Why are we interested in strengthening the quadriceps? We must bear in mind that we are facing the most voluminous and powerful muscle in our body, falling on it not only to support the entire weight of the body, but also to walk, walk, run, jump, swim, dance and all that movement that requires the leg action.
This muscle is located on the anterior aspect of the femur and has four muscle heads. If we feel some weakness in our legs or that it is difficult for us to climb stairs, some simple quadriceps stretching exercises They will suffice to prevent pain, injury, in addition to strengthening and stimulating the knee joint through knee extensions, the hip joint, the relationship between the pelvis and the spine, walking and maintaining posture.
The 7 quadriceps stretches that will help you stay active are those that we discover in this article. Take care of your body!
Standing stretches
We began this series of standing stretches, requiring ourselves certain balance, something for which it is important to do the exercise near a point of support in case it is difficult for us to maintain it.
Once located, bend one of the knees and bring the heel towards the gluteus, while holding the foot with the hand. We hold the stretch for a few seconds, return to the starting position and repeat with the other leg.
Hip extension on floor
For the next stretch we will have to lie face down extending both legs. From this position we will stretch the quadriceps by flexing the knee and trying to grasp the foot on its side with the hand. Once the foot is caught, we press down slightly to relax the quadriceps.
Quadruped hip extension
You can also exercise the quadriceps doing the same exercise, but in quadruped position, that is, on your knees and resting your hands on the ground. From this position we will try to grasp the opposite leg with the hand, hold the position for a few seconds and do the stretch with the other leg.
Knee stretch
We get on our knees on the ground or on a mat and, without arching our back, we stretch backwards, extending our arms and leaning on the palms of our hands. The knees should be flat on the ground. As you stretch, you can raise your hips slightly to feel even more stretching your quadriceps.
Hip flexor stretch
In this exercise, in addition to the quadriceps, we will also stretch the hip flexor. To do this, we will have to place ourselves in a stride position with one leg bent at 90 degrees and another knee on the ground.
We put a hand on the hip and, starting from this position, we contract our glutes and shift our weight forward while keeping our torso straight. We have to stretch and try to catch the foot with our free hand so that the stretch is more complete.
Foam Roller Quadriceps
For this exercise we need a foam roller. We lie down on the floor and stretch our legs, resting our torso on our forearms. We put a foam roller in the area of the thighs, just below.
We let one leg rest on the roller, while we roll the roller back and forth using force with the leg. We repeat the series with one leg and the other.
Leg swing back and forth
And we close this series of quadriceps stretches by standing up, placing the hands on the hips, or looking for a point of support with one of the hands to maintain balance.
From this posture, hewe lift one leg and swing it back and forth, like a pendulum. We return to the starting position and do the same with the other leg. It is important not to stretch the lower back abruptly and to keep the abdomen contracted.
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