstrings. Learn on to seek out out extra.
As a reminder, what works for me won’t be best for you and your physique. If you happen to’re a whole newbie, you’re pregnant or postpartum, otherwise you’re recovering from a selected damage, it’s all the time value checking in with a certified skilled earlier than attempting something new.
Article continues under
Chances are you’ll like
Tips on how to do the lizard lunge
(Picture credit score: Future)
All you’ll want for this train is your body weight, however utilizing among the best yoga mats may help hold issues extra comfy.
- Begin on all fours along with your knees stacked beneath your hips and your wrists in step with your shoulders.
- Step your proper foot ahead so it’s subsequent to your proper hand. Step your left leg again in a excessive plank place.
- If that is sufficient, keep right here, however for a deeper stretch, hinge at your hips and decrease one elbow, then the opposite to the bottom. Attempt to hold your again straight; should you can’t, place your elbows on blocks.
- Attain your chest ahead to elongate your backbone.
- Maintain the pose for 3 to 5 breaths, taking a deep breath in by way of your nostril and exhaling slowly by way of your mouth.
Lizard Pose – Foundations of Yoga – YouTube
Watch On
If that is too troublesome, you can also make the posture simpler by decreasing your again knee to the ground or inserting yoga blocks beneath your arms or elbows.
Keep in mind to maintain your gaze gentle throughout this train — don’t look as much as the ceiling or all the way down to the ground, as this may put stress in your neck. You additionally need to watch out to not spherical your again on this transfer — take into consideration protecting your backbone lengthy and ensure the hinge comes out of your hips. Preserve each hips sq. to the bottom and focus on protecting them secure — the hip of the again leg will possible need to dip in direction of the ground.
What are the advantages?
Deep hip flexor stretch
This train targets the deep hip flexor muscle mass that sometimes get tight after lengthy durations of sitting. You’ll actually deepen this stretch by hinging at your hips and decreasing your elbows to the bottom. By nature, on this transfer, you’re focusing on the entrance of 1 hip and the again of the opposite, serving to to open tight hips.
Not like an ordinary lunge, the lizard lunge requires you to step your entrance foot wider than your hip. This targets the inside thighs and glute maximus and may help enhance the vary of movement in your hips wanted for workout routines like deep squats.
Builds lower-body energy
What to learn subsequent
When carried out as a lunge, along with your again knee hovering off the bottom, this lively pose is strengthening your posterior chain — in different phrases, the muscle mass that run alongside the again of your physique. You’ll be working your hamstrings and glutes to maintain your knee from splaying out to the aspect as you maintain the lunge, constructing purposeful stress within the decrease physique.
This train can even construct mobility within the hips, which is useful for different yoga and Pilates workout routines just like the crow pose.
Right here’s what occurred once I tried it for per week
I added the lizard lunge to my routine within the run-up to my sixth marathon to assist loosen my tight hips, after 16 weeks of marathon coaching and lots of time sitting down behind my desk.
On day one in every of this problem, I instantly seen that my proper hip was loads tighter than my left. That is regular, as you’ll all the time have one stronger aspect, however addressing these imbalances in your physique may help you keep away from accidents.
I used to be shocked at how a lot there may be to consider throughout this train, particularly should you’re hovering your again knee off the bottom. I needed to deal with protecting my hips degree and my core engaged, particularly as I hinged ahead. I additionally needed to watch that my entrance knee wasn’t drifting inwards, as this may put stress on the joint.
My yoga teacher all the time reminds the category to maintain your knee stacked over your ankle to forestall additional pressure throughout this pose.
In fact, after per week, I bodily appeared the identical, however my hips positively felt much more open. Tight hips can result in again ache, knee ache and improve your danger of accidents, so if, like me, you’re spending lots of time sitting down, paired with a repetitive motion like working, that is one to strive.
Comply with Tom’s Information health on Instagram for extra exercises, routines, ideas, and methods.
