How to: Standing Straddle Stretch

Learn how to perform the standing straddle stretch

Stretching your adductors is important as is strengthening them.

The standing straddle stretch is both a stretch and strengthening drill.

You can think of it like a wide stance stiff legged deadlift. You get a large range of motion but also strengthening.

When it comes to the posterior chain, the more narrow the stance is in a deadlift, the more lateral part you are working.

The wider the stance, the more medial parts you are working.

Need more hip and low back mobility? Start with Day 1 of our Hip/Low Back Mobility Program for free:

How to Perform the Standing Straddle Stretch

To begin this movement, start standing with a wide stance.

If you haven’t done this before, you may want to have a chair under you or be near a pole/equipment to hold on to.

Make sure your stance is pretty wide. If it isn’t wide enough, you will feel the stretch more in your hamstrings than your adductors (inner thighs).

From here, you can begin the stretch:

Push your butt backward and let your chest drop
Continue going downward as far as you can without letting your back round
Feel the stretch in your inner thighs (adductors)
Pause for half a second
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 your knees
Feel yourself shift your weight backward as you do the stretch

Reps and sets:

Start with 2-3 sets of 5
You should be able to walk normally after performing this stretch; if you can’t you did too much and need to do less next time

Using Your Back: The Most Common Error

In this photo, we have a less-than-ideal finishing position.

Usually when you’re is in this finishing position, it feels like your lower back is neutral, but it’s not.

Take a look at the finishing position above and compare the spine positions.

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.

Need More Help with your Adductors and Hips?

Here are some additional articles you may find helpful:

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