Seated Forward Fold
oec:seated-forward-fold
A seated flexibility exercise that stretches the hamstrings, glutes, and spinal extensors by folding the torso forward over straight legs.
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: Sit and Reach, Seated Forward Bend, Seated Toe Touch, Paschimottanasana, Seated Toe Touches, Sit & Reach
How to do it
Setup
- Sit upright on the floor with both legs fully extended straight in front of you.
- Keep your feet together with your toes pulled back toward your shins in dorsiflexion.
- Root your sit bones into the floor and lengthen your spine upward.
Movement
- Hinge at your hips to reach your chest forward over your thighs.
- Reach your hands along your legs toward your shins, ankles, or feet without forcing your range.
- Allow your upper back to round naturally once maximal hip hinge is reached, relaxing your head and neck.
- Hold the stretch at a comfortable point of tension while taking deep, steady breaths.
- Slowly walk your hands back up your legs to return to an upright seated position.
Breathing
Inhale to lengthen your spine, and exhale to relax deeper into the forward fold.
Cues
- Lead with your chest, not your forehead
- Hinge from the hips first
- Keep the kneecaps pointing straight up
Common faults
- Excessively rounding the upper back while knees bend to grab the toes.
- Prioritize hip flexion over reaching the feet; bend the knees slightly or hold the shins while keeping the torso long.
- Aggressively bouncing or pulling on the feet into painful ranges.
- Maintain a smooth, static hold and let your breath facilitate gradual relaxation into the stretch.
Safety
- Individuals with acute lumbar disc herniations should keep the spine relatively neutral and avoid forced end-range lumbar flexion.
Muscles
Joints
- Hip: Flexion
- Lumbar spine: Flexion
- Thoracic spine: Flexion
- Knee: Isometric stabilization
Details
- Movement
- Stretch, Spinal flexion, Hip hinge
- Modality
- Flexibility, Yoga
- Mechanics
- compound
- Force
- static
- Laterality
- bilateral
- Kinetic chain
- open
- Level
- beginner
- Equipment
- None
- Record
- Duration
- Load
- none, not applicable
Sources
- wger: Sit & Reach, by captive0592 (CC-BY-SA-4.0)
This record: CC-BY-SA-4.0.