Standing End Range Side Leg Lifts

All-Levels
Written By Danielle Enos (Dani Winks)

Flexopedia > Hamstrings

Standing End Range Side Leg Lifts

Muscle Group Stretched: Hamstrings

Muscle Group Strengthened: Hip Flexors

Type of Stretch: Active Dynamic

Difficulty: All Levels

Suggested Prerequisites: none

This variation of standing side leg lifts challenges our hip flexors and quads even more by starting with those muscles in an even more shortened position by elevating the foot. This is a great hip flexor strengthener to help with open splits like Bird of Paradise, Y-Scales and side lifted leg extensions.

How To

Step 1

Start standing next to some kind of support surface, with hips facing forwards, and one leg kicked out to the side, foot resting on the elevated surface, knee and thigh facing up. Depending on your flexibility, this could mean resting your foot on:

  • a yoga block (or two)

  • a low table

  • the seat of a chair

  • the top of a chair

  • a countertop

You’ll want to choose a surface that’s high enough that it’s challenging to lift your leg off the surface, but not so high that you can’t lift your leg at all (or have to bend your knees or tilt to the side to lift your leg).

Step 2

Keeping your hips rotated away from the support surface, both legs straight, and hips level (don’t let the hips tilt, they will want to!), lift your elevated leg off of the support surface, then lower it back down. If it’s easy to lift your leg more than a couple of inches, find a taller surface to lift the foot off of. This should feel like a strong squeeze in the thigh (quads), hip crease (hip flexors) and outer hip (glutes) when you try and lift the leg. You may even feel the glutes in your base leg firing trying to keep your hips level!

Repeat for 8-12 leg lifts on one leg, then switch legs.

Modifications

Need to make it easier?

Choose a lower support surface.

Lose the support surface altogether. Work on side leg lifts without the foot elevation.

Want to make it harder?

Add ankle weights.

Stand on a yoga block to give the base leg a balance challenge.

 
 
Danielle Enos (Dani Winks)

Dani is a Minneapolis-based flexibility coach and professional contortionist who loves sharing her enthusiasm for flexibility training with the world.

https://www.daniwinksflexibility.com
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