Stretching the BC?

[Schmukk Member Find all posts View Profile Close Schmukk]

Hi guys, so I’ve found plenty of material on stretching the PC muscle, but I’ve noticed it’s actually my BC muscle which is rly tight and causing my IKs.

I’ve Been doing the yoga stretches (child, baby, frog etc) and also Hindi squat everyday for about 10-15 mins (hurts my back to stay longer). But these don’t rly give me a great stretch (say vs. the stretch from another body part like your shoulder or back).

Of course, it’ll be harder to stretch due to the anatomy, but I was wondering if anyone has a killer pc, or more importantly, a BC stretch that will rly stretch it out.

Many thanks guys.

[ACPreE Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close ACPreE]

To feel a good stretch when I sit in the Hindi squat, I try to work on my breathing 3 second inhale 3 second hold 3 second exhale. For the 6/9 seconds I push a RK and can feel it stretch better. Sometimes I hold the RK longer if i can.

[WillGetBetter Senior Member Member of the Month Nov 2018 Find all posts View Profile Close WillGetBetter]

Tennis ball massage. Sit on the ball. Every few minutes move it to a new position. Over time, use a harder ball (like a lacrosse ball). That was the most targeted stretching method I found.

[andrewvi7 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close andrewvi7]

Not sure if there's a way to stretch the BC apart from massaging it as WillGetBetter mentioned. Plus, Why would you want to stretch it anyway? The BC muscle is partly yet hugely responsible for trapping blood inside the penis which creates erections, if you losen the muscle too much, say goodbye to your EQ levels.

[Paul789 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Paul789]

you say the yoga aren't giving you a great stretch.
My bet is because you are doing these with bad form, you are actually arching your lower back and putting the stretch there rather than the required muscles. All this back stretching and bad posture has mis-aligned your pelvis (anterior or lateral) and now you have PE.

[Paul789 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Paul789]

If you do yoga and these stretches with great form and your pelvis in a neutral position then you will feel the stretch.

[Schmukk Member Find all posts View Profile Close Schmukk]

you say the yoga aren't giving you a great stretch.
My bet is because you are doing these with bad form, you are actually arching your lower back and putting the stretch there rather than the required muscles. All this back stretching and bad posture has mis-aligned your pelvis (anterior or lateral) and now you have PE.

Thanks for ur reply. I don’t doubt bad posture etc has severely messed up my pelvis, and have been trying to work on my APT. I’ve also never done yoga so you might be right about the poor form

When you say I’m arching my lower back doing these poses, I actually have my back flat on the floor so if anything it’s more rounded than arched (hope that makes sense?)

This is especially so when I get into a Hindi squat. It’s hard to stay neutral or even arched. I’d say my issue is even trying to get into an arch cuz it stays slightly rounded at the lower and upper back (I have bad thoracic mobility)

How should I do this different?

[Schmukk Member Find all posts View Profile Close Schmukk]

My issue is that it is rock solid the minute I get any kind of excitement or erection. Literally hard af.

I’m also crap at RKs now, in the sense that I think I can do them standing, but not so much when seated or lying down. Tbh, I’m not even sure I’m doing it 100% right, and it’s probably cuz of APT as you’ve mentioned in ur posts (@andrew)

I also don’t understand how people can “hold it” or have a light or hard rk. At the moment i mostly do it using my breath (I know that’s not ideal but it’s what I’ve got at the moment.) So when my Bc gets solid, it’s hard to relax the whole pelvic region.

Are u suggesting ur Bc gets hard but your whole pc area remains loose and soft?

[Paul789 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Paul789]

If your back is arching with the squat then you aren't ready to do it.
When you say your back is flat on the floor you need to check this. I mean your lower back should be so flat on the floor you can't even squeeze a finger under your back.
With APT it will be months until your back is completely flat, it takes time.
Just google hollow body and you will see videos explaining this.

[andrewvi7 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close andrewvi7]

Are u suggesting ur Bc gets hard but your whole pc area remains loose and soft?

Simply put, yes.

As mentioned before if your BC muscle isn't able to get rock hard you'll start having massive erection problems. It's hard and it's meant to be hard as it traps the blood from leaving your penis which results in an erection.

If you've got a solid APT workout and you're putting in good effort into pelvic floor stretching then the next area i'd strongly recommend looking into is your TVA & abs. Hows your core strength in general? And this is a big big question, does your stomach tend to stick out & do you unconsciously suck in your gut when standing/walking?

[Schmukk Member Find all posts View Profile Close Schmukk]

If your back is arching with the squat then you aren't ready to do it.
When you say your back is flat on the floor you need to check this. I mean your lower back should be so flat on the floor you can't even squeeze a finger under your back.
With APT it will be months until your back is completely flat, it takes time.
Just google hollow body and you will see videos explaining this.

So when I get into the squat, my back is actually more neutral to rounded (as opposed to arched). What do u mean by not rdy to do it?

[Schmukk Member Find all posts View Profile Close Schmukk]

Simply put, yes.

As mentioned before if your BC muscle isn't able to get rock hard you'll start having massive erection problems. It's hard and it's meant to be hard as it traps the blood from leaving your penis which results in an erection.

If you've got a solid APT workout and you're putting in good effort into pelvic floor stretching then the next area i'd strongly recommend looking into is your TVA & abs. Hows your core strength in general? And this is a big big question, does your stomach tend to stick out & do you unconsciously suck in your gut when standing/walking?

Literally had no idea what TVA was till this haha. But I did a quick search and I guess it’s the deeper muscles below the abs?

I used to have a fairly strong core (8pack), but that’s kinda gone now so I guess my core isn’t what it used to be. Stomach does stick out ever so slightly but not by much (I’m an ectomorph).

I guess I do tend to unconsciously suck in my gut (and actually cleanse my anus somewhat). But is it even possible to have ur stomach not stick out without sucking in your gut??

[Paul789 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Paul789]

what i meant was if you have pe/apt your aim is to keep your pelvis in a neutral position 24/7, even when you are sleeping. For this reason it can take weeks/months to do a squat with perfect form as you need v good flexibility. Many people think they can immediately do a squat when in fact the are massively arching their back and putting the stretch there rather than the required muscles. 'hyperlordosis'

Google this and see how it is correctly done and I guarantee you will feel the stretch. But you will only be able to do this position correctly if you have good flexibility esp. in the quads.

[andrewvi7 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close andrewvi7]

Literally had no idea what TVA was till this haha. But I did a quick search and I guess it’s the deeper muscles below the abs?

I used to have a fairly strong core (8pack), but that’s kinda gone now so I guess my core isn’t what it used to be. Stomach does stick out ever so slightly but not by much (I’m an ectomorph).

I guess I do tend to unconsciously suck in my gut (and actually cleanse my anus somewhat). But is it even possible to have ur stomach not stick out without sucking in your gut??

The reason I asked this is because the weaker the core is, the more tense it will tend to be as its trying to provide core stability. And the core muscles have a very strong connection to the pelvic floor, as in if the abs engage, the pelvic floor will most likely do too. Now if it's constantly overengaging because of their weakness, or if you're sucking in your stomach, you might be doing a light subconscious Kegel through out the day which could result in hard and regular IKs despite the stretching or APT work.

[Schmukk Member Find all posts View Profile Close Schmukk]

The reason I asked this is because the weaker the core is, the more tense it will tend to be as its trying to provide core stability. And the core muscles have a very strong connection to the pelvic floor, as in if the abs engage, the pelvic floor will most likely do too. Now if it's constantly overengaging because of their weakness, or if you're sucking in your stomach, you might be doing a light subconscious Kegel through out the day which could result in hard and regular IKs despite the stretching or APT work.

Makes complete sense. Cue more core exercises!

Is there anything in particular you do to strengthen your core? I know Paul wrote previously about the hollow body hold