An exercise apparatus including a vertical support, an arm assembly having first and second arms for engaging the outside of the legs of a human and a coupling assembly for securing the arm assembly to the vertical support. The coupling assembly can include a slide assembly for permitting the arm assembly to move vertically on the support element between an upper position and a lower position as the human moves downwardly relative to the vertical support and a pivot assembly for permitting the first and second arms to move between a contracted position and an extended position as the legs are pivoted away from each other. The first and second arms can be urged towards the contracted position. Methods for operating the exercise apparatus are provided.