Athletes for Yoga 26.2 Week 4: Mitigate Booty Lock

Photo: Claire Pepper

“Stiff hips? Not impressed. Stop moaning about it and start doing something about it.”
– Erin Taylor

Reset: Pinwheel
Why: Complaining about hip stiffness is like a runner badge of honor, but it’s not doing you any favors. Aside from the general feeling of “booty lock,” aka super tight hip and glute muscles that impede your range of motion, lack of hip mobility is a common culprit behind everything from iliotibial band (IT band) pain — which usually leads to knee issues — to low back strain.
When: Post-run

How:

• Sit down and bend your knees, staggering one leg in front of the other so that it makes a pinwheel shape, with a little bit of space between your front foot and your back knee.

• Keep both feet flexed.

• Sit up tall and turn your torso toward your front thigh, and lie down on top of it.

• When you think you’ve found your resting point, try to lengthen your spine even more, as if you’re pulling your ribs farther away from your hips.

• Hold for 5–10 deep breaths before switching sides.

Athletes for Yoga Videos:

• Post-Run Hip Reset — comprehensive hip stretching to ease post-run soreness

• 5-Minute Hip Reset — quick fix for stiff hips

• Booty Lock Mitigation - potent booty lock fix

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