This might be a really silly question, but I find myself confused on this matter and any help would be appreciated.
Often you’ll hear about muscular imbalances or muscle tightness, such as in anterior pelvic tilt, chances are good that your hip flexors are tight and your glutes are weak.
However, if this is the case does that mean that you shouldn’t concentrate on strengthening your hip flexors still? Are we supposed to avoid that because it would exacerbate the tightness or because they’re already too strong relative to your glutes?
I ask because as a sprinter I know that hip flexor strength is important not only for optimal sprint technique but also for lifts such as squats.
However I do have pretty bad anterior pelvic tilt, and I’m wondering if tight hip flexors = strong hip flexors and therefore should I avoid trying to strengthen them further?
Thank you for any advice!
[quote]Physicality wrote:
I’m wondering if tight hip flexors = strong hip flexors and therefore should I avoid trying to strengthen them further?
Thank you for any advice![/quote]
No. There are many that believe that a tight muscle is weak, not strong.
Avoid strengthening them further? I would start working with someone who can help you find your muscle imbalances and correct them properly.
Weak and strong are not in the definition of tight.
Tight means limited movement. As a sprinter do you really want limited movement?
Sprinting is a limited time competitive athletic endeavor. You don’t want to spend questionable time fixing something you “think” may be a problem only to heart your sprint speed. If you have a coach or qualified person working with you then trust him otherwise, don’t go overboard, and work on your weaknesses. If you really feel it’s tight then loosen it up(warm stretching, full range exercises, less frequent work).