I tried this one simple stretch and it’s completely changed the way I recover post-workout

I don’t strength train consistently due to an energy-limiting illness, and when I do, I tend to experience lingering muscle soreness for up to a week afterwards.

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I try to counteract this with a good five minutes of stretching after a weightlifting session, but most of my favorite stretches (like half-pigeon, lateral lunge and forward fold) target the hips, calves and hamstrings, but don’t fully stretch the area I focus on most: my butt.

Thankfully, the figure-four is a glute-stretching masterclass, and I was amazed at how much of a difference it made to my post-workout recovery. You can do it seated, but I chose to do a lying version of the stretch.

Time: 30secs to one minute each side

• Lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor.
• Cross your right ankle over your left leg, just above the knee, flexing your right foot.
• Slowly bring your left knee toward your chest, lifting the left foot off the floor and clasping your hands around the back of your left thigh.
• Pull your left knee toward your chest, pausing when you feel a stretch in your right glute and hip.

I did the stretch after a lower-body workout, and the two mornings following my exercise session. Here’s what I found.

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By pressing down on the knee of the targeted side, I felt even more of a release in my glutes.

I tend to move progressively deeper into stretches after about 30 seconds, so this was a helpful way for me to up the intensity and make it even more satisfying.

I did this very gently, to avoid over-stretching, feeling a deep release in my pelvis and glute muscles.

I do a lot of hip stretches, as this is a problem area for me, and most of these stretches also target muscles around the pelvis.

However, the figure four stretch targets the glutes directly, which—after a squatting session—is where I need a little extra attention.

I usually struggle with stairs and hills for four to five days after a glute workout, but this time I was back to normal and ready to train again after two days.

I tend to wake up with stiff muscles, and this is exacerbated when I do strength training.

But practicing the figure four stretch first thing helped with this habitual stiffness, which meant that I could start my morning with a little more ease and get down the stairs to breakfast without hobbling.