Butterfly Stretch only Hurts! Help?

[Psylo]

I know this isn't a fitness forum but I see everyone doing butterfly stretches for jiu Jitsu (including Eddie). When I do it, it just hurts. It doesn't have the good stretch feeling other stretches do, instead it just hurts my knees and hurts to walk afterward. Anyone else have this problem? Are there any alternatives for jiu jitsu?

[dui_man3]

I have bad knees too and there are a few stretches that hurt my knees when I stretch also. There is another stretch that I do that stretches the same muscles as the butterfly and is actually more intense. It is called the frog stretch and I would post a video on here for you if i was smarter with computers but I'm not so just go on you tube and type in the frog stretch and you will find a bunch of vids on there. Just remember when you are doing this stretch to go slowly and be careful because it is intense and it hurts. One thing I like to do differently than the stuff you'll find on you tube is to put my feet against the wall, that way I can't slide back and I get a better stretch. You'll see what I mean. I hope this helps.

[Psylo]

Okay I'll check it out ! Thanks a lot, much appreciated

[George Holsenback]

Here's a video of it. I'm actually going to try it out tonight. Looks like a good idea. Oh and I posted this one because it much more fun to watch then a guy doing it.

[Blaine Stevens]

Okay, was actually going to drop in and let people know how I've been doing. Can almost do full butterfly now and touch my forehead to my feet. First things first. Work out! Make sure you are strong enough to be doing the stretches in the first place. You'll see a lot more gains then. Also work your stretches bottom to top.

Hamstrings first. Stick your leg out to side, reach for your foot, engage your upper thigh and flex your foot towards you and you should feel a burn. At that point relax into it and flex into it a little more and it should give a bit more. What most people make the mistake of doing is pulling and pushing on shit that is still tight. That isnt stretching! You gotta stretch out one muscle group while contracting the other. In this case you are stretching out the hamstrings/lower leg and contracting the upper thighs/foot. When you get to the point that you can reach your foot. Cup it! Don't pull. The whole point is to feel that burn eaise out. If you immediately feel it and your leg shakes then your overdoing and your body will hit the bracks.

You should be holding all these stretches for 12 seconds at a time and at least 10 each side

[Chris Herzog]

I wouldn't listen to a word that woman says
1) Its Adductors, not Abbductors.
2) They are on the insides of your thighs, not the outside.

[Blaine Stevens]

My apologies! Hit enter to soon. This computer is wonky. As for the butter fly stretch. You won't be able to tuck your feet in and push your knees to the ground. At least not right away. The whole point of the stretch is to be able to tilt your hips and butt forward and touch the ground while your feet are still cupped underneath you. With that in mind. Don't be one of those dudes grabbing their feet and leaning forward with their back arched. Looking like they are trying to pull their feet up to them. Lol that isn't how it works.

To get a good butterfly stretch all you gotta do push your feet lightly against each other, tilt and rotate your butt and hips up and forward while letting your knees raise so your inner thigh muscles can resist and control you going foward. It also helps if you blow your air out and flex your stomach. Gets a few more inches into your stretch and gives you the right posture so gravity takes over.

Then once your good and loose after a few weeks doing stretching religiously you can start to get your knees to the ground. It is a slightly different motion I've found. You wanna flex and tilt your hip the other way and lightly push on your thighs against a wall to keep posture. Also! You will feel somewhat funky after you do ten of each on each side! That goes back to what I said before. When you stretch something your contracting a opposing group. If your doing the butter fly stretch and leaning forward. Do a cat stretch or that stand on one leg upper thigh stretch to get yourself back in alignment.

The more you leap frog and stretch and contract these opposing muscle groups without over stretching. The more gains you will start to see and get out of it.

[Psylo]

Ive played lacrosse and hockey through all my teens and lacrosse is a much rougher game everywhere on the body . I played it mostly on concrete and in arenas and it's very sore on the knees. I'm only 22 in great shape and have some knee problems but i finally figured out a way to do the butterfly stretch after about 2 months of not knowin why it only hurt my knees. This may help you dui man... Its such a simple solution too... Try it with your back against a wall... I read it up somewhere online. It finally isn't hurting AT ALL and is targeting my groin where it should... I was so surprised when I did it. You can keep doing the frog stretch if you prefer it but try e butterfly stretch while keeping your back straight against a wall pull your feet into your groin and slowly push your knees down till you feel it in your groin area. Let me know if it helps or still hurts your knees. I'm actually ecstatic I figured it out and can get a good stretch in before jiu jitsu and on the off days.

[John Mejia]

Ive played lacrosse and hockey through all my teens and lacrosse is a much rougher game everywhere on the body . I played it mostly on concrete and in arenas and it's very sore on the knees. I'm only 22 in great shape and have some knee problems but i finally figured out a way to do the butterfly stretch after about 2 months of not knowin why it only hurt my knees. This may help you dui man... Its such a simple solution too... Try it with your back against a wall... I read it up somewhere online. It finally isn't hurting AT ALL and is targeting my groin where it should... I was so surprised when I did it. You can keep doing the frog stretch if you prefer it but try e butterfly stretch while keeping your back straight against a wall pull your feet into your groin and slowly push your knees down till you feel it in your groin area. Let me know if it helps or still hurts your knees. I'm actually ecstatic I figured it out and can get a good stretch in before jiu jitsu and on the off days.

Gator you and I are in the same boat my man. Did you play box lax In Canada. I've been a hockey player all my life and my hip flexibility is for shit on my left side. Just keep at it and it'll come. Don't get over zealous on the stretching or you'll fuck yourself up man.

[DanConway]

No stretch should cause ANY discomfort, and ESPECIALLY not pain in your knees regardless of the most limited flexibility. There is something wrong with the body positioning, kinetics, and or form of the stretch in question. You should really never even FEEL a stretch in your knees with exception of pressure caused by the surrounding major muscles in contraction.

Regarding the confusion over the video in question: As Herzog said, there is not a muscle group known as hip abductors, just adductors, on the inside. However, there is the motion of Hip abduction, being the femur moving outside the medial plane of the body, opposite of adduction. This is primarily controlled by your glute muscles as opposed to a specific group of 'abductors'. That being said, the stretch in the video will target muscle flexibility of your glutes, psoas and iliacus, and improve your abduction flexibility - ability to do the splits, much more than it will target your hamstrings and adduction flexibility: ability to butterfly.