This is a very basic, but fantastic exercise that is used to strengthen the quadriceps and hip flexor muscles. This is an exercise that is often used in physical therapy during the initial stages of knee rehabilitation, but I find it is an important exercise that should be incorporated into everyone's training program. In addition to strengthening the specified muscles, this exercise also acts as a great warm-up for the legs and has the added benefit of possibly increasing the flexibility of the hamstrings.
How to perform:
■ Lay flat back on a comfortable surface
■ Bend the knee of the leg you are not going to lift. This helps protect the back and makes the exercise more comfortable.
■ Relax the foot of the leg you are lifting
■ Begin lifting your straight leg
■ Move the leg at a slow controlled pace
■ Keep your hips flat and avoid arching your back
■ Continue lifting the leg upward until you feel a tightness in your hamstrings - the muscles in the back of the leg - or until you get to 90 degrees.
■ Slowly lower your leg back to the starting position
■ Repeat for your specified number of repetitions
■ Avoid bouncing your foot off of the ground between repetitions
■ Make sure you breathe while performing this or any exercise
When the exercise becomes too easy, you can increase the difficulty of it by adding ankle weights to your legs. I recommend starting out with 1.0 lb per leg and increasing the weight by an additional 0.5 lbs whenever necessary. There are many varieties of ankle weights available, but I have found that All-Pro makes the best set by far. No one is even close in terms of ease of adjustment and durability. They are very hard to find in stores, but this is what they look like:
And this is where you can buy them:
http://www.performbetter.com/detail.aspx_Q_ID_E_3918
Please feel free to contact me with any questions about this exercise, or any other, and I am always open to suggestions on which exercise to cover next week.
-Jason
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