UKC

Been stretching seriously (i.e. 5-6 times a week) since the first lockdown, and haven't been making nearly as much progress as e.g. with hangboarding and core. My main problem: spreading my legs, if you'll excuse the phrase. I seem to spend every session starting at zero again (less than 90° between my legs when sitting on the floor, vertical back, with maximally spread legs); after about 15 min of static stretching + rests this improves to ca. 95°, but never more. That's been the case for about 2 months now. Me: aged 61; old muscle injury, probably with scar tissue, on the inside of the left upper thigh muscles.

So my question: is it an age + gender thing, should I be happy with what's possible and just aim at keeping the status quo? Or am I missing any possible medical or training solutions which could help me bridge those (for me) insane corner routes when the lockdown's finally lifted?

PS: I warm up before every session and take it real slow, never going to a point where it's actually painful; I'm scared of the scar tissue ripping (damn that heel hook 30 years ago!) 

In my experience (of yoga)  improving flexibility is a long game. I didn't really see gains until after about 6 months. So I would say stick with it!  Difficult I know when the improvement is so slow, but worth it in the long run. I would definitely recommend going to a yoga class when you can, it is easier to stay motivated when doing it as a group thing, I'm just not disciplined enough to do this stuff at home! 

A couple of points:-

You don't say whether you are sitting with legs straight or bent at the knees?  Most people will be able to get their thighs much wider with knees bent (e.g. in 'cobblers' pose in yoga).  Trying both variations will help you work out whether the tightness is actually in your upper inner thigh, or elsewhere such as hips, lower back or hamstrings.

Also, if you're training for bridging, it's worth bearing in mind that the rotation of the hips will be very different when you're really bridging than when you are sitting on the floor.  You might be better finding stretches that place the body in a similar alignment to bridging.

I'm a trained yoga teacher, currently nearing completion of an additional qualification for teaching people with minor musculo-skeletal problems, so feel free to PM me if I can help with any more suggestions.

Thanks for your reply! I'll just stick with it then. Classes are out at the moment, but doing YouTube vids with my partner is keeping me motivated. I'll give the yoga a go. 

Hi heleno, thanks for your offer of help!

I've been keeping my legs straight, so I'll try the bent knee variation and a few other body positions. I'll take you up on your offer if I keep getting stuck.