These cool down stretches are made up of targeted static stretches that will help you avoid being overly sore and will also work to increase your flexibility for pistol squats.
Do these after your workout only—if you choose to do them on a rest or active rest day as well, make sure to do the warm up first.
Hold each stretch for 30-45 seconds, 2-3 rounds:
- Basic calf stretch
- Standing hamstring stretch
- Standing pike stretch
- Standing quad & hip flexor stretch
- Pigeon pose
Exercise Instructions
Basic Calf Stretch (Two Variations)
How to do it: Stand in front of a wall. Put your heel down and push your toes against the wall, keeping your knee locked. The closer you are to the wall, the deeper the stretch will be.
In another version of the same stretch, slightly bend your knee. This causes the stretch to move a bit lower to your Achilles area.
Standing Hamstring Stretch
How to do it: Stand with one foot on a higher surface, like a chair, desk or countertop. The higher the surface, the deeper the stretch will be. Lean forward and stretch through your hamstrings. Try to keep your knee straight and reach towards your toes. If your toes are too far, put your hands on your ankle, shin, or just above the knee.
Standing Pike Stretch
How to do it: Stand in front of a wall with your feet together, then lean over while crossing your arms above your head and pushing your upper back against the wall. Slowly slide yourself down the wall while keeping your legs straight. To deepen the stretch, take a step closer to the wall and bring your head as close to the floor as possible.
Standing Quad & Hip Flexor Stretch
How to do it: Stand on one leg. Bend the other leg, grab your ankle and try to get the heel to touch your butt. Keep the knees close to each other. If staying balanced is hard for you right now, stand close to a wall, table, tree or anything that you can use for support.
If you don’t feel much of a stretch in your hip flexors, try and push the hip of the bent leg side forward slightly.
Pigeon Pose
How to do it: From a downward facing dog pose, bring your right knee forward between your hands. Put the right leg down so that the outer side of it is resting on the ground. The left leg is extended behind you. You can keep the torso up or rest it over the knee.
Repeat on the left side.