Get your hips moving with the couch stretch

Not just athletes, but everyone should do the couch stretch since it is a potent exercise.

You might have heard before that sitting is the new smoking. When you look at the first problem of sitting all day, you can see that you spend the entire day with your legs bent in an awkward position.

This means that your hips and knees are at around 90-degree angles throughout the day. Your muscles “shorten up” as a result. They don't truly get shorter; rather, their range of motion and strength are constrained.

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How to do the couch stretch correctly?

It's crucial to understand that the couch stretch is safe to perform on a regular basis.

Make sure to keep your core active so that it can assist you in aligning your body, maintaining an upright posture, and being able to activate your muscles as you maintain this position.

This stretch helps in increasing athletic performance. (Image via Pexels/ Pixabay)

Here’s how to perform this stretch:

• Position yourself by bending the left knee and position your shin backward with your toes pointing upward.
• Ensure that your left thigh is parallel to your body.
• Aligning your knee with your ankle, step forward with your right foot.
• Use a stick or additional chair support if you find it difficult to stand up straight in this position so you can keep a good posture.
• Engage your glutes and core, and lengthen your spine.
• Square up your hips.
• Hold each side for a minimum of 20 seconds. It's crucial to move at your own pace and progressively extend the period because some people will feel this way more intensely than others.
• Repeat on the other side.

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How does the couch stretch help?

The hip flexors, the muscles that run along the front of your hips and pelvis, are targeted by the couch stretch in order to increase or maintain flexibility. As your hip extends, you'll also probably experience a stretch in your quads and shin. Once you complete this stretch, you might even notice a stretch in your pointed ankle.

Check out this list of benefits of couch stretch:

1) Reduce tightness in thighs

Couch Stretch's appeal lies in the fact that it essentially combines a conventional hip flexor stretch with a standard quadriceps stretch. By doing this, you may also significantly lessen the tension in your thighs.

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2) Increase hip-flexor mobility

This one should be obvious. The Couch Stretch's main advantage is its capacity to relax the hip flexors. And given how much of our daily activity involves sitting, this is of utmost importance.

It's critical to have a straightforward exercise to prevent hip stiffness because sitting is probably the most prevalent cause of it in the current world.

This stretch helps in decreasing tightness in thighs. (Image via Pexels/ Andrea Piacquadio)

Although there are other exercises for tight hip flexors, this stretch is the apparent front-runner due to its adaptability.

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3) Helps with lower back pain

When we talk about body mechanics, this stretch excels beyond its capacity to loosen up constrictive hip and leg muscles.

A lot of people are unaware that the hip flexor muscles attach to the front of the spine. Because of this, any restrictions in these muscles might alter how your back is loaded and lead to dysfunction.

The "couch stretch" is so named because you require a sofa to perform it, however, a wall or comparable object will also work. Nevertheless, depending on the texture of your floor, you might want to place something soft under your knee.

Before sticking to any exercise, try different versions and see what works best for you, but never push through discomfort that is considered to be "bad." Try to complete five minutes of each side at a manageable effort, and make sure to breathe deeply throughout.