How to do a Butterfly Stretch
Reviewed by JP Michelsen, CPT, B.A. Kinesiology
About Butterfly Stretch
Target muscles worked
Instructions for Proper Form
Butterfly Stretch is an essential flexibility exercise that targets the inner thighs, groin, and lower back. By sitting upright with your feet together and knees bent outwards, you gently press your knees toward the ground. This stretch helps improve hip mobility and can alleviate tension in the lower back. It’s excellent for maintaining flexibility and reducing the risk of injury.
- Sit upright and bend your knees so that the soles of your feet are pressed together and pull your heels into your hips.
- Place your hands on top of your feet and slowly bend your torso forward until you feel a comfortable stretch on the inside of your thighs.
- Hold the stretch for 15-30 seconds.
Alternative Exercises to Butterfly Stretch
1. Standing Hip Adduction
61.4 mSCORESWAPPED 196 TIMESThis isolation exercise primarily targets the adductors. By targeting each side individually, you can more easily identify and address imbalances between sides. This exercise can help improve lower body strength and hip stability.
- Intermediate
- Adductors
2. Lateral Lunge Stretch
3.8 mSCORESWAPPED 106 TIMESLateral Lunge Stretch is a mobility exercise that targets your hip flexors, adductors (inner thighs), and hamstrings. By stepping to the side and lowering your hips, you can deeply stretch these muscle groups. This exercise helps to improve flexibility and range of motion in your lower body, making it a great addition to warm-ups or cooldowns.
- Beginner
- Adductors
3. Fan Stretch
9.1 mSCORESWAPPED 41 TIMESFan Stretch is a flexibility exercise that targets the muscles in your legs and lower back. By slowly reaching forward and sweeping your arms in a fan-like motion, you can effectively stretch out these muscle groups. This is a great way to improve overall flexibility and mobility, especially for athletes who need a full range of motion in their lower body.
- Beginner
- Adductors
4. Frog Stretch
4.1 mSCORESWAPPED 27 TIMESFrog Stretch is an excellent exercise for improving hip mobility and flexibility. This stretch primarily targets the hip adductors and can help alleviate tightness in the groin and inner thigh areas. By positioning your knees wide apart and lowering your hips towards the ground, you can achieve a deep stretch that enhances your range of motion. This is particularly beneficial for those who perform a lot of squats or lunges, as it can help improve overall lower body mobility.
- Beginner
- Adductors
5. Machine Hip Adductor
96.9 mSCORESWAPPED 27 TIMESAn isolation exercise targeting the adductors. The use of a machine restricts your range of motion, and forces you to move the weight along a set path. This helps add stability to the movement allowing you to focus your efforts on exertion rather than stability.
- Beginner
- Adductors
- Thigh Adductor Machine
6. Lateral Bound
61.9 mSCORESWAPPED 18 TIMESThis explosive plyometric exercise is a lateral variation of the bound. This exercise can help improve lateral explosiveness, lower body strength, and balance. This exercise primarily targets the lower body muscles.
- Beginner
- Adductors
7. Machine Fly
98.2 mSCORESWAPPED 16 TIMESMachine Fly is a variation on the more standard Dumbbell Fly. This isolation chest exercise primarily targets the chest, but also recruits the shoulders. The use of a machine makes the exercise more stable allowing you to focus on exertion or learn the movement with minimal risk of injury. This is a great exercise for beginners looking to learn the movement, or advanced lifters looking to push this movement to it’s limit.
- Beginner
- Chest
- Fly Machine
8. Dumbbell Fly
98.3 mSCORESWAPPED 13 TIMESDumbbell Fly’s are one of the most common isolation chest exercises, and for good. It primarily targets the muscles in the chest, but also recruits the shoulders for stability. The use of dumbbells ensures that you’re targeting each side of the body independently, and prevents compensating for any weaknesses between sides. In addition the isolated nature of this exercise is a great way to fatigue your chest, and focus on building both muscle mass and increasing strength in your chest.
9. Foam Roll Hip Adductors
9.7 mSCORESWAPPED 11 TIMESFoam Roll Hip Adductors is an effective mobility exercise that targets the adductor muscles. This exercise can help release tension and improve flexibility in the inner thighs, which can be beneficial for movements like squats and lunges. The foam roller adds gentle pressure, assisting in myofascial release and enhancing muscle recovery post-exercise.
- Beginner
- Adductors
- Foam Roller
10. Foam Roll Hip Flexors
10 mSCORESWAPPED 11 TIMESFoam Roll Hip Flexors is an effective myofascial release technique that targets the hip flexors. This can help alleviate tightness and improve mobility in the hip joint, which can benefit a wide variety of movements including squats and lunges. Using a foam roller can also help increase blood flow to the area, promoting recovery and reducing muscle soreness.
- Beginner
- Adductors
- Foam Roller