Butterfly Stretch — how to, muscles worked, alternatives

How to do the Butterfly Stretch

Sit tall, soles of your feet together, hands holding your feet.
Let your knees drop out toward the floor.
Lean forward from your hips, lowering your torso toward your feet.
Hold while breathing slowly, then sit back up.

Full technique — 6 steps

Sit on the floor with your knees bent and the soles of your feet pressed together.
Hold your feet with both hands and sit tall with your torso upright.
Let your knees fall out to the sides toward the floor until you feel a stretch in your inner thighs.
Lean your torso forward from your hips and lower it toward your feet.
Hold that end range while breathing slowly and letting the inner thighs relax.
Raise your torso slowly back to upright to come out of the stretch.

Common mistakes

Pushing past tolerable range
Forcing the knees down with the hands
Bouncing into the stretched position
Holding your breath during the stretch

Form cues

Sit tall first
Hold feet together
Hinge from the hips
Stretch, don't force
Breathe into the groin

Where to start and where to go next

Same muscles, same movement. Too hard for now — step down; once it gets easy — step up.

This exercise Butterfly Stretch Beginner
Harder Bench Adductor Stretch Beginner

Quick answers

What muscles does the Butterfly Stretch work?

Primary: Hip adductors 9/10. Also works: Hip flexors 4/10, Glutes 3/10.

When should I do the Butterfly Stretch in a workout?

Warm-up. Done at the start to get the body ready. ≈ 2 min with rest.

How many sets and reps of the Butterfly Stretch?

Strength: 1–2 sets of 20–30 reps, rest 15 s, 6 reps in reserve. Muscle growth: 1–2 sets of 20–30 reps, rest 15 s, 6 reps in reserve. Endurance: 2–3 sets of 30–45 reps, rest 15 s, 6 reps in reserve.