Soleus Slouch: How To Do It Properly, And Why It Works
The soleus slouch has blown up on social media. Most people doing it have no idea what it is actually for, and get it wrong.
Done properly, it is one of the most powerful drills in the whole Resilient Athlete programme. It retrains the co-contraction around your knee, so your calf, hamstrings and quads finally work together and your hip does more of the job. If you get recurring knee pain, or a calf that never quite switches on, this is the one.
Here is exactly how to do it, the mistakes to avoid, and how to know you have got it right.
The cue: Slight knee bend, weight over the midfoot, neck and shoulders relaxed. Do not let the knee snap back or your weight drift to your heels.
What It Is For
To restore coordination between your soleus, hamstrings and quadriceps by building a co-contraction around the knee joint, so the hip can do more of the work.
Why It Works
This exercise puts your soleus, hamstrings and quads in a position where they have no choice but to work together. By removing the common cheats, like snapping the knee back or using your neck, you force your nervous system to coordinate these muscles the way they are meant to function in real life.
Done properly, it teaches your knee to hold its co-contraction while the hip does its job. That fixes one of the most common movement faults we see.
How To Do It
- Set up with your feet about one and a half times your foot length apart.
- Position your back foot in line with your front heel, to shorten your base of support.
- Start with a slight knee bend, around 15 to 20 degrees. This is your power position.
- Keep your weight over your midfoot, not your heel.
- Relax your neck completely. Your shoulders will naturally slouch. Let them.
- Keep your knee bent at the same angle throughout. Do not let it straighten.
- Slowly reach your fingertips toward the floor, keeping the pressure through your midfoot.
- Keep reaching until you feel a stretch in your hamstring.
- To return, push through your midfoot, not your heel, and keep your neck relaxed.
- Hold the tension through your midfoot the whole way up.
- Continue for 6 to 12 reps.
Get It Right
Common mistakes
- Hinging at the hip, bringing your backside back, instead of truly loading the soleus.
- Letting your knee snap back, especially at the top.
- Letting your weight drift to your heels instead of staying on your midfoot.
- Using your neck to lift yourself back up.
- Rushing it instead of controlling it.
- Not fully relaxing your neck and shoulders.
- Looking up at the ceiling instead of keeping your neck relaxed.
You have got it when
- You feel real tension in your calf.
- As you push through your midfoot to come up, your hip comes forward.
- It feels challenging, especially holding the knee position.
- You feel your hamstrings stretch on the way down.
- You hold the same knee angle the whole way through.
- With practice it flows more, but stays controlled.
Make It Easier
Struggling to hold the knee position? Spend more time on the midfoot bridge drills first to build hamstring load tolerance. You can also reach to a chair or box instead of all the way to the floor.