Straddle Rainbow Leg Lifts

Flexopedia > Hamstrings & Adductors

Straddle Rainbow Leg Lifts

Muscle Group Stretched: Hamstrings, Adductors

Muscle Group Strengthened: Hip Flexors, Quads, Glutes

Type of Stretch: Active Dynamic

Difficulty: All Levels

Suggested Prerequisites: none

This variation of straddle leg lifts not only strengthens your hip flexors, it also helps strengthen your abductors like your glutes to open your legs wider in a straddle.

How To

Step 1

Start in a comfortable seated straddle, meaning a straddle where you can easily sit up with a flat back and aren’t feeling a big stretch in your legs yet. This might mean making your straddle gentler by:

• sitting on a yoga block or two (or a chair)

• narrowing your straddle

Place one yoga block on the floor on inside of each leg near your ankle.

Step 2

Place your hands on the ground (or grab the chair for support) - where you place your hands will influence the difficulty of this drill: placing hands behind you and leaning back is a slightly easier option, placing hands in front of your hips is slightly harder.

Step 3

Keeping your legs as straight as you can, brace your arms into the floor as you lift your legs up and over the yoga blocks, placing them on the floor inside the blocks. Then lift the legs back up and lower them to the floor on the outside of the blocks. That’s one rep.

Repeat for 8-12 reps.

Modifications

Need to make it easier?

Elevate your hips more by sitting in a chair, and holding on to the chair for support.

Want to make it harder?

Make the blocks taller. Instead of the low height setting, challenge yourself with the medium, or taller block heights.

Start in a wider straddle, one where you are already feeling a stretch in those inner thighs.

Keep your back flat instead of letting it round/compress.

Related Content

• Flexopedia: Straddle Leg Lifts

• Flexopedia: Straddle Leg Opens

• Blog Post: 10-Minute Middle Split & Straddle Routine

• Blog Post: 6 Active Flexibility Drills for Your Straddle Pancake