A Move You Should Do MONDAY – Kneeling Side Lunge

This week’s move, the kneeling side lunge, is an excellent way to assess and stretch the hip adductor muscles. Here’s how to do it:

Place pillow or cushion on the floor and kneel with one knee on the cushion
Step your other leg out to the side in a side stance with your foot turned out 90˚
Shift your weight towards your front leg and then return to the starting position
Make sure your stance is wide enough that at the bottom of the move, your knee does not move past your second toes
Perform 6-10 repetitions on each side

Why does this matter?

The adductor muscle group is unique in that it performs three different functions in three different planes of motion at three different times of stance phase when you walk or run:

It decelerates hip flexion when your foot hits the ground (along with glute max and hamstrings) in the SAGITTAL plane
It decelerates hip abduction in the FRONTAL plane as you transfer your weight to the other leg
It accelerates hip external rotation in the TRANSVERSE plane as you push off

That’s a pretty important muscle group to pay attention to. Pay attention to if one side is tighter than the other as this signals postural asymmetry that may lead to things like plantar fasciitis, patellofemoral and meniscal pain and even lower back pain. Give the kneeling side lunge a try.

Because nobody has time to be in pain.

Until next time…