ESL / EFL Quiz 10

Knee and Thigh Stretches:

Method:
Stand upright with weight balanced on the left leg. Flex the right hip and place the right leg (with the knee straight) on a table, bench, or other stable object that is approximately the same height as the hips. Bend at the waist, extend your arms over the lower right leg, and lower the head toward the right leg, keeping the right knee as straight as possible. Keep the left knee straight and the left foot pointing in the same direction as the right leg.

Affected Body Part:
Most-stretched muscles: Right gluteus maximus, right semitendinosus, right semimembranosus, right biceps femoris, erector spinae, lower latissimus dorsi, right gastrocnemius.
Lesser-stretched muscles: Right soleus, right popliteus, right plantaris, right flexor digitorum longus, right flexor hallucis longus, right posterior tibialis, left sartorius, left rectus femoris.

To maximize the stretch of the knee flexors, do not bend the knees, tilt the pelvis forward, or curve the back. Also, bend the trunk straight forward as a single unit, keeping it centered over the right leg. Increasing the height of the table or bench by 1 to 2 feet (30 to 61 cm) above the hips will increase the stretch of these muscle groups. You will also start feeling a stretch in some of the left-side muscle groups (sartorius, rectus femoris, vastus intermedius, lateralis, and medialis) as you increase the height of the table.