Get your legs loosened up for a great workout. Learn exercises and stretches for your workout routine in this fitness video.
Use chair the height of your hips
Keep back flat
Bend nose toward knee
Lengthen hamstring muscles
Amy McCauley has been a certified personal fitness trainer since 1995. She specializes in pilates, combat cardio, core conditioning and overall strength training. She works with clients ranging in age from 16 - 69. She has worked at Gold's Gym in Wilmington, NC since 2006. She loves her job because it gives her the opportunity to change peoples' lives in a positive way.
AMY MCCAULEY: Hi. Here is how to do a front pressing leg stretch. We're going to bend the base knee, take the top leg and place it up on to a chair or stable object. The stable object needs to be about your hip height. We don't want it too high because we don't want to put any strain in the hip area or too low so that you place pressure in your back. So again, perfect idea will be about hip level. You're going to drop at the hips, reach, slowly breathe out. Flexing the heel is going to put a littler bit more pressure on the hamstring, but is going to help lengthen that muscle a little bit. Breathe out slowly. Shoulders down the spine. You want to try not to round up the back too much. Keep it as flat as possible so you see a nice flat and stable back. Bottom knee needs to be slightly bent and you're breathing out. We want to hold this stretch for 15 to 30 seconds until that muscle relaxes and then switch sides. If the pressure of pulling your toe towards you is too much, point the toe that takes out a little bit of the pressure in the hamstring allowing you to stretch a little bit deeper. Our ultimate goal is to get a full range of motion, trying to get the nose towards the knees as you lengthen to that hamstring. So after you hold this stretch for about 15 to 30 seconds you let go and relax. We're going to take the hands and place them in front and drop that leg down, switching sides. Stabilize the hips. Knee is slightly bent. We're going to place that opposite foot back up. Again, we want flat back. Things to remember: Knees slight bent, back is flat, chest is up. we're trying to get the nose towards the knee, flex the toes slightly pulling the toes towards you, the heel is going to drop, putting a little bit of pressure in that hamstring. Hold it, breathe. Try not to hold your breath; it's going to lock up that muscle. You are going to relax, breathing slowly into that muscle. Hamstring is going to lengthen. Point the toe, soften the stretch, and release. And that's how you do your front leg stretch.
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