Seated Straddle / Butterfly

stretchhipeasyHip adductors (open split)

Content last reviewed: 2026-07-06

Seated Straddle / Butterfly — start/setup and end/loaded positions — Left: start / setup position. Right: end / loaded position.

How to do it

Sit tall on the sit-bones with the legs wide and knees/toes pointing up.
Start with a slight forward tilt from the hips, chest lifted and back flat.
Hinge forward from the hips, walking the hands further out.
Keep the back flat, not rounded, as you lower.
Ease into the deepest tolerable range and feel the inner thighs stretch.

Form cues

Hinge from the hips — keep the back flat, don't round
Toes and knees point up, not rolled in
Walk the hands out gradually; never bounce

Dosage

Frequency: daily
Volume: 2–3 sets × 30–60 s
Relax and ease deeper on each exhale.

Muscles worked

hip adductors — anatomical illustration — hip adductorsAnatomical illustration derived from BodyParts3D, © The Database Center for Life Science, licensed under CC BY-SA.

hamstrings — anatomical illustration — hamstringsAnatomical illustration derived from BodyParts3D, © The Database Center for Life Science, licensed under CC BY-SA.

Stretches: hip adductors, hamstrings

Target muscles

Hip Adductors Hamstrings

Posterior Neck Stretch (Chin Tuck, Supine)Shoulder Adductor / Lat Stretch (Supine Overhead Reach)Lateral Neck Flexor Stretch (Side Tilt)Neck Extensor Stretch (Seated/Supine Flatten Neck)Pectoralis Minor Stretch (Supine Assisted)One-Joint Hip Flexor Stretch (Supine, Knee to Chest)