Rectus femoris exercises can play a pivotal role in helping you heal from a quad strain and strengthen against a quad strain in the future.
If you have a quad strain, you probably know that the rectus femoris is one of the most commonly injured quad muscles and one of the most common reasons for quad strain.
Quad strains typically affect athletes, especially those participating in sports that involve:
- Kicking
- Running
- Or sprinting
What does this mean? Well first, you’re in for it if you’re a soccer player. Only partially kidding.
But in actuality, quad strain is a serious injury that impacts many people, and soccer players are some of the most commonly impacted by this injury.
So, what do you do when recovering from a quad strain?
- Massaging the Rectus Femoris: Your first step to recovery is massaging the injured muscle. You can do this with a massage device designed for hip flexor muscles, such as the QL Claw.
- Stretching the Rectus Femoris: First, you’ll want to stretch the muscle. You can do that by checking out our article, which covers how to stretch the rectus femoris: “Get Flexible! The Benefits of a Rectus Femoris Stretch.”
- Strengthening the Rectus Femoris: After learning how to stretch the rectus femoris, you’ll want to build up strength in the muscle by adding in rectus femoris exercises to your routine.
You might be saying: But this is such a weirdly specific muscle? How do I actually target the rectus femoris in an exercise?
And you’re thinking correctly. Because not all quad exercises are rectus femoris exercises.
So, how do you find actual rectus femoris exercises? Right here in this article, my friend.
Today, we’ll cover 5 of the best rectus femoris exercises that specifically target your rectus femoris muscle.
We’re Back Muscle Solutions, by the way, and it’s our specialty to help people learn how to recover from muscle pain and empower themselves to get back to a life full of activity and vibrancy.
Today, we’ll cover:
- Rectus Femoris Anatomy: What is the Rectus Femoris?
- 5 Best Rectus Femoris Exercises
- Rectus Femoris Function
- Rectus Femoris Injuries
- Rectus Femoris Pain
- Rectus Femoris Massage
- Rectus Femoris Exercises FAQs
Rectus Femoris Anatomy: What is the Rectus Femoris?
Before we start learning about rectus femoris exercises, let’s make sure we’re all on the same page. Because it’s not every day that you hear people throwing around the term “rectus femoris.”
But most people do know about your quadriceps AKA your quads.
So, let’s break down how the quads are built and the role rectus femoris plays in the mix. And let’s answer the question: What is the rectus femoris?
Your quads are actually a group of four distinct muscles working together to power your thighs. Let’s take a closer look at these key players:
Rectus Femoris: This muscle spans from your hip to your kneecap, acting as a bridge that connects your upper and lower leg.
Vastus Intermedius: Hiding beneath the rectus femoris, this unsung hero quietly carries a lot of the workload.
Vastus Medialis: Positioned on the inner side of your thigh, it keeps everything balanced and in check.
Vastus Lateralis: This one can be found on the outer side of your thigh, providing stability and strength.
Each of these muscles plays a crucial role in everyday movements like walking and running. During many leg exercises, such as the leg press, the vastus lateralis tends to take center stage. And it’s a bit harder to target the rectus femoris muscles.
In the picture below, you’ll notice that the rectus femoris spans the length of the front of your thigh–crossing both your hip joint and your knee joint. This is different than your other quad muscles, which all connect down at the femur.
Because of this, this muscle helps with both knee extension and hip flexion.
To locate your rectus femoris, lift one leg up in the air while balancing on the other leg. In the elevated leg, feel around for a muscle contracting just below your waistline around the upper thigh. That’s your rectus femoris.
5 Best Rectus Femoris Exercises
Okay, so let’s start with the debate. When it comes to rectus femoris exercises, some people recommend using multijoint exercises. Makes sense, right? Since this muscle crosses both the hip and knee joints. So, you’ll find lots of articles mentioning squats as one of the recommended rectus femoris exercises.
That said, research potentially indicates something different: The rectus femoris gets very little activation during multi-joint exercises like squats. But it does get activation from single-joint exercises focusing on the knee joint. [1]
The takeaway here?
→ The best rectus femoris exercises are NOT squats.
→ And it’s better to focus on knee-movement exercises, such as the leg extension.
You can decide which side you land on in the debate, but for the sake of this article, all of the rectus femoris exercises included here are single-joint rectus femoris exercises, requiring you to extend your knee.
Let’s dive in.
Rectus Femoris Exercises #1: Straight Leg Raise
The straight leg raise is one of the simplest of all rectus femoris exercises. All you need is a yoga mat.
How to do it:
1) Start by lying flat on your back with both legs fully extended.
2) Bend your left leg, placing your left foot flat on the floor with your knee pointing upward.
3) While keeping your right leg straight, lift it until it’s in line with your hip, forming a 90-degree angle with your torso and the floor.
4) Hold this position briefly, then lower your leg back down and repeat the motion.
5) After completing the repetitions on one side, switch sides and repeat.
We’ve got lots of other leg raise variations to check out in the article below:
“Leg Raise: How to & 6 Variations for Rock-Hard Abs”
Rectus Femoris Exercises #2: Leg Extension
For some rectus femoris exercises, you’ll need to access a machine at a gym, and this is one of them. Look out for a leg extension machine at your local gym.
Or if you don't have access to a gym, you can also perform this exercise seated on a chair, using a resistance band around your leg.
How to do it:
1) Adjust the leg extension machine to a comfortable position, and set the desired weight.
2) Hook your feet behind the leg pad on the machine, so the pad hits the front of your lower shins.
3) Keep your feet flexed upward during the whole exercise.
4) Extend both knees up, straightening your legs at the top of the movement.
5) Next, lower the weight slowly back down.
6) Make sure you don’t use momentum to hoist the weight back up. Keep it nice and slow and controlled, so you really feel it in your quads.
Rectus Femoris Exercises #3: Single-Leg Leg Extension
The single-leg leg extension is one of my favorite rectus femoris exercises. I like adding this into my routine when I want to ensure that both of my legs are getting evenly trained.
This variation helps prevent strength discrepancies.
How to do it:
1) Instead of placing both feet under the leg pads, place just one leg in position–while the other can rest on the side.
2) Keeping your foot flexed, extend your knee up, straightening your leg at the top of the movement.
3) Next, lower the weight slowly back down.
4) Repeat for the desired amount of reps. Then, switch sides to get an even lift.
Rectus Femoris Exercises #4: Step-Ups
One of the most versatile rectus femoris exercises is the step-up. You can perform step-ups using just your body weight and still get a great quad workout. But a good way to level up this exercise is adding dumbbells in both hands or a single kettlebell to add to your body weight.
How to do it:
1) Set up a plyo box or another sturdy, elevated surface in front of you.
2) Grab some dumbbells of your selected weight, and hold them in both hands.
3) Stand facing the box with your feet about hip-width apart.
4) Begin with your less dominant leg. So, let’s say your left foot. Step up with your left foot onto the box.
5) Engage your core and draw your shoulder blades down and back, maintaining a slight forward lean with your torso.
6) Press through your left heel to lift your body upward until your right leg is fully extended behind you.
7) Next, bring your right knee up and out in front of you.
8) Pause briefly at the top before slowly lowering your right leg back to the ground in a controlled manner.
9) Repeat for your target number of repetitions. Then switch legs to ensure both sides get equal attention.
Learn more about how to perform set-ups like a pro in the article below:
“Step Ups for Glutes: 7 Pro Tips to Master Glute Activation”
Rectus Femoris Exercises #5: Reverse Nordic Curl
You may have heard of Nordic curls as one of the most intense exercises out there for your hamstrings.
And if you haven’t tried these yet, definitely check them out. They’re no joke, to say the least.
So, let’s talk about hamstrings for a second. Hamstrings are the antagonist muscles for your quads, meaning they perform the opposite function at the same moment. For example, when your quads contract to straighten out your leg in front of you, your hamstrings lengthen and relax.
So, it only makes sense that when we reverse the motion of the typical Nordic curl, we get one of the best rectus femoris exercises.
Just like step-ups, this is one of those rectus femoris exercises that you can gradually make more challenging for yourself by adding in weight. For the reverse Nordic curl, I recommend holding a kettlebell against your chest and crossing your arms around it.
How to do it:
1) On a yoga mat, kneel down with both knees shoulder-width apart.
2) Foot positioning: To make it an easier rectus femoris exercise, your toes can be on the ground with your heels up.
To make it a more difficult rectus femoris exercise, flatten out the tops of your feet on the floor.
3) Next, brace your core, and lean back with your torso as far as you can go. Be sure to lower yourself in a slow and controlled manner.
4) After this, raise your torso back up to the starting position, focusing on pushing your thighs and knees into the mat beneath you.
5) Repeat.
Rectus Femoris Function
Because of its connection to the hip, the rectus femoris is actually a hip flexor muscle, similar to the psoas and iliacus muscles.
This muscle gets utilized anytime you:
→ Kick
→ Walk
→ Run
→ Sprint
→ Jump
And it works to:
→ Extend the knee
→ Flex the hips
This is part of the reason why athletes very commonly suffer from quad strain due to the rectus femoris–specifically soccer players, rugby players, and football players.
Rectus Femoris Injuries
As we mentioned, quad strain is a very common injury, especially among athletes who play sports that involve kicking and running.
On top of this, a lot of people who emphasize running and walking in their workout routines while neglecting the quads tend to be more susceptible to quad strain. And that’s because running and walking develop your hamstrings and not so much your quads.
And out of all 4 of the quad muscles, the rectus femoris tends to get injured very frequently.
A more balanced leg workout routine, including hamstring exercises and rectus femoris exercises, will definitely help provide equally strengthened leg muscles that are less likely to become injured.
For our best hamstring exercises, check out the articles below:
“6 Best Hamstring Exercises to Bulk Up Those Legs”
“Lying Leg Curl: How to, Alternatives, vs. Seated”
For our best quad exercises, check out the articles below:
“Quad Focused Leg Press: How to Bias Your Quads”
“Heel Elevated Goblet Squat: How To Get Teardrop Quads”
You can also check out our article below on how varying your foot placement on the leg press can target different leg muscles:
“Leg Press Foot Placement...By Muscle: How to Target Specific Muscles”
Rectus Femoris Pain
When you injure your rectus femoris, you’ll most likely experience something called referred pain. All this means is that sometimes, when a muscle is injured, it sends pain to a different part of your body.
Most of the time, people with rectus femoris injuries experience deep knee pain–as you can see in the image below.
Rectus Femoris Massage
Before attempting rectus femoris stretches or rectus femoris exercises–I recommend starting with massage.
This will loosen up the muscle and help it to relax, so it can begin to feel pain relief.
The best way to accomplish this is through deep tissue massage. When you massage the muscle, pay attention to trigger points (AKA super tender spots throughout the muscle) and work them out.
I see lots of people try to use a massage ball on their leg muscles, but it can be a frustrating experience because the ball rolls away so easily.
We like the QL Claw massage device because:
→ It’s stable and won’t roll away.
→ It’s made from tough, therapeutic material that can actually get deep into the muscle.
→ it’s made for both the lower back AND hip flexor muscles like the rectus femoris.
Check out some recent reviews about the QL Claw below.
And be sure to click the button below to learn more about The Claw.
And lastly, here are some of our other best resources on hip flexor pain and how to fix it!
Articles
“Hip Flexor Pain - What It Is and How To Fix It”
“Can Hip Flexors Cause Back Pain? HECK YES: Here’s Why!”
Videos
Lower Back Pain From Sticky Hip Flexors? Try This
Hip Flexor Strengthening Exercises For Building Bulletproof Hips (For All Strength Levels)
Rectus Femoris Exercises FAQs
How do you strengthen the rectus femoris?
To strengthen the rectus femoris, you’ll need to add some rectus femoris exercises into your workout routine. Not all quad exercises are rectus femoris exercises. And the best rectus femoris exercises are ones that focus on just your knee joint moving–as opposed to your knees and your hips.
What are the symptoms of rectus femoris weakness?
Rectus femoris weakness can cause pain, swelling, or bruising in the hip, groin, and upper thigh area. Strengthening with rectus femoris exercises can help prevent this weakness.
How do you relieve rectus femoris pain?
The best way to relieve rectus femoris pain is to rest, ice, compress, and elevate your rectus femoris. After this, add in some rectus femoris stretches. Then, depending on how the stretches go, you can add in rectus femoris exercises.
How to loosen a tight rectus femoris?
To loosen a tight rectus femoris, you can try using a foam roller on the area. Follow this with rectus femoris stretches and rectus femoris exercises.
What causes rectus femoris tightness?
Rectus femoris tightness can come from overuse, ineffective warm-up routines, and sudden movement of the muscle.
How do you loosen super tight quads?
Got super tight quads? Use a foam roller on the area to loosen up the muscle. After this, you can add in stretching and rectus femoris exercises.
[1] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27032805/
[2] https://jeo-esska.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s40634-019-0193-5
[3] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0268003305000537
[4] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34743671/
[5 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31230110/
[6] https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00913847.1995.11947733