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12. Practice Test: testing the stretching capacity of the hip joint

Starting position: lie on your back, bent knees, feet on the ground

Task: pull one of your knees firmly to your stomach, holding behind the knee, while stretching the other leg forward on the ground, the foot flexed and pressed into the ground 

Possible mistakes:

  • if the pupil cannot straighten the knee and press it into the ground
  • if the hip joint is bent 

Exercises for stretching hip muscles and increasing the hip joint mobility

1. Starting position: standing up straight, with a gymnastic stick, arms by the sides

Count 1-3: stretch your left leg backwards 3 times, pulling the stick backwards
Count 4: bring the leg and the stick to the starting position
Count 5-8: repeat Count 1 – 4, in the reversed order

2. Starting position: Lie on your stomach, with bent knees, the heels are flex, the hands hold the feet (cradle)
Bend your trunk backwards, lift your thighs and do the 'cradle '

These two exercises are also included among the exercises developing the capacity of the spine to bend backward. The dominant elements in their performance need to be leg stretching and pulling.  

3. Starting position: lie on your back, both knees are at the stomach, one knee is held tight in position, the other is stretched parallel to the ground, and the head and the shoulders are slightly raised.
Task: Continuous change of legs, with the heels stretching down

4. Starting position: One participant („A") stands facing the wall bars and gets hold of the bars at waist level, his/her partner („B") stands next to A.
Task: „A" bends his/her trunk forward and swings the left leg backward, while the partner helps to perform the swinging movement
The partners can change their roles.

The recommended exercises should be grouped for each lesson so that two or three groups of muscles are developed at the same time, using only two or three exercises from each group so that the pupils would not get bored.

The posture correcting tasks should be performed with full attention and concentration.

The publication edited by MGT and the film can be downloaded and with their help the movement practices, which serve to automatize and sustain the development of the biomechanically correct posture, can be acquired by way of self-study.