#QuadGoals: The Best Ways to Strengthen and Stretch Your Quads
Strong, stable, sufficiently stretched quads are the secret ingredient to everything from straighter knees to fully extended arabesques. But what are the most effective ways to get them? Dance Spirit turned to Michael Gernold, a personal trainer with Progressive Personal Training in NYC, for a crash course on lengthening and strengthening your quads.
Photos by Erin Baiano. Modeled by Shannon Mcavoy.
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Standing Active Hamstring Stretch
This move targets the hamstrings, which won’t be fully stretched until your quads are activated.
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Double Lunges
This variation on a standard lunge helps strengthen your quads by using your own body weight as resistance.
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{“product_info”: {“caption”: “Buy Now”, “product_price”: 0, “product_vendor”: false, “linkout_url”: false, “product_compare_at_price”: 0}, “headline”: “Double Lunges”, “credit”: “”, “description”: “u003cpu003e1. Start by stepping with your left leg into a large forward lunge, keeping your right leg behind you, your right knee bent and just above the floor, and your core fully engaged.u003c/pu003e”, “caption”: “u003cpu003eu003cemu003eThis variation on a standard lunge helps strengthen your quads by using your own body weight as resistance.u003c/emu003eu003c/pu003e”}
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Wall Sits with a Twist
This move engages
and strengthens your core and entire lower body (quads, hamstrings, and glutes) at once.
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A version of this story appeared in the June/July 2018 issue of
Dance Spirit with the title “Quad Goals.”
