Stop Stretching Your Hamstring!
Ok, so maybe hamstring stretching is not all that bad. Don’t stop completely, but please stretch more than just your hamstring.
But when my hamstring feels tight I need to stretch it out so it lengthens and feels better…. right?
WRONG!
Your hamstring feels tight because its over stretched already!
Most people spend way too much time sitting. They sit to eat, to drive to work, they sit at their job almost all day, they sit to drive home, they sit to eat again, they sit to watch TV for hours at night. They even sit when they go through the Cybex circuit at the gym or ride the recumbent bike.
What does all this sitting to do us?
For one it shortens our hip flexors. Hip flexors are the muscles right in front of your hip at the top of your leg. When they are shortened, they pull the top of the pelvis forward. This is called anterior pelvic tilt. When your pelvis tilts forward it pulls on the muscles on the back of the leg which just happen to be your hamstrings. Tada!
So what do we do?
Step 1: Stretch your hip flexors. Here’s how
Get into a lunge position, lower your self as low as you can. Try to straighten out your back leg as much as possible. Then push down through your hips. You should feel a nice stretch in the front of your hip. It won’t be comfortable, but it’s beneficial. To increase the intensity of the stretch raise the hand that on the same side as your back leg and over your head and lean to the side of the leg that is forward. Perform this stretch for 30 seconds per side 2-3 times a day.
Step 2: Strengthen your hamstring
The best way to do this is to use resistance training. Start lifting weights. Focus of exercises that use the hamstrings and glutes to extend the hip. Lifts like deadlifts, good morning, back extensions, and certain lunge variations.
Step 3: Minimize sitting time.
This should be a no brainer. Every 30 minutes or hour get up from your desk and walk to the drinking fountain. Stand when you eat, take a walk instead of sitting on the couch watching TV. This will help from always being locked into that shortened hip flexor position.
Step 4: Minimize high heels
This is for the ladies (hopefully). Wearing high heels puts you into an anterior pelvic tilt. Plus it shorten your achilles tendon and hyper-extends your lumbar spine. All these factors can lead to disaster.
The key point is not to treat symptoms as problems. If something hurts it try to understand why it hurts. That will be your best bet to finding a real solution and not a temporary band-aid.
Take care,
Anthony
