Introduction

Imagine pulling a car up an icy and steep incline. Why are we pulling the car? Because the engine is dead or the wheels have no traction. It’s on ice.

There’s a group of people at the top of the hill pulling on ropes but the car keeps on swinging from side to side. (The mountain is shaking or the wind is very strong.) And so another team goes below, and pulls on ropes that pull the car downwards. Meanwhile two other teams are on each side of the car.

The idea is that with these four sets of ropes pulling in different directions, they can keep the car stable. And then, so that the team at the top can actually pull the car up, as they add tension to their rope the team below (and to either side) let the rope slide out of their hands but while still keeping tension to keep the car stable.

Now imagine the intention is reversed. Instead of trying to pull the car up, they are trying to lower the car down. The guys (and gals) at the top would still have to keep tension on the rope, but they’d let it slowly slide down, but keeping tension on it so that the car doesn’t crash down. If the guys at the top can’t see clearly, or there is a communication problem with the guys at the bottom or to the sides, they might think that there is a drop off or the car is in danger so they apply the brakes.

Or maybe there are two teams at the top and one of the teams is taking a break and so the other team puts on the brakes because past a certain point they can’t do all the work themselves (perhaps their rope isn’t long enough or for some reason they can no longer maintain tension past a certain point.)

This may be a model for tight hamstrings. The hamstrings are one group of guys at the top of the hill lowering the car down. The other group is the glutes.

How do we train the hamstrings to let go when we need them to. Or perhaps the goal isn’t for them to let go but to not freeze up.

That’s actually what the exercises in this book are about. They teach you how to activate the glutes and hamstrings and how to control them whether pulling the car up the hill or gradually lowering it down the hill.

And so that it is easier to control these muscles you’ll learn to listen to them or feel them. Imagine that in order to get the hamstrings and glutes to talk to the people at the bottom of the hill (the hip flexors) you have to act as an intermediary until they learn to talk amongst themselves.

And to do that you have to learn to feel both sets of muscles activating (and learn how to get them to activate.)

And so that communication is clear, it helps to know what you are trying to do. Are you pulling the car uphill? Are you trying to slowly lower it? Or are you just trying to keep it in place?

Before I go into the exercises themselves I should add one more player to this scenario.

What if there is a mobile “pit stop” team that can run around freely, who can jump into place to keep the car in place so that all the other muscles can relax.

This pit stop team might have wedges, or supports that they can dig into the ice to keep the car in place so that the teams above and below and to either side of the car can relax. Then when those rope teams are ready, the pit stop team can bug out, ready for the next time they are called into action.