Mobility For Athletes: Hip Opening Adductor Stretch
Pain in the groin area is not uncommon for Olympic weightlifters and athletes across varying disciplines and is often the result of tightness in your adductors. The heavy weight room training combined with quick lateral and linear movements found in sport, the adductors can easily become overused and result in your hips compressing causing additional tightness. Sounds painful but how does this impact your training? Adverse hip mobility can result in missed lifts due to your inability to reach full depth in the Snatch and Clean as well as disrupt your function in the dip and catch when jerking. The stretch below should become a part of your warm up and cool down routine, to counteract groin pain and prevent tight adductors.
Setup Instructions and Cues
Come to the mat in a forward lunge position and drop your right knee to the ground, keeping your left knee bent until it is over your left foot.
With your torso straight, dip down further into the lunge.
Place your left elbow on the inside of your left knee.
On the inhale, raise your right arm straight out in front of you.
On the exhale, sweep your right arm across to the other side, opening the chest as you twist at the spine.
Press your left hand against your knee as you open the chest, will keeping your right arm out wide to deepen the stretch.
Hold for 30 seconds.
On the exhale, release the tension on your left hand (against your knee) and sweep your right arm back to its starting position in front of you.
Repeat the stretch on the opposite side.
Notes
By pressing your arm firmly against your knee as you twist and opening your chest with your outstretched arm, you can intensify the stretch significantly. With each exhale, think 'straight spine' and with each exhale, go deeper into the stretch. Hold for a minimum of 30 seconds; the longer the stretch the better!
Sandra Arechaederra has actively practiced yoga for years but maintains a focus on its application for improving athletic performance. Sandra is an accomplished Olympic weightlifter in her own right, having medaled at the 2010 USA National Championship Meet, she continues her work with the California Strength weightlifting team on a weekly basis for mobility training and runs a mobility program implemented with the California Strength NFL Combine Prep Class every year. Sandra has her 200 RYT credential as a certified Yoga Teacher.