Reclined Butterfly

Muscles worked by the Reclined Butterfly

Primary

AdductorsHip Adductors

Secondary

GlutesGluteus MaximusHip FlexorsHip Flexor Muscles

Also called: hip adductors, inner thigh, adductor muscles, groin.

Equipment

No equipment — this is a bodyweight exercise.

How to do the Reclined Butterfly

1. Lie on your back with your knees bent and the soles of your feet flat on the floor.
2. Bring the soles of your feet together and let both knees fall out to the sides.
3. Rest your arms on the floor with your palms up, or place your hands on your belly.
4. Keep your lower back resting on the floor and your shoulders relaxed.
5. Breathe slowly and let your knees sink toward the floor for the planned time.
6. Bring your knees together with your hands to finish.

Form tips

• Do not push the knees down with your hands; let gravity do the work so the inner thighs relax.
• Slide your feet further from the hips to ease the stretch, or closer to deepen it.
• Put a pillow or folded blanket under each knee if the stretch feels too strong.

At a glance

Reclined Butterfly in German & Spanish

Descriptions, instructions and tips ship in all three languages in the JSON.

Related exercises

• Banded Adductor Stretch
• Banded Standing Hip Adduction
• Bench Adductor Stretch
• Butterfly Stretch
• Frog Stretch
• Garland Pose
• Happy Baby Pose
• Hip Adduction

Exercise data (JSON)

The record below is exactly what exercises.json ships for this exercise — names, descriptions, instructions and tips in English, German and Spanish.

{
  "id": "reclined-butterfly",
  "name_en": "Reclined Butterfly",
  "name_de": "Liegende Schmetterlings-Dehnung",
  "name_es": "Estiramiento de Mariposa Reclinado",
  "description_en": "A restful version of the butterfly stretch: lying back with the soles of your feet together and your knees dropped out to the sides, you open the inner thighs and hips under gravity. Resting your back and arms on the floor lets the legs relax into the stretch.",
  "description_de": "Eine entspannte Variante der Schmetterlings-Dehnung: Du liegst zurückgelehnt, die Fußsohlen aneinander und die Knie zur Seite fallen gelassen, und öffnest Oberschenkelinnenseiten und Hüfte unter der Schwerkraft. Dass Rücken und Arme auf dem Boden ruhen, lässt die Beine in die Dehnung hinein entspannen.",
  "description_es": "Una versión relajada del estiramiento de mariposa: tumbado boca arriba con las plantas de los pies juntas y las rodillas caídas hacia los lados, abres la cara interna de los muslos y las caderas por efecto de la gravedad. Apoyar la espalda y los brazos en el suelo permite que las piernas se relajen en el estiramiento.",
  "category": "stretching",
  "force_type": "static",
  "mechanic": "isolation",
  "difficulty": "beginner",
  "body_part": "upper_legs",
  "primary_muscles": [
    "adductors"
  ],
  "secondary_muscles": [
    "gluteus_maximus",
    "hip_flexors"
  ],
  "goals": [
    "mobility"
  ],
  "tags": [
    "mobility",
    "stretching"
  ],
  "is_unilateral": false,
  "is_bodyweight": true,
  "instructions_en": [
    "Lie on your back with your knees bent and the soles of your feet flat on the floor.",
    "Bring the soles of your feet together and let both knees fall out to the sides.",
    "Rest your arms on the floor with your palms up, or place your hands on your belly.",
    "Keep your lower back resting on the floor and your shoulders relaxed.",
    "Breathe slowly and let your knees sink toward the floor for the planned time.",
    "Bring your knees together with your hands to finish."
  ],
  "instructions_de": [
    "Lege dich auf den Rücken, die Knie gebeugt und die Fußsohlen flach auf dem Boden.",
    "Bringe die Fußsohlen zusammen und lass beide Knie zur Seite fallen.",
    "Lege die Arme mit den Handflächen nach oben auf den Boden oder die Hände auf den Bauch.",
    "Lass den unteren Rücken auf dem Boden ruhen und die Schultern entspannt.",
    "Atme langsam und lass die Knie für die geplante Zeit Richtung Boden sinken.",
    "Bringe die Knie mit den Händen zusammen, um zu beenden."
  ],
  "instructions_es": [
    "Túmbate boca arriba con las rodillas flexionadas y las plantas de los pies apoyadas en el suelo.",
    "Junta las plantas de los pies y deja que ambas rodillas caigan hacia los lados.",
    "Apoya los brazos en el suelo con las palmas hacia arriba, o coloca las manos sobre el vientre.",
    "Mantén la zona lumbar apoyada en el suelo y los hombros relajados.",
    "Respira despacio y deja que las rodillas se hundan hacia el suelo durante el tiempo previsto.",
    "Junta las rodillas con las manos para terminar."
  ],
  "tips_en": [
    "Do not push the knees down with your hands; let gravity do the work so the inner thighs relax.",
    "Slide your feet further from the hips to ease the stretch, or closer to deepen it.",
    "Put a pillow or folded blanket under each knee if the stretch feels too strong."
  ],
  "tips_de": [
    "Drücke die Knie nicht mit den Händen nach unten; lass die Schwerkraft arbeiten, damit sich die Oberschenkelinnenseiten entspannen.",
    "Schiebe die Füße weiter von der Hüfte weg, um die Dehnung abzuschwächen, oder näher heran, um sie zu vertiefen.",
    "Lege ein Kissen oder eine gefaltete Decke unter jedes Knie, wenn sich die Dehnung zu stark anfühlt."
  ],
  "tips_es": [
    "No empujes las rodillas hacia abajo con las manos; deja que la gravedad haga el trabajo para que la cara interna de los muslos se relaje.",
    "Aleja los pies de las caderas para suavizar el estiramiento, o acércalos para profundizarlo.",
    "Coloca una almohada o una manta doblada bajo cada rodilla si el estiramiento resulta demasiado intenso."
  ],
  "met": 5.0,
  "images": {
    "flat": {
      "main": "images/flat/reclined-butterfly-main.webp"
    }
  }
}

Fetch just this exercise

const { exercises } = await fetch(
  "https://exercise-dataset.com/exercises.json"
).then(r => r.json());
const ex = exercises.find(e => e.id === "reclined-butterfly");

Free for personal and commercial in-app use with attribution (“Exercise data by RepDB”) — see the license and ready-made attribution snippets. Redistributing the data as a dataset or API is not permitted.