Stretching Outer Thighs

MTDork87
MTDork87 Posts: 205
edited September 21 in Fitness and Exercise
Hey Everyone,

I'm doing the 30 day shred and it's been killer (in a good way) on my thighs. The problem is that it has been a week and my outer thighs are killing me - not during the DVD, only the morning after. I'm a nanny and running after little ones with all the bending and picking up is showing me how sore my outer thighs really are. I'm convinced that if I stretch really well before and after shredding (and maybe even when I wake up in the morning) that this soreness will be less intense. The problem is that I have NO IDEA how to stretch that particular muscle. I have great quad stretches and great hammy stretches but I can't figure out what to do for my outer thigh. Anyone know of anything? I'm desperate!

Replies

  • Scorpiomom222
    Scorpiomom222 Posts: 1,462 Member
    Wish I could help you. The way I do it probably isn't the best way.
  • smuehlbauer
    smuehlbauer Posts: 1,041 Member
    http://www.youngwomenshealth.org/fitness/st_outer_thigh.html

    Google is the bomb baby!
    this is the first result when I searched outer thigh stretch.
  • shannon428
    shannon428 Posts: 11
    Similar to above link, but without the twist:

    Sit on the floor, knees bent. Cross one leg over the other so that the crossing foot is atop the bent knee. Increase bend in knee for additional stretch. You will want to keep your torso straight and will need to brace yourself with your hands on the ground slightly behind you.

    Hope that makes sense, more difficult to describe that to actually do. This will get your outer thigh and butt.
  • Aeriel
    Aeriel Posts: 864 Member
    One good one I just learned for outer hip and upper thigh is this:

    Sit in a chair with feet on floor. Lift one foot and lay ankle across knee/lower thigh of other leg. Lean forward slightly and push down on the knee of the leg that is up. You can put more weight on it and deepen the stretch if you rest your forearm across your calf and lean into it. Put foot back on floor and repeat process for other leg.

    Really helped my tight hips and outer thigh!
  • MTDork87
    MTDork87 Posts: 205
    Oh my God, you guys ROCK
  • bpayne78
    bpayne78 Posts: 249 Member
    Similar to above link, but without the twist:

    Sit on the floor, knees bent. Cross one leg over the other so that the crossing foot is atop the bent knee. Increase bend in knee for additional stretch. You will want to keep your torso straight and will need to brace yourself with your hands on the ground slightly behind you.

    Hope that makes sense, more difficult to describe that to actually do. This will get your outer thigh and butt.

    This is one that Chalene Johnson does in Turbo Fire Stretch 10....I love it and it really stretches that outer thigh muscle. She gives the que to imagine someone is pushing on your upper back trying to push you forward. This straightens your back and REALLY stretches that muscle.
  • zcostilla
    zcostilla Posts: 23 Member
    I have ITBS, and my physical therapist gave me some great stretches.

    The first one is easy: I stand (usually near a doorway so I have something to grab) and cross my legs at the ankles so that the foot of the leg/IT band I am stretching is behing the other. So if I'm stretching my right IT band, my right leg is behind the left, and I lean to the left while balancing on the right foot. All the while I try to keep the right hip directly above the left foot (which of course is on the inside of the lean because my legs are crossed at the ankles). Witch your feet and lean the other way using the same technique.

    The second one requires a large foam roll. You can get them from a running or a fitness store. It's basically a high-density foam cylendar that you place on the floor and lay on at the hip facing sideways (a mirror helps to get this right the first couple times). Then you use your arm to support and balance yourself and rol to the knee while maintaing your posture as if doing a rolling side plank. It may feel sore after doing the stretch, but it relieves the inflammation on my IT band.
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