Overview
Feet in Straps is a favorite way for many instructors to finish a session because it is a genuinely lovely exercise to end on. However, avoid the trap of always using it as a warm-down: clients often assume it is a cooldown, but it is demanding work in its own right.
The exercise has two programming roles:
- Inner thigh strengthening and activation — building adductor strength and pelvic control.
- Mobility work — depending on how you want to program the session.
If you are ending the session with Feet in Straps, target the mobility role. If you are using it earlier in the session, focus on anterior pelvic stability and inner thigh activation instead.
Setup
- Use a medium spring setting — in our reference ladder, the double Green.
- The client lies supine with the head finding the headrest and the feet finding the footrest.
- Supine setup cues are always the same: allow enough space for the client to find neutral spine.
- Reach behind and grab the long straps, placing them into the feet one leg at a time.
- Aim the feet up towards the footbar or the top part of the mirror.
Key Teaching Cues
- Keep the ribs down as the legs work — when the legs reach the 45 degree angle, the ribs should stay connected rather than flaring.
- For the double leg lift and lower, cue the legs to hover around 45 degrees.
- If the client starts the lift too high, they need a lot of hamstring length to control the movement — lower the start position if they struggle.
Common Faults
- Treating the exercise as a passive rest: the client must stay actively engaged through the inner thighs and abdominals.
- Rib flaring as the legs lower.
- Starting too high in the range, which over-stretches the hamstrings and compromises control.
Variations
- Program for mobility when used as a session finisher.
- Program for anterior pelvic stability and inner thigh activation when used mid-session.