# Kneeling Hip Flexor Stretch: how to do it

- Main muscles: hip flexors
- Also works: quads
- Equipment: bodyweight
- Level: beginner
- 3D demo (side view): https://media.trainaq.com/exercises/kneeling_hip_flexor_stretch/666c80c632/side-m-720.mp4

## Steps

1. Kneel on your left knee with your right foot flat in front, both knees bent to about a right angle.
2. Rest your hands on your right thigh and sit up tall.
3. Tighten your stomach and squeeze your left buttock so your tailbone tucks under.
4. Keep your chest upright and slowly move your hips forward until you feel a stretch at the front of your left hip.
5. Hold for 30–45 seconds, breathing slowly, then switch sides.

## Cues

- Tuck your tailbone under.
- Hips move forward, back stays flat.
- Squeeze the back-leg buttock.

## Common mistakes

- Arching the lower back: tighten your stomach and tuck the pelvis before moving forward.
- Leaning the chest forward: keep your shoulders stacked over your hips.
- A sore kneeling knee: put a folded mat or cushion under it.

## The version in our demo

Half-kneeling, left knee down (stretching the left hip), right foot forward, both hands resting on the front thigh, pelvis tucked under while the hips move forward. This is ACE's standard version; the pelvic tuck is from a 2024 trial that found it beat a plain forward lean.

## Starting position

Left knee on a mat directly under the left hip, left shin and top of the foot flat on the floor behind, toes pointed back. Right foot flat in front with the right knee straight over the ankle: right hip about 90° flexion, right knee about 90° flexion. Feet and knee about hip width apart side to side (15–20 cm), not on one line. Torso upright, shoulders down and back, hands on the right thigh.

## The movement

Brace the abdomen and squeeze the left glute so the pelvis tilts back (tail tucks under). Keeping the torso vertical, shift the whole pelvis forward and slightly down in a straight line until a stretch is felt at the front of the left hip. The right knee drifts forward past the ankle; the left knee stays planted. Hold, then ease back to the start. Head, ribs and lower back stay still: the hips move, the spine does not arch.

## Breathing

Slow, steady breaths; settle a little deeper into the stretch on each exhale.

## Tempo

Real sets: hold 30–45 s, 2–3 rounds, then switch legs.

## Form in numbers

- Torso vertical (within 5°) throughout; hands stay on the front thigh.

## Sources

1. [ACE, "Kneeling Hip Flexor Stretch"](https://www.acefitness.org/resources/everyone/exercise-library/142/kneeling-hip-flexor-stretch/)
2. [González-de-la-Flor Á et al., "Comparison of two different stretching strategies to improve hip extension mobility in healthy and active adults: a crossover clinical trial", BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders 25:853 (2024)](https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12891-024-07988-9)

Source: https://trainaq.com/exercises/kneeling-hip-flexor-stretch