RIRLift app icon RIRLift

Exercises

Dynamic stretches for legs, grouped by the part of the leg they move

Published October 24, 2026

The best dynamic stretches for legs are leg swings and walkouts for the hamstrings, cardio lunges and high knees for the quads and hip flexors, cossack squats and standing side leg raises for the inner and outer hips, and ankle circles for the ankles and calves. Do 8 to 10 reps of each, letting the range grow a little every rep, after a minute or two of skipping or butt kicks. The whole routine takes 6 to 8 minutes and works before running, sports or leg day.

  1. Leg Swings Hamstrings, Glutes
  2. Walkout Abs, Shoulders, Chest
  3. Cardio Lunge Quads, Glutes
  4. High Knees Quads
  5. Cossack Squat Quads, Adductors
  6. Standing Side Leg Raise Abductors
  7. Ankle Circles Calves

Get moving first

Dynamic stretches go further when your muscles are already a little warm. A minute of skipping in place and a minute of butt kicks are enough, and the butt kicks double as a stretch for the front of the thigh.

Get moving: rhythm

Skipping in Place

Calves, Quads, Hamstrings

Light skips raise your heart rate and get your calves bouncing, a quick start before any stretch.

How to do it

  1. Stand tall with your fists beside your hips as if holding rope handles.
  2. Circle your hands and bounce lightly from one foot to the other, as if skipping over a turning rope.
  3. Keep the bounces low and springy for the whole interval.

Cues

  • Bounce off the balls of your feet
  • Hands circle, elbows close
  • Relaxed shoulders

Common mistakes

  • Stomping on the heels: stay on the front of your feet.
  • Hopping high: a small bounce clears an imaginary rope.

Swap for: Jumping Jack, Jump Rope

Build a session with Skipping in Place

Get moving and stretch the quads

Butt Kicks

Hamstrings

Every kick folds the knee fully, so the front of the thigh lengthens while you warm up.

How to do it

  1. Jog in place at an easy pace.
  2. Bring your heels up toward your glutes with each step.
  3. Speed up a little for the last 20 seconds of the minute.

Cues

  • Heels up, knees down
  • Light steps

Common mistakes

  • Bending forward at the waist: keep the torso tall.

Swap for: High Knees, Bodyweight Lying Leg Curl

Build a session with Butt Kicks

Dynamic stretches for the hamstrings

Leg swings take the hamstring to a stretch and let it go on every rep, and walkouts load it from a fold at the hips. Both work better than a held toe touch before activity.

Hamstrings and hip flexors

Leg Swings

Hamstrings, Glutes

A forward swing stretches the hamstring and a backward swing stretches the front of the hip, so one move covers both.

How to do it

  1. Stand side-on to a wall with one hand on it.
  2. Swing the outside leg forward and back, keeping it nearly straight.
  3. Start low, grow the swing each time, and do 10 per leg.

Cues

  • Pendulum, not a kick
  • Hips face forward

Common mistakes

  • Kicking up hard on the first swing: build the height gradually.

Swap for: Walkout, Standing Side Leg Raise

Build a session with Leg Swings

Hamstrings and calves

Walkout

Abs, Shoulders, Chest

Walking your hands out from a fold stretches the hamstrings and calves, then the plank wakes up your trunk.

How to do it

  1. Fold forward from the hips and set your hands down just ahead of your feet, with knees bent if needed.
  2. Walk your hands out to a high plank.
  3. Walk back in, roll up to standing, and do 5.

Cues

  • Fold from the hips
  • Hold the plank for one breath

Common mistakes

  • Rounding over with locked knees: soften the knees and let the hips lead.

Swap for: Leg Swings, Plank to Push-Up

Build a session with Walkout

Dynamic stretches for the quads and hip flexors

A lunge stretches the front of the back hip each time you sink, and high knees take the opposite hip into a deep bend. Alternate the two and the front of both hips is covered.

Quads and hip flexors

Cardio Lunge

Quads, Glutes

Moving in and out of a lunge stretches the front of the back hip, and the rhythm keeps you warm.

How to do it

  1. Stand tall and step one foot back into a lunge.
  2. Sink until the back knee hovers over the floor and you feel the front of that hip stretch.
  3. Come back up and switch legs, 8 per leg.

Cues

  • Tuck the hips slightly
  • Sink straight down

Common mistakes

  • Leaning forward over the front knee: stay upright to feel the hip stretch.

Swap for: Dumbbell Reverse Lunge, Band Reverse Lunge

Build a session with Cardio Lunge

Hip flexors and glutes

High Knees

Quads

Drawing each knee up stretches the glute of that leg and wakes the hip flexor, and the pace raises your heart rate.

How to do it

  1. Stand tall and march or jog in place.
  2. Pull one knee up to hip height while swinging the other arm.
  3. Switch quickly for 30 to 60 seconds.

Cues

  • Stay tall
  • Quick switches

Common mistakes

  • Leaning back: keep your shoulders over your hips.

Swap for: Skipping in Place, Butt Kicks

Build a session with High Knees

Dynamic stretches for the inner and outer hips

Cossack squats open the inner thighs, and side leg raises swing the hip out to the side. They reach the sideways range that running and squatting rarely use.

Inner thighs and hips

Cossack Squat

Quads, Adductors

Sinking into one side with the other leg straight opens the inner thigh more than any forward lunge.

How to do it

  1. Take a very wide stance with your toes turned slightly out.
  2. Bend one knee and sit into that hip while the other leg straightens.
  3. Press back up through the middle and go to the other side, 6 per side.

Cues

  • Bent-leg heel down
  • Toes of the straight leg up

Common mistakes

  • Folding the chest down to the knee: keep the chest up.

Swap for: Dumbbell Lateral Lunge, Gorilla Walk

Build a session with Cossack Squat

Outer hips

Standing Side Leg Raise

Abductors

Raising the leg sideways moves the hip in the plane running and squatting rarely reach.

How to do it

  1. Stand tall with one hand on a wall.
  2. Raise the free leg sideways, keeping the toes forward.
  3. Lower slowly and do 10 per leg.

Cues

  • Tall body
  • Slow lower

Common mistakes

  • Leaning the body away from the leg: keep the shoulders level.

Swap for: Fire Hydrant, Leg Swings

Build a session with Standing Side Leg Raise

Ankles and calves

Ankle circles roll the joint through its full range, which helps the knee travel forward in a squat and the foot push off in a stride.

Ankles and calves

Ankle Circles

Calves

Big ankle circles loosen the joint and the calf before you squat, run or jump.

How to do it

  1. Stand on one leg holding a wall, or sit with one foot off the floor.
  2. Trace slow circles with your toes, as large as you can.
  3. Do 10 each way, then change feet.

Cues

  • Biggest circle you can make
  • Keep the knee still

Common mistakes

  • Moving the whole leg: only the ankle turns.

Swap for: Single-Leg Calf Raise, Skipping in Place

Build a session with Ankle Circles

Before a lifting session

On leg day, finish the stretches with lighter sets of your first lift. Here that is a front squat, which needs open hips and ankles more than most lifts. Keep long static holds for after the workout.

First lift on leg day

Front Squat

Quads, Glutes, Adductors

The front squat keeps your torso upright, so it asks the most from your ankles and hips. Three lighter sets after the stretches let you find depth with the bar in front.

How to do it

  1. Rest the bar on the front of your shoulders with your elbows high, fingertips under the bar.
  2. Squat straight down between your knees, keeping your elbows up.
  3. Stand up and repeat, building from the empty bar across your lighter sets.

Cues

  • Elbows up
  • Upright torso

Common mistakes

  • Letting the elbows drop and the bar roll forward: lift the elbows before you stand.

Swap for: Goblet Squat, Barbell Back Squat

Build a session with Front Squat

Put them together: example sessions

Each session below picks from the exercises above for one situation, with the sets, reps, rest and RIR filled in. Open one in the session builder to change a pick, price it from a recent set, and add it to RIRLift.

Session 1

Before a run

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts3× a week
  • Working sets21 a week
  • Per workout~10 min
  • EquipmentBodyweight

You are about to run and want the hips and ankles moving before the first mile.

Skipping and butt kicks warm you up, and the stretches follow in the order your legs swing when you run: front to back, then sideways, then ankles. No lifting here; the run starts right after.

Pre-run
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Skipping in PlaceSeconds. 1 × 60 4 0 s
Butt KicksSeconds. 1 × 60 4 0 s
Leg SwingsPer leg. 1 × 10 4 0 s
Cardio LungePer leg. 1 × 8 4 0 s
High KneesSeconds. 1 × 30 4 0 s
Standing Side Leg RaisePer leg. 1 × 10 4 0 s
Ankle CirclesEach way, per foot. 1 × 10 4 0 s
How to run it
Do one round in order without rest, then start the run at an easy pace for the first few minutes.
How to progress
As the routine gets familiar, do the swings and lunges a little faster.
Open in the session builder

Session 2

Before front squats

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts1× a week
  • Working sets12 a week
  • Per workout~25 min
  • EquipmentBarbells

Your leg day opens with front squats, and your ankles and hips limit how deep you get.

Cossack squats and ankle circles get two sets because front squat depth depends on them. The front squat gets three lighter sets and runs at 2 reps in reserve so your positions hold all session.

Front squat day
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Skipping in PlaceSeconds. 2 × 60 4 0 s
Walkout 1 × 5 4 0 s
Cossack SquatPer side. 2 × 6 4 0 s
Ankle CirclesEach way, per foot. 2 × 10 4 0 s
Cardio LungePer leg. 1 × 6 4 15 s
Front Squat3 warm-up sets first 4 × 4–6 2 3 min
How to run it
Do the warm-up blocks, then go to the rack and build up to your working weight.
How to progress
Once you reach depth easily, cut the cossack squats to one set.
Open in the session builder

Session 3

Five minutes a day

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts5× a week
  • Working sets20 a week
  • Per workout~10 min
  • EquipmentBodyweight

You sit most of the day and want a short leg routine to keep the hips and hamstrings moving.

No cardio block and no lift, just the four stretches that cover the most range. Doing it often matters more than doing it long.

Daily legs
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Walkout 1 × 5 4 0 s
Leg SwingsPer leg. 1 × 10 4 0 s
Cossack SquatPer side. 1 × 6 4 0 s
Standing Side Leg RaisePer leg. 1 × 10 4 0 s
How to run it
Do it once a day, morning or after work, as one slow round.
How to progress
Add a second round on days you feel stiff.
Open in the session builder

Make it fit you

Questions

What are 10 examples of dynamic stretches for legs?

Leg swings, walkouts, lunges, high knees, butt kicks, cossack squats, side leg raises, ankle circles, skips and lateral lunges.

What do dynamic stretches do?

They move your joints through a growing range while your muscles work, so you warm up and loosen up at the same time.

Are dynamic stretches better than static stretches before exercise?

Before training, yes, for most people. Moving stretches keep you warm and ready to move fast; long holds fit better after the session.

What are the downsides of dynamic stretching?

Swinging too hard too early can feel uncomfortable. Start small and let the range grow over the reps.

What are good dynamic stretches for leg day mobility?

Cossack squats, walkouts and ankle circles, followed by lighter sets of your first lift. That gets the hips, hamstrings and ankles moving before you load them.

How long should I do dynamic stretches?

Six to eight minutes covers all the main leg areas. Ten reps per move per side is plenty.