Monday Mobility – Quads

Hey everyone! sorry, I was gone for a whole week! due to not feeling well, if any of you follow me on Instagram, then you probably read my post about endometriosis — having had it since 7th grade, among other things — and my symptoms are pretty severe, so I was absent from wordpress, social platforms, the gym and people. If you want my story around that, follow me on IG & feel free to read the post. I am open about it, so if you have questions or recommendations (besides the fact that I want to have a full hysterectomy) then please feel share your experiences!

Now with that out of the way, let’s talk about today’s mobility monday post ….. QUADS! last mobility post, I believe I was talking about the shoulders? so I wanted to do a lower body post & perhaps I will keep this pattern going for a little while to keep things fun! If you are like me, you love working quads; and don’t say it is because I am a female & “females love working legs” because I have weak hammies & don’t enjoy them half as much as doing quads! #justsayin

How many of my fellow readers love a good quad day? share some warm up exercises you do for quads & or stretches! . If you don’t then listen up, because I am going to share a few mobility exercises you can use for the quads and are perfect to implement in your workouts! — don’t know how to perform these exercies? — I don’t mind posting a video showing you how, or you can find your favorite Youttuber and watch them perform some of these as well.

1) Kneeling lunge — a good one for those that don’t have knee injuries. I recommend this one a lot because not only does it help stretch the quads, but it teaches you how to move through the hip. So many of you probably hate lunges, but this a good one before performing your working set of lunges, and keep in mind, if you have a difficult time with balance with this exercise, feel free to use a chair or something to hold onto to keep from falling.

— for this particular stretch, I like to cue my clients to brace their core, and keep the shoulders stacked over the hips.

— you only need to shift forward until you feel a light stretch (NOT pain) hold this for some seconds, and then alternate legs; do this maybe 3-4 sets each leg pending on how you feel.

2) Standing quad stretch — so this is a popular one! I know many of you probably have done this or seen someone perform this. I added it to the list, because it is simple enough to do anywhere and for those of us who don’t particularly enjoy being on the ground due to health conditions, pain, injuries, etc, this is keeps you off the floor but still enables you to stretch the quads as needed.

– something to keep in mind, this exercise as popular as it is, gets done incorrectly more than you realize, so be sure to look up proper technique. It is simple but simple sometimes leads to bad form.

3) Side lying quad stretch. Much like the standing quad stretch but the only difference is you will you be lying on the ground on your side performing this one. again look up technique and be sure to have something comfortable underneath you.

4) Finally, I want to add the prone quad stretch. (AIS) active isolating stretch. This is an exercise that basically utilizes the contraction of opposing muscle groups in combo with passive assistance to achieve a deeper stretch.

– You will want to use a resistance band (very light resistance) or some long strap or band that is comfortable around your foot and something comfortable for you to pull on. Again, you will be on the floor, so have something underneath you. –

– I especially recommend watching this being done, if this is a new one for you, because it is a fun one, but because you need to know where to place the strap and how to properly pull it without pulling too hard.

Now most of you know that I am all for active movement for mobility & so with that being said, these are stretches I would perform for cool-down rather than as a active warm up for the quads. I didn’t list any active warm up stretches for the quads in this post because to be honest, most of you probably have a good leg warm up you use for lower body and believe it or not, it probably is also hitting them quads just as well – BUT if any of you would like some secret warm up exercises before hitting quads, let me know in the comments, and I don’t mind sharing some fun ones I do.

As always, thanks for reading, and remember to follow, like, share and follow my social platforms. If you are interested in nutrition coaching or personal training, please use my contact me menu to reach me. I am going to be making changes to the pricing and set up of my personal training soon, so be on the lookout & always feel to ask questions, my consultations are FREE!

Shay-lon #TheFitnessWonderWoman