Weighted Couch Stretch
The hip flexor and quad at full length, loaded, which is where a long season leaves them shortest
How to do it well
The set-up and the rep in full, then the cues the app shows on the exercise card — the short version, for the moment you are standing in front of the bar.
Set-up
Kneel with the top of one foot up against a wall, bench or couch, that knee on a pad near its base. Step the other foot forward so the front shin is vertical. Hold a light dumbbell at the chest.
The rep
Tuck the pelvis under by squeezing the glute of the back leg, and only then lift the chest upright. Sink slowly until you feel the front of the back thigh and hip. Hold for forty seconds, breathing slowly instead of bracing against it. Swap sides.
On the exercise card
- Back foot high, front shin vertical
- Tuck the pelvis before you lean
- Breathe — do not brace against it
- Tempo
- sink slowly
What goes wrong, and the fix
| What goes wrong | The fix |
|---|---|
| Arching the lower back | Tuck the pelvis first. If the back arches, the stretch has left the hip flexors. |
| The front foot too close | Step it forward until the front shin is vertical. |
| Holding the breath | Breathe slowly. Bracing against a stretch stops it working. |
Make it easier, or harder
- Easier
- The back knee further from the wall, or the hands on the front knee for support.
- Harder
- The back knee closer to the wall, or the torso fully upright.
How Train Smart prescribes it
The sets and reps below are the authored starting point. The actual weight you see is calculated from your own last top set and the week you are in within your four-week block.
A long season leaves the hip flexors and quads at their shortest, and cricketers spend hours in a stance or a crouch. The cricket program carries it in its prehab rotation.
| Program | Session | Sets × reps | Load |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cricket | Speed & Strength | 2 × 40s/side | Light DB at chest |
This exercise, in a program that knows why it is there
Train Smart puts this movement in the right session, at the right point in your block, at a weight calculated for you — and swaps it automatically if you do not have the kit.
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