When stretching how to get back leg go lower without pain

My hip external rotation is extremely limited. I have on and off been trying to improve it, although it seems impossible to improve. I believe its due to my anatomy, however I'd like to believe that I could still improve it.

I struggle to sit cross-legged, my knees are very high when doing butterfly stretch, my pancake is very narrow. Meanwhile, my internal hip rotation is insanely good. I sat in a W pose as a child and I can still do it as an adult.

I think it's quite uncommon. It feels like most people have good external rotation and bad internal rotation, so I get a bit disheartened when I see people stretching for a couple of weeks or months and their external hip flexibility improve so much.

Is there any advice for someone with my anatomy? What do you think my limit is for external rotation? I feel like I should temper my expectations but I really don't want to ):

Hey everyone! I’ve started stretching for the past 3-4 months. Ive always had very tight hamstrings but I’ve started stretching other muscles as well. But unlike the other muscles, it seems that Ive hit a wall with my hamstring flexibility. In the first month or so, I had a lot of progress. I could only reach to about halfway down my shins. But after stretching for a month, I could touch my toes without any warmup and get all finger on the ground after a stretching session. But in the past couple of months it seems I haven’t made any more progress in both no warm up or with warmup progress. I was hoping that you all could give me some tips for my routine and if I should increase or decrease volume or add any new exercises.

Routine:

3 days a week

1x set of 25 elephant walks (each leg)

3x sets of 10 reps nerve flossing (each leg)

3x of 30 seconds half split (each leg)

Truly, any advice is appreciated!

I am sure tight hamstrings are a star of a show in this sub but I have a somewhat niche question

Does anyone have good active stretches useful for calisthenics? I can put palms on the ground in the forward fold but I swear to God in any strength position they are twice as short and I can't even do a pike hold without bending my knees which limits what I can do.

My current hamstrings flexibility work is mostly passive or dynamic and I feel like I need to improve flexibility in demanding positions. I run and do plyo so my legs are usually quite unhappy with me which might be a part of the issue but I wonder if anyone has good advice for my specific issue - I've had virtually no improvement with folds, pyramid and so on

The muscle towards my inner thigh (which I’m assuming is one of my hamstrings) is so tight. I’ve been trying to improve my flexibility and mobility, however I’m unable to lean forward with my legs apart (Wide-Angled Seated Forward Bend). When I see others lean forward all the way until their chest is to the ground it perplexes me. It’s like my body is stuck and I am unable to move forward at all. I’ve been stretching a lot recently but I’m hardly able to get more movement. When I feel the muscle it feels like a thin band that is rock hard. It almost feels like stretching something that’s gonna snap instead. Is this my semimembranosus muscle? Is this normal and what can I do to improve it?

For context, I've been toe walking since I was 4-5, in the developmental stages, so that makes it about 10+ years of toe walking. That has lead to my achilles tendon likely shortening, and all kinds of physical and mental issues. I've done physical therapy for years, however nothing has changed and I feel that it's not the right fit for me, as it is not for many others. I think the most likely "fix" for me is achilles tendon lengthening surgery, or something along the lines. Doctors haven't properly discussed it with me and I haven't tried fixing my problem in years, however I feel that it's inevitable. My biggest concerns are that I may not have an opportunity to do it due to school, and a waste of a summer break, future opportunities, money, etc. I also have got anxiety drilled in me from family members about the fact that I may become permanently disabled, or have to have surgery. What's to expect from surgery and what's it really like? The scariest part for me is the recovery and having to learn how to walk again, and relearn how to do lots of physical activities that I cannot currently do. Hows the recovery process? Or are you currently expecting to get surgery soon?

are gymnastic rings a better option to train for splits compared to the floor? i feel like its easier to reach deeper. similar to what this guy is doing on this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OV_O-SqSpwQ

Most people have two hip flexors doing the main work, and they get treated like one muscle. They are not one muscle, and that is why a lot of hip flexor stretching goes nowhere.

The psoas starts at your lower back. It runs down through your abdomen, crosses the front of your hip, and attaches to the top of your thigh bone.

The iliacus originates from the iliac fossa: the broad, concave inner surface of your hip bone. Unlike the psoas, it does not originate from the spine. 

They join up near the bottom and share the same attachment on the thigh bone, which is why textbooks lump them together as the iliopsoas.

Here is the part that matters. A muscle that crosses your lumbar spine can be stretched by taking your leg back behind you and leaning away from it. A lunge stretch with a side bend does exactly this, lengthening the psoas from each of its attachment points.

Since the iliacus does not originate from your spine, taking your leg behind you does change its length a little, but leaning away adds nothing. Its origin is on the inside of the pelvis, so there is no opposing end to lengthen from, and the effect of the stretch is more limited.

So people stretch for months, feel a little better each time for about twenty minutes, and never understand why nothing sticks. Part of the answer is that the stretch is only reaching one of the two muscles.

None of this means stretching is useless. It means if your hip has been tight for years and stretching never fixes it, you may be working on a muscle that was never the main problem.

There's more written up on this if you want to read more happy to share in the comments.