Supine Toes-to-Wall Leg Extensions

Intermediate
Written By Danielle Enos (Dani Winks)

Flexopedia > Hip Flexors & Hamstrings

Supine Toes-to-Wall Leg Extensions

Muscle Group Stretched: Hip Flexors, Hamstrings

Muscle Group Strengthened: Glutes

Type of Stretch: Dynamic Active

Difficulty: Intermediate

Suggested Prerequisites: Can touch toes with a mostly flat back

This is a great challenging variation on the hips-on-blocks glute contract-relax drill that I love (and sneak into most of my splits classes…) that adds a deep hamstring stretch in the non-working leg.

How To

Step 1

Start lying on your back, head close to a wall. Slide a yoga block under your sacrum to elevate your hips.

Reach other legs overhead and press your feet into the wall. You can choose how intense of a hamstring stretch you want to be in to start here:

  • legs totally straight, body farther from the wall, feet walking farther down the wall toward your head = deeper hamstring stretch

  • legs bent, body closer to the wall, feet higher up the wall = easier hamstring stretch

Step 2

Keeping one foot pressing into the wall the whole time, extend your other leg away, straightening the knee (don’t let it bend as you kick) and pointing your toes as you slowly kick that leg as far away as you can, pressing it down towards the floor. Don’t let the wall foot float away from the wall! Hold the end position with the straight leg kicking towards the floor for a second, then bring the leg back to the wall to the starting position. Keep these leg extensions slow and controlled.

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

Modifications

Need to make it easier?

Bend the knee of the leg pressing into the wall.

Want to make it harder?

Add a second block under your hips (only recommended if you can easily touch the working leg’s foot to the floor even when the knee is straight).

Press a block between the wall-foot and the wall - instead of using the friction between the wall and your foot to hold the leg in place, this requires you to use your hip flexors to keep the leg compressed, making both legs actively work!

 
 
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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