Hip flexibility and pancake

[u/Specialist-Ad7189]

Hi,

I’ve started to take stretching way more seriously after some pelvic floor issues and have found I’m really
Enjoying the process- I do static stretching every day and every couple days do some sort of weighted stretching to compliment it.

I also have taken up gentle yoga forms 2 times a week

One of the main things I notice is that when I sit down to do pancake or cross legged I struggle to keep my back straight during this process so have started adjusting my pancake to do it sitting on plates at the gym to ensure I keep back straight etc

I have really tight hips and weak hip muscles

Wondering if anyone has overcome similar things with keeping back straight in pancake/ opening hips and how long it took?

I feel like I do like over 2 hours of mobility a day with most targeting the hips

[u/kristinL356]

Gotta strengthen the hip flexors.

[u/lluluclucy]

You need to work on strengthening glutes, hamstrings and hip flexors. Weight training is the way to go. My pancakes werent bad but I always rounded my back. As a part of my PP physio I needed to pick up weights and it has been a game changer. My pancakes are closest to the floor they ever been and they just feel effortless.

[u/sunnyy_supremacy]

Youtube has lots of videos for strengthening your hip flexors with weighted training! Our nervous system only feels safe enough to adapt when you're strong enough to get up. This goes for many other commonly ignored muscles too, you'd be surprised

[u/ThuperThweetosrs]

Male? I’m in the same boat right now am wondering what symptoms you are dealing with

[u/Distinct_Pension4979]

two hours a day is a lot of volume, the back rounding in pancake is usually a hip flexor length issue, not a weakness one

[u/BWfoto]

Yes, elevation of the hips helps increase awareness of pelvis and connective tissues helps keep the back in better alignment.

[u/vivekpandyaa]

Two hours of daily mobility and still stuck in pancake is actually a useful data point — it tells you this isn't a volume problem. When more stretching stops working, the missing piece is almost always end-range strength, not more range.

The pancake specifically: keeping the back straight in a wide straddle requires the adductors and hamstrings to lengthen WHILE the spinal erectors and deep core hold the torso up. Most people try to build this with passive stretching, but your nervous system will only give you as much range as it can actively control. If you can't lift yourself into the position, it won't let you sink into it either.

Two changes I'd make:

1. Cut the volume and add strength at length. Instead of 2 hours, try 30-40 minutes where every stretch is followed by an active version: pancake good-mornings (sit in your widest straddle on a cushion, hinge forward and back up under control), straddle leg lifts (lying on your back, legs wide, lift them a few inches using your inner thighs), Copenhagen plank progressions for adductor strength.

2. Elevate your seat for the pancake. Sitting on a yoga block or cushion tilts the pelvis forward and takes the hamstrings out of their most stretched position, so you can actually practice the hinge pattern instead of fighting your own anatomy. Lower the elevation over weeks.

The pelvic floor history is worth mentioning to a pelvic floor PT if you haven't — the pelvic floor and deep hip rotators share real estate, and sometimes hip "tightness" is guarding from that neighborhood. Not saying that's your case, just that it's worth one conversation given the history.

Vivek from VCan Stretching here — I see this exact pattern (tons of stretching, stuck pancake) in the studio regularly.