04/28/2026
🚨 Stretching can temporarily increase range of motion, but your body won’t keep that range unless it feels safe there.
Strengthening through full range of motion trains more than just your muscles. It re-wires your nervous system 🧠
A lot of “tightness” isn’t actually short muscles. It’s your brain limiting motion to protect you. Strength training through full range reduces that protective tone by improving control, coordination, and confidence in those positions.
In this deficit Bulgarian split squat, you experience a big stretch in the front glute and hamstring and a big stretch to the back hip flexor at the bottom of the rep. You must contract the muscles at this end range position to stand back up.
Repetition leads to control and confidence in these positions, making them more easily accessible in the future.
If you’ve been stretching your hips without much improvement, give this exercise a try!