Adductors exercise
Frog StretchHow to do it, with form in numbers
- Main muscles
- Adductors
- Equipment
- Bodyweight
- Level
- Intermediate
How to do it
How do you do the Frog Stretch?
- Start on your hands and knees on a padded mat.
- Slide your knees out wide, with your feet in line with your knees and toes pointing out.
- Lower onto your forearms and keep your back flat.
- Slowly push your hips back towards your heels until you feel a stretch in your inner thighs.
- Hold or rock gently back and forth for 30–60 seconds, breathing slowly.
Cues
- Ankles in line with your knees.
- Back flat, hips back.
- Go slowly, never bounce.
Common mistakes
- Sagging lower back: tighten your stomach to keep your back flat.
- Knees too wide too soon: start narrower and widen a little each time.
- Feet turning in behind you: keep your shins pointing straight out to the sides.
Form in detail
What does good form look like?
The version in our demo
On the forearms, knees spread wide and bent to 90°, ankles in line with the knees, inner calves and feet on the floor, then rocking the hips gently back towards the heels. This is the kneeling version both Cleveland Clinic and Physitrack teach; the squatting frog is a different stretch.
Starting position
On hands and knees on a padded mat, then walk the knees out to the sides as far as is comfortable, hips staying level with the knees. Knees bent about 90°, shins pointing straight out to the sides, ankles in line with the knees, inner edges of the feet and calves on the floor, toes pointing out. Lower onto the forearms, elbows under the shoulders, palms down. Back flat, neck long.
The movement
Keeping the back flat, ease the hips straight back towards the heels until a firm stretch is felt along the inner thighs, then let them come forward again to the line of the knees. The knees, feet and forearms stay where they are; the motion is a small, slow rock of the hips forward and back. Shifting the hips sideways (to load one side) is a later option and not shown.
Breathing
Slow, deep breaths; sink back on each out-breath.
Tempo
Real sets: hold or rock gently for 30–60 s.
Form in numbers
What are the angles and distances?
- Knee flexion about 90°; shins parallel to each other, pointing out to the sides.
- Ankles dorsiflexed about 90° with the toes turned out; inner foot and calf on the floor.
- Forearms flat, elbows under the shoulders; upper arms vertical.
- Back flat, no sag; head in line with the spine.
The targets our 3D demo was built to, from the references below. Bodies differ, so treat the ranges as a guide for your own build.
For coaches
Use this demo in your clients’ programs
The Frog Stretch is in Trainaq’s exercise library. Add it to a workout, and your client sees this demo in the free Trainaq app above the sets they log.
Sources
