The quadricep is made up of 4 main muscles; rectus femoris, vastus medialis, vastus lateralis, and vastus intermedius. When these muscles lack sufficient mobility or become stiff it can cause a whole host of issues, leading to numerous injuries. It is important to maintain a sufficient level of mobility in all four of these muscles so they can work harmoniously and not cause restrictions. 

Couch Stretch:

The couch stretch is great for targeting the quadricep and can be altered to target the different muscles. By changing the angle of your foot and knee placement you can shift the stretch from one muscle to another. You can also deepen the stretch by placing your hands on the floor and leaning your hips down and forward.

Banded Dragon Pose:

Similar to the couch stretch, this pose (depending on where the individual is tightest) allows for the upper quad / hip flexor area to be more targeted – so this stretch is great if you have tight hip flexors / upper quadriceps. Sitting upright and squeezing your glutes so your hips are almost in a posterior pelvic tilt position will give you a deep stretch. 

Foam Roll / Massage / Soft Tissue Work:

Soft tissue work allows for you to target each individual muscle in the quadricep. Utilising methods such as foam rolling, barbell mashing, massage, lacrosse ball mashing etc gives you a more specific pinpoint like accuracy when trying to mobilize an area. It is known for also increasing blood flow, so there will be oxygenated blood flowing to the area.

Bulgarian Split Squats:

Bulgarian split squats tend to be used as a lower body strengthening exercise, but if performed at a light weight and through a full range of motion it can be great for building control, strength and mobility in the end ranges of the quadriceps / hips. If performing for mobility reasons your focus should be to hit a full range of motion with little to no weight, whilst staying under complete control of the movement. There are multiple ways to perform this exercise but the real benefits come from performing it at full range of motion. 

Walking Samson Lunge:

This is a great exercise for opening up both the hip flexors and quadriceps. The longer your steps are and the more you lean back slightly and to the side, the deeper and more effective stretch you will get. This is a great dynamic warm up exercise for targeting the quadriceps and is low impact and low skill so anyone and everyone can perform it.