Lower body basics and the rationale for weighted, end-ROM movement

As my first post flew close to the holistic sun, I wanted to reel things back in with some practical, meatheaded goodness.

Ouchies

I'm rehabbing a strained calf, still hurting from months ago, when I finally skateboarded too good. Having one's special meter up and being unable to walk afterwards isn't rare, but never before had I been unable to push or pop without severe pain for months afterwards. This was humbling, if not downright depressing. Attempting to practice what I preach, get some care, and rehab this thing, I'm reinvesting in some of the finer details of the hips and thighs that move us through life.

I've gotten by on easy street when it comes to lower body stuff: beginning my strength training journey with Starting Strength and looking like a centaur for years before things balanced out, perhaps owing to some genetics or something, I was able to tolerate a decent amount of of volume in squats and deadlifts, still get into correct positions for Olympic weightlifting, without needing to stretch all that much (except when, on occasion, I would admit how much better I moved after stretching). Laxity in my hips has allowed me to pop into a deep squat at any time of day, although even early experiments with resting in a deep squat position revealed all sorts of nooks and crannies to strengthen. Summers ago when I trained for 10-15 hours per week, stacking a squat program on top of a technical weightlifting plan, only to feebly attempt competing in weightlifting, I got away with just tendonitis in both quadriceps plus a curiously painful, medial tilt of my left femoral head in the bottom of heavy squats. I remember an older colleague seeing me limp up the stairs at BlackBerry head offices, telling me, “it's going to be okay.” Did he even know that one year later, my shoulder would essplode?

As I get into my thirties (early? Mid? you know who you are), the twinge of lower back pain rears its sweet head. Recent abdominal treatments (deep dive coming soon!) indicate complex relationships and lines of tension I’d previously ignored: physiotherapy reveals how weak my lateral glutes are and how navicularly pronated I really am, how inactive my VMO actually is, and severe cramps through my hams and adductors suggest perhaps I'm not the virtuosic bodyworker specimen I thought myself to be--i’m so embodied sksksksksk, as us bodyworkers say.

The impact of doing a good deal of somatic meditation, experiencing my body breathing itself and dissolving into boundless space, falls hard back to earth, reminding me of how meditation is not a panacea, and that while having a diffuse, open, undifferentiated experience of physical textures is a blessing and a cool point of development, there are near enemies of embodied equanimity: dullness, ignorance, and the capacity to continue overreaching.

So when an osteo recently told me that severe cramps in my hamstrings and adductors post-treatment might suggest my legs are “waking up”, I thought it might be nice to share what I'm doing to revitalize them. In spite of the intricacies of orthopedic assessment, there are some basic moves that cover a lot of common, deep ground, and much of this is what I recommend to clients across demographics and stages of healing.

End range rationale

Although providing an abundant trough for the nanomanofitnosphere to bicker about in recent years, the notion that we need to be strong in the end range of motion is old hat, and it’s not that hard to grok, common sensually: we want to engage muscles and be strong through a full ROM. If we are trying to develop flexibility, contract-relax or active techniques are more effective than passive stretching on its own. If you have laxity in a joint, all I can say is that you need to build muscle around it as preparation. Something about choosing to do this proactively feels better than the adhesions that form as a result of spontaneously having gone too far, and better than the humbling work of rehab: it's easier to not fall into a hole than to try and dig yourself out of one. Furthermore, it’s not much of a stretch to appreciate the proprioceptive benefits of exploring strength in end range. Limited ROM in the neck, for example, very clearly illustrates a narrowing of awareness, but every limb counts.

While certain loopy proponents of limited range movement might spin deluded pontifications for their approach, and this conservatism might have its benefits for specific scenarios, in addition to creating a slew of cool exercises to sell people on, I remain unconvinced! I am on the ATG/Knees Over Toes Guy bandwagon. Whatever his fundy beliefs, we all get to have a problematic fave as a snack, and his proof is in his pudding. Perhaps his zealous enthusiasm is just infectious and gets people motivated to engage in higher volume training for parts unknown. Active contractions through end ranges reveal more weak or pained points than you could imagine, and provide a technique for reengaging and releasing stuck or tired tissues.

In each movement below, the point is to gently but directly explore your limit, and tune into hitches and stuckness, rather than avoiding these feelings to try to get the max end range right away. Start wherever you are, whether that’s a bit of a back bend or a deep squat. Don't look at the back of the book, the journey is the goal, and so on and so on. In each case, a more dynamic, pulsating pace is better for warm-up, whereas slow, exploratory rhythm is good for cool down / end of day shenanigans. Weights provide a novel intensity that will go beyond bodyweight stretches. Unilateral movements expose side to side imbalances.

Lastly, it’s worth noting that there is a lot of spinal flexion in this post, but not a lot of extension, nor that much side bending or rotation, which are very much worth exploring, too.

Couch stretch and split squat

Get your knee on the floor or in a couch, so that your lower leg is propped against the wall or back of a couch (or chair). See how upright you can stand before you cry, and ease up. A shorter knee angle biases the quads, whereas a more open knee angle gives you more iliopsoas. Rotating contralaterally will give you more TFL. Flex, rotate, and open, do random yoga things, or just hang out, for 2-5 minutes on each side.

For the split squat, the goal is to get the knee through a full range of motion, i.e. hams kissing calves.

The starting point for those with less mobility is to simply bend the knee on a higher support so that the joint takes less pressure while the quads can still be stretched and strengthened. Stairs with rails are great for this!

This can be built up to a dumbell or barbell variation.

Resting squat

Ido pushed people into a lot of new territory by advocating for much greater degrees of volume in basic movements while also inspiring a curiosity for the body's natural creativity. Hang out in the squat for 5-10 minutes and try some of the twists and turns he demonstrates here. It’s is just a good routine.

Similarly, getting in here with a kettlebell or a barbell can really intensify things.

Jefferson curls/RDLs

Hey hey, ho ho, bend your back! Lift with your back!

Do a weighted forward fold and make sure to let your scapulae roll forward too. Start very light, or unweighted, for a few weeks. When you earn your hubris you can go heavy on these, but the point is to get a nice pump through the whole spine.

Doing this on a slant board will cook the hammies. Doing an RDL variation, with a more rigid lower back and core, is a more traditional strength training approach, but it won't give you the same decompression and stimulus to the erectors. Worth noting that some weightlifting teams will do a lot of these, again, with low intensity and high repetition. Muscle need pump more. Full rom good mornings are also pretty cool.

Hip butterflies

Those poor strappy adductors, never getting enough love. This one is known to mobilize the groin. Feet together, slowly let your legs open, pulsing at the barrier and coming back up. Again, sets of 10-20, lighter to start.

Piriformis

Ah, “Pidgeon pose”. The nugget here is that doing this on an angled surface, such as your friendly local incline bench, is much more agreeable to start and less stress on the knees.

Hip abduction, single-leg deadlifts

In terms of what physio actually prescribed I would be remiss to exclude these, as done well, they are much harder than they look (hence no video!) Ensure that your lateral hip is engaged on both the standing and the moving leg. Toe-ing out the feet and bending the knees helps with this activation.

Calf raises

Do I even have to mention?

Worth Mentioning

Side planks, bird-dogs, and back extensions.

That's all for now!

What next: upper body basics, jaw and anterior neck deep dive, or abdominals?

Kindly

Andy