Seated Glutes stretch with PAILS & RAILS - improve external rotation of the hips

Описание: Seated Piriformis stretch focuses on opening up the capsule of your hip and helping you improve the quality of the muscle tissues responsible for the external rotation of the hip, both: superficial and deep muscles.

1️⃣ The setup for seated piriformis stretch is quite simple. All you have to do is sit on the chair or a bench and bring the one leg over another. You can play with a position of top and bottom legs to find the line of tension where you feel the most stretch.

2️⃣Once you find the optimal position hold the stretch for 2 mins focusing on parasympathetic breathing pattern ➡️ 3-4 sec inhale followed by 6-8 sec exhale. This will help tissue to relax faster while giving more access to the hip capsule.

3️⃣ After you finish 2 min stretch you will proceed to PAILS portion of the stretch where you will slowly ramp up the full body tension until you reach the maximum safest voluntary contraction. Once you reach the maximal isometric contraction you will actively drive you knee towards the ground while anteriorly tilting your pelvis and slightly leaning forward for 8-10 sec.

4️⃣ Once you finish the PAILS contraction you will switch to RAILS contraction ➡️ actively trying to lift your shin of your thigh and bring it closer to the chest by using all the musculature on the inside of your hip. Do it for 8-10 sec. It is very likely that you will not be able to lift your shin of your bottom leg. It's the effort that counts, and your ability to recruit the tissues.

5️⃣ Once you finish RAILS contraction you will sink in deeper into the stretch and hold the stretch for 20 - 40 sec focusing on your breath.

6️⃣ Repeat steps 3️⃣, 4️⃣, 5️⃣ for 2 to 3 more times.

IMPORTANT:
Focus on keeping a neutral spine and when you are leaning forward start the movement from your pelvis.
It goes like this: ➡️ anterior pelvic tilt ➡️ ribcage travels forward ➡️ shoulders follow

The whole routine will take 3-5 mins on each leg depending on how many reps you will perform your PAILS RAILS combo.

WARNING:
When doing piriformis stretch and PAILS & RAILS you will feel discomfort. To open your hip capsule and improve the quality of tissue the discomfort is needed. However, you want to make sure it does not manifest as pain. Make sure your feel discomfort on the outside of your hip in glute muscles and the discomfort does not surpass 5-6 out of 10, where 10 is the most discomfort you could feel.