Beauty

Quadriceps (quadriceps) and knee stretch

This exercise perfectly helps to develop the knee joint after its injury.

1. Starting position: standing on one leg.

2. Grasp the foot of the raised opposite leg with your hand and gently pull the heel towards the buttocks until you feel a stretch. Hold this position for 10-20 seconds (See picture).

3. Repeat the exercise for the other leg.

This exercise is good for developing an injured knee and is useful for other problems with the knee joints. Hold for 10-20 seconds.

It is important:

When lifting the foot with the opposite hand, the knee joint flexes at a natural angle.

For balance, you can lean your hand against the wall.

Alternative option

The previous exercise can be performed in the supine position. In this case, the problem of maintaining balance disappears. And the rest of the execution technique and the result of the exercise is similar.

It is important:

In the case of “problem” knees, approach the last two exercises with extreme caution. “Don’t start right off the bat” is generally the number one mistake in stretching, and especially in this exercise, as you risk exacerbating your problem.

Hamstring and hamstring stretch

This exercise is perfect as one of the warm-up exercises for people who run or walk.

1. Starting position: standing on the supporting leg, place the shin of the second leg on a horizontal surface (table, chair or window sill, etc.) located at a suitable height for you.

2. Gently bend down towards the raised leg until you feel a slight stretch. Hold the stretch for 10-15 seconds, then straighten up a bit to decrease the stretch and after a while, increase again.

3. Repeat the exercise for the second leg.

It is important:

Bend your supporting leg slightly at the knee.

Please note: the foot should look straight ahead.

Keep in mind that strong stretching leads to overexertion of the hamstrings.

Inner thigh stretch

1. Starting position: turn sideways to a horizontal support located at a convenient height for you, at which the shin of the right leg lies.

2. Turning the thigh of the raised leg slightly, slowly lean your shoulder towards it until you feel a stretch. Hold the stretch for 10-15 seconds.

3. Perform the exercise for the other leg.

It is important:

The supporting leg should be slightly bent at the knee, and the foot should look straight ahead.

Alternative option

This version of the exercise will allow, among other things, to stretch the muscles of the side of the body and the inside of the raised leg.

Take the starting position described in the previous exercise and grab your hands above your head.

Slowly tilting the shoulder towards the leg lying on the support, and at the same time pull the other hand with the near hand in the same direction until you feel a stretch. Hold the stretch for 10-15 seconds.

Repeat the exercise for the other side.

It is important:

This is a fairly difficult exercise, so don’t be discouraged if you don’t have the flexibility to do it.

Remember to bend your supporting leg slightly at the knee as you do this exercise.

Stretching the hamstrings

Take the starting position from the previous exercise.

Slowly lean your torso towards the supporting leg until you feel a stretch. Hold a light stretch for 10-15 seconds.

Then repeat the exercise for the other leg.

It is important:

When tilting down, the raised straight leg should turn inward.

The supporting leg should be slightly bent at the knee joint.

If you have enough flexibility, then when tilting down, rest your hands on the floor to maintain balance.

For additional stretching of the groin, when tilting down, bend the supporting leg at the knee more strongly, and straighten the raised one, on the contrary (See the figure).

Exercises for stretching the legs and pelvis in a standing position. Part 1

Exercises for stretching the legs and pelvis in a standing position. Part 2

Author: Alexander Kuznetsov based on the book Stretching for Everyone by Bob and Jill Anderson

Article protected by copyright and related rights. When using and reprinting the material, an active link to the healthy lifestyle portal hnb.com.ua is required!