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Exercises to gain flexibility in the legs

by Alivia Nyhan
Published: Last Updated on

The sedentary lifestyle and stress in the modern life of many people allows several natural faculties of our body to be lost, such as the flexibility of the body, especially in the lower limbs when sitting for so long. On the other hand, those who maintain an active life or play sports may need to recover or maximize these capacities to improve their performance.

To please both groups, in this FastlyHealarticle we are going to show you the best exercises to gain flexibility in your legs naturally.

Front stretch to stretch the legs

The first exercise to gain flexibility in the legs quickly is very easy for everyone, you start standing with your heels together or slightly apart. From that position:

  1. Make sure to straighten your body and contract the umbilical point in the starting position.
  2. Inhale and stretch both arms vertically up and back, arching your back a little.
  3. Exhale completely as you lower forward, trying to get your hands to your feet , the priority is to keep your knees straight.
  4. Inhale as you return to the starting position.
  5. Repeat 20 times.

Observations

  • The neck in the initial position: the head can be arched a little backwards but without letting it “fall”.
  • Contract glutes in starting position, an additional work to improve posture is contracting the glutes.
  • Contract abdomen when lowering: make sure this is to expel all the air for a better effect. In addition, the contraction of the abdomen will naturally produce the hinge (closure) movement to lower properly.
  • Pay attention to the neck when going down: it must be kept straight, instead of bending it forward, because it can be injured.

Stay down (variant)

After the last rep, stay down breathing, also without bending your knees. Each time you breathe deeper and feel how little by little the tensions in your lower back are giving way.

Many tensions that reduce flexibility in the legs begin in the lumbar and imbalance at the hip level, which is why several of the exercises that you will see below work on these regions.

Lateral leg stretches at home

Another way to train leg flexibility is to sit on the floor, spread your legs as far to the sides as possible, keeping them straight. From there:

  1. Inhale in the center with your arms stretched upwards.
  2. Exhale as you lower your entire torso into one of your legs and try to touch your foot, or as far as you go without bending your knees.
  3. Inhale to return to center and repeat towards the opposite leg.
  4. 20 repetitions for each side.

Observations

  • To sit up, try retroverting your pelvis, that is, pulling it back a little so that you stay upright more easily, rather than starting with a stooped posture.
  • Try not to bend your head forward by stretching your neck. Bring your chin back slightly and hold it there to avoid misalignment.

Variants

  1. The descents are frontal, using the hands to hold the feet, ankles or knees of both legs. Do 20 repetitions.
  2. Bring your hands behind your neck and in this posture begins to perform torso twists, lowering when exhaling and inhaling when climbing up the opposite side. Do 10 reps and then switch direction. The hands behind the neck are for opening the chest, not for pushing the head forward.

Increase the opening of the legs in front of a wall

After performing the flexibility exercises for the previous legs, maintain the same open-legged posture but supporting your feet against a wall, in such a way that they help to keep them open and little by little you can test how the range of amplitude is greater. Stay in that position for several minutes, and you can help with your hands to open a little more. Be compassionate to your body and watch for any knee pain alarms .

Celibacy pose to relax the tension in the thighs

This exercise can be more complicated, but it presents alternatives for people with limited flexibility. Work on stretching the front of the thighs and relax tensions on the knee, especially if you lead a sedentary life or with too much time on your feet. However, it should not be done if there are injuries to the area or risks of tearing.

Simply proceed to sit on the floor with both legs bent, that is, with your feet on the sides of your hips. Take a deep breath as you slowly lower yourself into that pose and stay there. Suggested time: 2 to 5 minutes. Undo the pose slowly too.

If you have trouble visualizing what this pose is like, imagine sitting on your knees on your knees. Then, you spread your legs and heels to the sides (keeping on your knees) and sit in the space that the legs left between each other.

The alternative is to place a cushion in the space between the legs, trying to reduce the thickness of it as you progress in your flexibility.

Butterfly exercise for more flexibility in the legs

To do this, sit on the floor, preferably applying the pelvic retroversion indicated above. Then, bring both soles of your feet together in front of you , taking your feet with both hands to bring them together. From there proceed to the following alternatives:

  1. Up and down movements for one minute: keeping torso upright. These movements should be smooth, without forcing the descent, because you can hurt your joints.
  2. Lower both knees and suspend: inhale deeply in a relaxed starting position, then exhale lowering the knees without separating the feet as much as possible for about 5 seconds. Repeat 4 more times.
  3. Alternative to # 2: along with lowering your knees, lower your torso forward as well, trying to touch the ground with your brow as you exhale, or getting as close to the ground as you can. Inhale and return to the starting position.

This article is merely informative, at FastlyHeal .com we do not have the power to prescribe medical treatments or make any type of diagnosis. We invite you to see a doctor in the case of presenting any type of condition or discomfort.

If you want to read more articles similar to Exercises to gain flexibility in the legs , we recommend that you enter our Physical Activity category .

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