Stiff Legged Windmill

I'm interested in hearing the finer points of the stiff legged windmill. I have never done this exercise before and I am having difficulty in knowing what to focus on during the movement. I know to keep the legs locked, but do I need to work on keeping my shoulders wide/open as I lower my torso to the floor. Please let me know if there are a few things I can focus on as I do it. BTW, I'm on week 3 of Foundation 1.

This movement starts from your hips. Feet not too wide, shift the hip under the weight and think of continuing to push that hip to the side. Tour body will natural start to fold. You can slide the back of your free hand down your leg to guide you and remind you to open your chest. Eyes on the weight. It is over your head, good to know where it is. As you get comfortable allow the down hand to move between the legs and behind you to increase the ROM. Slow deliberate movement here.

I feel like this is a hamstring stretch more than anything. I've felt it in the erectors but this was when I was leaning forward more.

Where else do we need to feel this stretch?

I feel this one in the lateral hip and lower obliques. If I start to lean forward then I feel the stretch drifting into the lower back (thoracumbar fascia). I also get a slight stretch in thoracic spinal rotators if I'm bent forward/twisted at the shoulders. Make sure the shoulder of your weighted arm is tight and stable and you look straight up that arm at the weight. I use a 5 kg weight for up to 5 sets. Form will slump if you fatigue. How far do you guys push the working hip to the side?

Hamstring stretch for me. I use a 6 kg dumbbell.

For no apparent reason I developed a tightness in my right hamstring/m. gracilis area that wasn't relieved with 'regular' stretching but it seems like the stiff-legged windmill just made it go away over the course of two or three sessions. Awesome!

(I also love the Xiaopengs by the way - this loaded mobility stuff feels wonderful).

Would this be more of a side lean rather than a forward lean movement, or is it a combination of both?

More Side lean I think Joel. Sometimes an anatomy major comes in handy Your pelvis should stay fairly parallel to the ground (slight tilt to the weight bearing side) with your shoulders perpendicular to both the ground and the weight and preferably in the same plane. Doing it this way hamstrings ( do not limit my mobility nor do I feel them stretch too strongly. Gracilis is an adductor/medial thigh muscle so it should only be stretched on the non weight bearing side. If my weight bearing hip is forward then I get it in the bulk of the hamstring but if it is like I mentioned above then the more medial adductors (such as gracilis) are stretched. Adductor Magnus can be felt in the hamstring region. See if you can move the stretch into the inside of the non weight bearing leg by bending at the side more.

James Hall said:

More Side lean I think Joel. Sometimes an anatomy major comes in handy Your pelvis should stay fairly parallel to the ground (slight tilt to the weight bearing side) with your shoulders perpendicular to both the ground and the weight and preferably in the same plane. Doing it this way hamstrings ( do not limit my mobility nor do I feel them stretch too strongly. Gracilis is an adductor/medial thigh muscle so it should only be stretched on the non weight bearing side. If my weight bearing hip is forward then I get it in the bulk of the hamstring but if it is like I mentioned above then the more medial adductors (such as gracilis) are stretched. Adductor Magnus can be felt in the hamstring region. See if you can move the stretch into the inside of the non weight bearing leg by bending at the side more.

Haha, I'm far from an anatomy major, but what you and Nic said was very helpful. I think I have the move down now. Thanks!

Hi guys, I'd just like to chime in here as I'm also struggling with this mobility exercise and I'm sure I'm not doing it correctly.

I have been using a very light weight (2 or 3 kgs), but I repeatedly end up not using a weight because I 'twinge' my lower back muscles. For the past few years i've had this problem where if i bend down to pick something up and twist, i feel the muscles quickly tightening and then seizing up and get a sharp pain (depending on which side i'm straining on. I'm not even sure which muscles are actually affected. I think it's just on or above the hips on either side....So i really tend to avoid that sort of movement.

The pain tends to go quickly and everything is back to normal.  I'm worried that something more serious is going on here though.

Has anyone come across this problem before themselves and what they did to resolve it?  Just a quick note, my hamstring flexibility is particularly shocking.  I would be very grateful for any advice.

i dont really have a 'twinge', but like Don, i'd been doing this exercise without a weight (just an empty dumbell) for 2 weeks. this week i added 5 pounds which i guess was too much. i pulled my back pretty bad on the side. so be careful with this one.

Not enough hip movement and going too deep! Focus on moving from your hips do not EVER think of bending. When you feel tension building you stop the motion there. Also squeeze your glutes on the way up, use those muscles to straighten you out.