Two Exercises That Strengthen Different Muscles

5) Demonstrate two exercises that strengthen and two exercises that stretch the following muscles. -Quadriceps femoris- The exercise I selected that strengthens the quadriceps femoris is the wall sit. A wall sit is a common exercise I have done many times throughout my time in the dance studio. The wall sit is when you stand with your wall against a wall with the feet parallel, hip width apart about 2 feet from the wall. Slowly bend the knees until the thighs are parallel to the floor with the knees above the ankles, hold for four counts and then slowly straighten the knees to return to the starting position. -The stretch I selected that stretches the quadriceps femoris is called the heel to buttocks stretch. This stretch is pretty simple, you stand on one leg with a slight posterior pelvic tilt. You bend the gesture leg and with one hand grasp the other foot, gently bring the knee back until the thigh is approximately vertical. Then bring the heel towards the buttocks until a moderate stretch is felt across the front of the thigh while a neutral position of the pelvis is maintained.

When performing a knee curl you stand with your body weight supported against a wall or chair on one foot. Begin with the top of the other foot about 1 foot behind the supporting leg and slowly bring up the heel toward the buttocks with a weight around the ankle, pause and slowly return to the starting position. -The exercise I selected that stretches the hamstrings is called the standing hamstring stretch. This stretch requires you to stand on one leg with the other leg lifted to the front while the ankle is supported on a barre or chair. While maintaining a straight knee, lean the torso over the out stretched leg until a moderate stretch is felt along the back of the knee or back of the