How to: Single Leg Standing Straddle Stretch

Stretching your adductors is important and under-appreciated.

The adductors are used to create hip extension when your hip is in flexion, meaning they help you come up out of squats, deadlifts, sumo deadlifts, etc.

Sometimes it’s best to work on one leg’s adductors at a time, which is what the single leg standing straddle stretch does.

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To begin this stretch, position yourself next to a box or something you can put one leg on. It should be around the height of a bench.

Make sure your stance leg is far enough out to the side. A common issue is not having the leg on the ground far enough out.

From here, you can begin the stretch:

1. Push your butt backward and let your chest drop
2. Continue going downward as far as you can without letting your back round
3. Feel the stretch on the inside of the leg that is up on the bench/box
4. Pause for half a second
5. Return to the starting position

Tips:

• Imagine your torso is a cannister. You are not folding forward. The cannister is going down and backward
• You can slightly bend the stance leg
• Feel yourself shift your weight backward as you do the stretch

Reps and sets:

• Start with 2-3 sets of 10 reps per leg
• You should be able to walk normally after performing this stretch

In this photo you can see the biggest mistake people make, which is bending the spine.

In order to do this stretch most effectively, you need to keep your back in neutral.

This positions the pelvis in a way to best stretch the adductors.

Video record yourself from the side doing this stretch to form check. Your back should be flat like a deadlift.

Here are some additional articles you may find helpful:

• Stretch your Adductors with the rockback stretch
• Anatomy of stretching the adductors
• A Better Way to ‘Stretch’ Your Adductors
• Better Adductors for Better Squatting