Center Split Training

The adductors and inner hamstrings tend to be short AND weak in most people. Don’t get confused. Short doesn’t mean strong. And lengthened doesn’t mean weak. Oftentimes, the body will hold a short position specifically because the tissue is too weak to be safe while elongated. And, although there are in fact outrageously weak people who are hyperextensible with incredible flexibility, the average person who moves a muscle fluidly into long patterns is "strong enough" relative to the perceived effort. 

I’m not a big fan of “stretching” in the conventional sense because there’s no evidence that most of the populace can benefit from it. Most of the time what's really happening is you're forcing the structural limit of tissue past a prudent angle, further destabilizing the likely already-unstable joints. Instead, there are better techniques to improve what people think of as "flexibility." And it isn't stretching. It's mobilizing. And yes, these are different actions. Very different. It's not just some parsing of words.

When we actively mobilize tissue (reps versus long holds), such that we know the person can control that new range of motion, we continue to earn the trust of the body and never surpass the tissue limits. Therefore, we don't further weaken the individual (which does happen in long static stretches and certain forms of yoga).

What I like about using an adjustable box like this is objective metrics. This client uncomfortably tried to set up in a straddle at 8 risers just a few weeks ago. Now, smoothly she’s gotten to 3. Soon it’ll be the floor. There’s no forcing, no pain, no passive (external assistance) methodology. It’s her own nervous system slowly working the tissue into greater and greater ranges. As the connective tissue turns over (6-8 months), naturally she’ll be able to keep going farther.