How do you stretch your quads?
Your quad muscles, or quadriceps, are a group of four very strong muscles at the front of your leg and hip. Most people will know how to stretch these – pull one foot up behind you and voila!
Except you can do it better!
In order to hit all four parts of the quad muscles and trench them properly, there’s a few extra steps to follow:.Try following the steps below:
STEP 1 : Pull one foot up behind you and pull that foot as far as you can towards your bottom. You can hold onto anything you need to for balance. Place your foot up on a medium height surface.
STEP 2 : Square your hips up and don’t let one side of your hips come further forwards. You can glance down at your hip bones to check the alignment.
STEP 3 : Poke your bottom forwards, keep your back up straight. Another cue here would be to push your pubic bone forwards (different cues help different people here!)
STEP 4: Bring your knees together so they’re touching. Hold this for 30 seconds before switching to the other side.NOTE
: If you’re not flexible enough to hold your foot up behind you, you can wrap a stretchy band or towel around your foot (as in the last photo) and then follow the steps above
This should feel like a nice stretch all the way up the front of your legs, into your hip a little and even gently into your knee.
It shouldn’t feel like increased pressure on your lower back, knees or ankles – if it does, stop that stretch and seek the advice of myself or another health professional.
Some tips: Don’t “bounce” this stretch, take it nice and slow. And just be careful not to apply too much pressure and keep it gentle! And remember to breathe deeply.
As always, check with me or a suitable health professional for advice if you’re not sure about which stretches are best for you personally.