Rectus Femoris
Exercises that target the rectus femoris, grouped by whether they stretch or strengthen it.
The rectus femoris is the only one of the four quadriceps that crosses both the hip and the knee. It extends the knee and flexes the hip, which makes it a hip flexor as well as a knee straightener.
Because it spans the hip, a tight rectus femoris tips the pelvis forward and adds to the anterior-pelvic-tilt pattern, on top of limiting how far the knee can bend when the hip is extended. It is a key two-joint target in posture work.
It responds to hip-flexor/quad stretches performed with the hip extended (kneeling quad stretch) plus glute strengthening. See the hip and knee exercises.
