1. Comprising the Quadricep Muscle
Trainers, athletes and sports enthusiasts frequently talk about the quadricep muscle of the front, lateral part of the leg. The quadriceps or "quads" are so called because they're made up of four inter-working muscles. One of the most important of this quartet is the vastus intermedius, which lies directly above your knee and slightly toward the center of each leg. As a part of the quadricep muscle complex, the vastus intermedius must perform correctly if your legs are going to work well and without injury.
2. Vastus Stretching for Vast Improvement
Perhaps the single most beneficial thing you can do for your vastus intermedius is stretch it out. It's basically impossible to isolate the vastus intermedius from the other quadricep muscles but that's OK since a good quad stretch loosen all four muscle heads. Pulling your foot behind you so it touches your butt as you stand upright is the most basic and effective of these stretches. However, you can also lie down on your stomach and grab each foot with each hand behind you to get a full stretch that focuses more on the vastus intermedius.
3. Balance Against Runner's Knee
Unfortunately, the condition known as runner's knee, which is a painful scraping of the kneecap against the thigh bone, isn't just for runners. One cause of runner's knee is overdeveloped outer quadricep muscles in relation to the inner muscle head, the vastus medialis. To prevent or treat the condition, make sure to focus on inner thigh workouts so you don't overdevelop the vastus intermedius and vastus lateralis in relation to the inner thigh section of muscle.
4. Roll Your Troubles Away
Using cylindrical, relatively hard pieces of foam to roll over muscles, a practice known as foam rolling, helps release tension in the vastus intermedius. Get an inexpensive, multi-purposed foam roller and position yourself so your upper thigh is on top of the roller. Roll down from the hips and waist all the way to the knee so that the muscles in your leg release, resulting in great range of motion and decreased chances of injuring your vastus intermedius muscle.
5. Strengthening the Vastus Intermedius
If you find that your vastus intermedius is weak, causing balance problems, tension or pain in the upper thigh, then strengthening is in order. Biking is a good way to give the muscle a low impact workout. If you're into something more intense, a seated leg press that uses a full range of motion (so you almost get to locking out your legs at the end of the movement) works the vastus intermedius and surrounding muscles in tandem.
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