Banded Windshield Wipers with Knee Lift
Flexopedia > Hip Internal Rotation, Hip External Rotation
Banded Windshield Wipers with Knee Lift
Muscle Group Strengthened: Hip Internal Rotation, Hip External Rotation
Type of Stretch: Active Dynamic
Difficulty: All Levels
Suggested Prerequisites: none
Slightly more challenging than regular banded windshield wipers, adding a knee lift to this drill helps challenge our internal rotators even more by maintaining our hip internal rotation while we lift the leg.
How To
Step 1
Start sitting in a setup for banded windshield wipers: sitting on the ground, band looped around your inner thighs near your knees, knees bent, feet on the floor, knees pushing out into the band to hold tension in the band.
Step 2
“Windshield wiper” your knees over to one side, being careful to keep both hip bones anchored to the floor (don’t let your hips tilt/twist as your legs lean over to one side).
Focus on the “inside” leg (the knee that’s closer to your midline - this is the leg that’s in hip “internal rotation”) - keeping tension pressing into the resistance band, lift the inside leg up so the knee lifts an inch or two and the foot comes off of the ground. Hold the knee lifted just for a moment, then drop the foot back down to the floor.
Step 3
“Windshield wiper” your knees over to the other side, and lift your other leg up for a moment, then drop it down.
Continue going side to side and lifting the inside leg for 5-10 reps on each side.
Modifications
Need to make it easier?
Nix the knee lift. Just work on the side-to-side windshield wiper strength with the band.
Lose the band. Go through the same range of motion without the band.
Want to make it harder?
Add a “karate kick.” Once you’ve lifted the inside leg off the ground, kick the leg straight for a moment, then re-bend the knee, bring the foot back to the floor, and continue your windshield wipers.
Related Content
Flexopedia: Banded Windshield Wipers
Flexopedia: Pendulum Leg Swings
Blog Post: 6 Exercises for Hip Internal and External Rotation
Blog Post: Gentle (Passive) Stretches for Internal Hip Rotation
Blog Post: Strengthen While You Stretch: 6 Drills for Active Hip Internal Rotation
