Open Exercise

Development draft, v0. Formats and IDs may change.

Catalogue

Couch Stretch

oec:couch-stretch

A deep kneeling stretch targeting the hip flexors and quadriceps by elevating the rear foot against a bench or wall.

Generated by gemini-3.8-flash from the sources below. No person has checked this record. Don't rely on it for safety.

Also called: Rear-Foot-Elevated Hip Flexor Stretch, Wall Hip Flexor Stretch

How to do it

Setup

  1. Place a mat or soft pad on the floor directly in front of a flat bench or wall.
  2. Kneel on the mat facing away from the bench, placing your back knee close to the base of the bench and resting the top of your foot laces-down against it.
  3. Step your opposite foot forward into a half-kneeling position with the front shin roughly vertical.

Movement

  1. Brace your abdominal muscles and squeeze the glute of the rear leg to tilt your pelvis posteriorly.
  2. Slowly raise your torso upright until you feel a deep stretch along the front of your rear thigh and hip.
  3. Maintain a tall, neutral spine and hold the position, gently driving the rear hip forward without overarching your lower back.
  4. Carefully lower your torso forward to relieve tension before switching to the opposite leg.

Breathing

Breathe deeply and rhythmically into the belly, using slow exhalations to relax into the stretch.

Cues

  • Squeeze the trailing glute
  • Tuck the tailbone
  • Tall chest, flat lower back

Common faults

Hyperextending the lumbar spine to force the torso upright instead of extending at the hip.
Keep your abdominal wall braced, tuck your pelvis under, and only raise your torso as high as your hip mobility allows.
Allowing the back knee to slide excessively far from the support surface.
Position the rear knee as close to the bench or wall as comfortably tolerable to maximize rectus femoris stretch.

Safety

  • Use a cushioned mat under the kneeling joint to avoid patellar discomfort.

Muscles

  • Rectus femoris stretched
  • Iliopsoas stretched
  • Vastus lateralis stretched
  • Vastus medialis stretched
  • Vastus intermedius stretched
  • Gluteus maximus stabilizer
  • Abdominals stabilizer

Joints

  • Hip: Extension
  • Knee: Flexion
  • Lumbar spine: Isometric stabilization

Details

Movement
Stretch
Modality
Flexibility, Mobility
Mechanics
isolation
Force
static
Laterality
unilateral
Kinetic chain
closed
Level
beginner
Equipment
Flat bench or Wall or Box or Chair
Record
Duration
Load
none

Sources

This record: CC-BY-SA-4.0.

Data

couch-stretch.json