Tight Hip Flexor and Quad Stretch for the Gym

Tight Hip Flexor and Quad Stretch

Tight hip flexor and quad stretch. These two areas can become very inflexible and potentially cause pain and discomfort. It can also hinder your training because of the amount of tightness that you can feel. In this video we discuss a stretch that you can easily perform at the gym to improve the flexibility of these two areas.

How do the Quads and Hip Flexors become tight?

There are a number of ways that these muscles can become tight. Specifically to the hip flexors. By the way, the hip flexors is a group of muscles that bring your thigh towards your chest. This stretch is more about the group versus targeting an individual muscle.

The hip flexors usually become tight when you perform activities such as prolonged sitting. An example is sitting at your desk, typing away on your computer.

It can also become tight from doing exercises such as hanging leg raises and knee ups. This is compounded when minimizing stretching for the hip flexors.

Typically symptoms such as hip, lower back and groin pain can result from very tight hip flexors.

The Quadriceps can become tight when you over do leg work without much stretching. For example, incline running, heavy squats, lunges and leg extensions.

Over time if you do minimal stretching the quads can become ultra tight causing local tightness and pain or discomfort of the knee.

The Stretch

Below is a diagram of how to perform this stretch. Always remember to consult with your healthcare professional before performing any exercise or exercise routine.

In the diagram below, I have emphasized posture and alignment. When this stretch is performed hold the stretch for approximately 30 seconds and repeat. Make sure you are breathing and you NEVER go to the point of pain.

What you should be feeling is a pull at the front of the thigh. If your hip flexors are really tight, you can also feel this into your groin and lower back.

The video gives you more of a breakdown about this stretch.

More Resources:

This is another hip flexor. If you are noticing hip, knee and thigh pain it can be your Sartorius muscle. This is a stretch for it. We have some shorter video tips on our Instagram. Visit our page now.