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Hamstring Stretches
~ Prevent Tightness & Injury ~
The hamstring muscle is so prone to tears and injury. Hamstring stretches will help to lengthen your hamstring muscle and prevent these
problems.
A lot of people today suffer from having tight hamstrings. This can lead to back pain later in life if you're not already suffering from it.
It can also pull your pelvis out of it's normal position which can cause problems with your posture.
Why not avoid all these issues and loosen up those hamstring muscles?!
Hamstring stretches are beneficial to your health. It's
important for your hips, back and knees...so keep your hamstrings flexible!
Stretching not only helps to lengthen your muscles and prevent injuries, it also helps to BUILD more muscle.
So, what's considered a "normal range of motion" for the hamstring muscle? Give yourself the lying hamstring assessment:
- Lay flat on your back with your feet straight.
- Bring one leg up as high as you can (comfortably) while keeping it straight.
- Normal range of motion has a measurement of 90°. Meaning you can bring your leg straight up pointing to the ceiling.
Picture your body making an upside down "T" shape.
Due to our jobs and todays technology, we're usually sitting. This keeps our legs bent which keeps the hamstring muscle "shortened". So
instead of having the normal range of motion at 90°, most people's range of motion is closer to 45° - 60° (this would be about halfway
from the floor and the ceiling, your leg pointing diagonally instead of straight up).
Now, if you can go further than the 90°, and bring your leg closer to your head while your leg is straight, then your definitely flexible.
This is a good thing!
Hamstring Stretches:
Don't bounce during these stretches, just hold the position. You're stretching to relax
your muscles, not to contract them by bouncing.
Standing Hamstring Stretch
- Stand in front of some stairs or use a chair.
- If you're using stairs, put one foot on about the 3rd, 4th or 5th step (depending on your height and what's comfortable for you).
- Place your foot flat against the back of the step you're using (or against the back of the chair).
- Don't lock your knee on the other leg.
- Lean forward as far as you can and feel the stretch from your hamstring all the way down to your calves.
- Hold for 15-20 seconds.
- Repeat on the other side.
Hang Over Stretch
- Stand straight up.
- Gently bend at the hip joint and slightly bend your knees (bend a little more if it feels to tight until you're able to straighten
a little more).
- Let your arms hang down in front of you or touch the floor if you can.
- Hold for 15-20 seconds then roll your body up to the starting position
Straight Leg Wall Stretch
- Lay on your back at the end of a wall.
- Keep one leg straight lining the wall while the other leg is flat up against the wall creating a 90° angle.
- Try to bring your butt as close to the wall as possible.
- Hold for 20-30 seconds and repeat on the other side.
Seated Hamstring Stretch
- Sit on the floor with legs straight in front of you.
- Keep your legs straight with a slight bend in your knees. Bending from your waist, reach for your toes. Grab your toes if you can, if not
then just reach as far forward as you can comfortably.
- Hold the position for 15-20 seconds.
- Bring your left foot in while keeping your right leg straight.
- Again, reach for your toes and hold the position for 15-20 seconds, then repeat on the other side.
Return from Hamstring Stretches to Leg Stretches
Return from Hamstring Stretches to Kick Into Fitness home page
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