best stretches for inner thigh groin flexability
what are the best stretches to stretch the groin muscles or inner thigh think they are called adducters? Anyway in the past i have pulled these muscles, i havn't for a few years now but they always seem to be the most inflexible of my leg muscles and prevent me from doing certain kicks such as side kicks and roundhouses etc as high and smooth and as efficiently as i want to be able to do them. My other leg muscles seem to be more flexible and allow for a good hight with various kicks. Any advice on how i can improve this or stretch those muscles to develop greater flexability?

The good news is your not alone many people have problems with lack of flexibility with the adductor muscles, mainly because the legs weren't really designed to be stretched too much in outward directions and are more adapt to backwards/forwards movements and flexion at the knee, however it is possible to increase flexibility with the adductors and it is helpful for martial arts especially those that include high kicks and greater flexibility. First off when/if you injure your adductors again use the old RICE method rest, ice, compression and elevation to help the healing process, take time off training until healed, then gradually build up their flexibility and build up to higher kicks/splits etc slowly, ice after training may also help. You should focus on stretches for the adductors and hip flexors, static and dynamic see this post: http://www.thebudoboard.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=335 but you should also strengthen them a little too. Main stretches I can think of are: Butterfly/frog stretch; where you sit down with legs bent in front of you, knees facing out to the sides and soles of feet together on the floor. You can build up to applying light pressure on the thighs to take the knees lower towards the floor. A good alternative to this stretch is to do the exact same thing but this time lye down on your back and repeat the stretch letting gravity bring your knees lower to the floor, try it with different angles with your legs i.e. soles of feet nearer or further away from buttocks. You can also turn over and use your body weight to stretch the adductors but this is a more advanced stretch and you have to be careful and support your weight with your arms also, imagine doing the splits but on your knees with feet tucked up behind your bum. From this position you can also lye forward chest to ground and then take your weight backwards slightly sitting back on your legs taking bum towards heels and head towards ground (hard to explain in words). Sumo squat stretch; this is where you get into a low stance with feet about two shoulder widths apart, heels in line and take your bum towards the floor while keeping back straight, its similar to horse riding stance/kiba dachi in martial arts. Try this with feet at different angles i.e. toes pointing forward then more out to the side. When you lower your bum to the ground you stretch the adductors, you should hold this position for a while then lift back up, try it with narrower/wider stances. Spiderman stretch?; This is a follow on from the above stretch, from a wide sumo squat/horse riding stance take the feet out a little further so stance is wider, then go down on one leg so that you bend your knee and take your weight over to that side while straightening your other leg, you can lower your body towards the straight out stretched leg to increase the stretch, swap your weight over to the other leg then repeat the stretch. Side leg raises; standing straight support your weight on one leg, slightly bend the knee then raise your other leg upwards to the side of your body controlling the movement. Side knee raises; this is similar to the leg raises but your knee is bent, heel tucked back near buttocks like the start position of a round house kick, start by holding the knee in position and then lifting it higher slightly then lowering and repeat a few times, after a while you can do it without holding the knee and make the movement a little more dynamic increasing the height but still controlling the movement. Lunge stretch: This is like an extra long front stance but your back foot is on the balls of the toes and both knees are facing forward, adapt a long stance (step forward) and take the back knee down towards the floor and hold the position then come up and repeat. Split stretch; This is similar to the side splits but you don’t have to go all the way don instead go as far as you can go without too much discomfort and hold the position then come up relax then repeat. Leg stretcher machines; these are good for stretching the adductors when used properly, even the cheaper 3 bar leg stretchers you can get for around £15 will work ok, its good to use your martial arts belt or a towel or something similar to wrap around the middle handle, this allows you to lye backwards with your back flat on the floor but you can keep the resistance/stretch when laid back and can also increase it slightly after time. There’s probably more but that’s all I can think of at the moment :? I’ll try and get some pics or a vid as its hard describing them only.