Couch Stretch
stretchhipintermediatepassiveRectus femoris length
2 × 45s per side
How to do it
- Place padding under the rear knee and begin farther from the wall, with the rear shin angled up the wall or couch.
- Bring the other foot forward into a stable half-kneeling lunge with the whole foot supported.
- Gently contract the rear glute and keep the pelvis and ribs stacked without increasing the lower-back arch.
- Slowly raise the torso until you feel a tolerable stretch through the front of the rear thigh and hip.
- Hold, then lower the torso to ease off.
Form cues
- Move the rear knee farther from the wall or use a regular half-kneeling hip-flexor stretch as a regression.
- Do not force the heel toward the buttock.
- Stop for kneecap pressure, knee-joint pain or front-of-hip pinching.
- Raise the torso tall and vertical; do not lean forward.
Muscles worked
Stretches: rectus femoris, iliopsoas
Part of a program
Part of Lower-Body Posture Reset
This exercise is one move. Lower-Body Posture Reset puts it in a plan — so you know what to do, in what order, and how much, week by week.
- Sequenced & dosed — the right exercises, in the right order, at the right volume.
- Progresses with you — difficulty ramps as you get stronger, not on a fixed calendar.
- Personalized — built around the specific limiter actually holding you back.
- Tracks your progress — see what's working and adjust over time.
See the program →
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