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Yoga poses

Wide Split Stretch: Strong Inner Thighs at Full Range

Sit with your legs as wide as you can while sitting tall, then pull your heels toward each other without moving. Strengthens the inner thighs at full stretch.

Strength at length · Hips · Inner thighs · 2 min read

Why it works: Chapter 23, Stiff people work harder for every stroke

How to do it

  1. 1

    Sit tall, legs wide

    Legs straight out and as wide as they go without your lower back rounding. Sit on a cushion or a folded towel if your pelvis tips backward.

  2. 2

    As wide as you have, not as wide as you have seen

    This is not a full split and never has to be. The width that lets you sit upright with your kneecaps pointing at the ceiling is your width. A narrower split you can pull hard in beats a wide one you sag in.

  3. 3

    Hands behind or on your thighs

    Fingertips on the floor behind your hips, or hands resting on your thighs. Stay sitting up; leaning forward turns the hold back into a stretch.

  4. 4

    Now drag the heels toward each other

    Press both heels into the floor and pull them toward one another, hard, as if you were trying to close your legs. Nothing moves. The floor gives you the resistance.

  5. 5

    Hold and breathe

    Keep pulling for the whole hold, breathing calmly through your nose. If you cannot breathe steadily, pull less hard.

  6. 6

    The test

    You should feel your inner thighs working, not just stretching. If they only feel long, pull harder. Anything sharp in your groin or behind a knee, pull less hard or bring your legs narrower.

Watch for

  • Going wider than you can sit up in. Your back rounds and you sag instead of pulling.
  • Kneecaps rolling inward. The pull slides off your inner thighs.
  • Heels actually sliding together. The hold turns into a small movement and your inner thighs stop working at their full length.
  • Pulling so hard you hold your breath. You can only keep it up for a few seconds, and the minute falls apart.

Questions

How do I get better at the straddle stretch?

Get strong at the width you already have, not only longer. Pulling your heels toward each other against the floor, without letting them move, works your inner thighs at their full length. Do it after relaxed wide folds, as Range · 01 does.

What does the Wide Split stretch?

Your inner thighs most, plus the backs of your legs. Pulling the heels in turns it from a stretch into work for those same inner-thigh muscles.

How long should you hold the Wide Split?

A minute, pulling the whole time, in the middle part of the Range · 01 routine. By then the wide-legged fold at the start of the routine has already lengthened the same muscles. There is no daily target: hold it when your training day has that routine. Those are the times in the normal-length session: a long day holds a little longer, and a short day trims only the holds longer than a minute.