Target Areas: Hip flexors, core, shoulders
Practical Benefits: Increase flexibility in your hip flexors and endurance in your thighs while focusing on balance to improve your sprinting ability and strength in single leg squats or lunges.
Technique:
1. Back foot three to three and a half feet behind and four inches to the side of front foot.
2. Toes, hips, and shoulders face forward.
3. Back leg straight, thigh muscles engaged.
4. Shoulders stack directly over hips.
5. Core engages and back flattens to form a straight line from pubic bone to shoulders.
6. Arms extend straight up, arms internally rotate so that palms face one another, and shoulders relaxed.
7. Bend forward into the front leg until the knee is directly over the ankle.
8. Hold for 30 – 60 seconds.
Tips: Start with a closer stance if your back is arching (i.e. you feel pinching in your lower back). Keep hips even, facing forward. Ribs draw in towards one another to prevent puffing of the chest and arching of the back.
