Hamstring Stretch

[Martin Levac]

In a thread on Crossfit forums, Mark Rippetoe writes about his "Analysis of the Deadlift". Anyway, in that thread, somebody asks about a hamstring stretch exercise. So Mark goes on and explains.

Squat, put fingertips under toes, make back as straight as possible, push buttocks as high as it will go, keep position for 30 seconds. Do this 3 times a week. Expect major improvement in hamstring flexibility in about 3 weeks time.

The explanation is clear enough to me and I can do it easily. Just for fun, I searched for hamstring stretch on Google and Youtube. I couldn't find a single demonstration of Marks' method anywhere. Apparently, we don't know how to stretch our hamstrings.

Apparently, the most popular hamstring method is this. Stand up, lock knees, bend at the waist, reach down with the hands, keep position for a time.

I don't like that method. It looks like a spine erector stretch exercise more than anything. A sort of reverse hyper extension whatforwhere. Before the hamstrings can be stretched like this, the spine erectors must be stretched and/or flexed and/or something's gotta give. It seems to me that spine erectors are not meant to flex like other muscles that control the elbow or the knee for example. Instead, I prefer to think of the spine erectors as muscles intended to stabilize the spine. After all, it's much easier to transmit force through the spine if it's straight. It's also much easier and safer to maintain a straight spine through load than to start bent and straighten it under load. Something we should have learned from the deadlift.


Antagonist muscle.

The quadriceps are much more appropriate to stretch the hamstrings. They are antagonists, they are much stronger than any other muscle available for that job, the back remains straight as the quads work. We can apply much more force this way because we don't need to stretch the spine erectors (something that can be very painful if anything). It's all good to me. I can't see why this method is not more popular than those inefficient methods. Perhaps we prefer to make it more difficult or something.

Thanks for reading.

 

[imported_drpierredebs]

this will strecth the S§$T out of your hams

http://www.google.com/search?....e=UTF-8

 

[QuantumPositron]

The hamstrings are responsible for hip extension (romanian deadlift, SLDL, downward facing dog, Rippetoe's stretch), and knee flexion.

Do a SLDL or Romanian Deadlift with a broom handle. Your spinal erectors will contract isometrically but they will not stretch. Do not flex or "bend" your spine. Rotate at the hip, not at the spine. When my then-girlfriend showed me this I had to figure out how to do it without flexing my spine. Like most people, I had never rotated at the hip exclusively and was unable to articulate the joint at first.

People of developed nations suffer from hamstring inflexibility and probably a strength imbalance because we don't squat down to sit and we don't bend or reach over to pick things up.

The yoga pose that drpierredebs linked to is, as far the hamstrings are concerned, the same as doing a SLDL or Romanian deadlift.

I have been practicing with a broom in my living room. I put it down, stand up, then bend as much at the hips as I can before I flex my spine to reach all the way down, comfortably and with balance, pick up the broom and stand back up. I will vary the width of my stance and I will also place the broom on one side of my body and pick it up with the hand of the opposite side, bending over of course.

If you can lay down on your side and curl into a ball without feeling a stretch then your spinal erectors are flexible. Curl into a ball again while laying on your side and extend your knees. Feel it? When you flex your spine to bend over and pick something up its exactly the same as curling into a ball. Its likely not the spinal erectors that are stretching. Its the hamstrings and the fascia.

My purpose in doing this is primarily to increase my range of motion with Romanian Deadlifts. As of now I cannot bend over very far. It has other benefits as well.

 

[Martin Levac]

Regardless of how the bend is coached, it will always produce a bend at the waist. It will always have the spinal erectors stretch before the hamstrings. Only after subsequent coaching can it be done properly. Proof is everywhere we look at how people stretch the hamstrings right now. On the other hand, the squat/fingertip-toe/straight back/butt-up method will always produce the correct hamstring stretch from the start with no ambiguity whatsoever and especially without stretching the spinal erectors at any time.

So we have a problem with hamstring flexibility because we don't squat anymore. If that is so, then the solution is obvious. Let's squat and be done with it. The problem is that we stand straight, lock knees and bend over. If my problem is that I shoot myself in the foot, the solution is certainly not to continue to shoot myself in the foot. All the "how to stretch the hamstrings" instructions say to stand straight, lock knees and bend over. I think it's time to re-write the instructions.

The purpose of stretching the hamstrings is to get rid of the nagging lower back pain. It would be stupid to stress the lower back to do that. Much better to use the back as it's meant to be used. A lever to transmit force from the legs to the arms. And if we analyze the method, we will see that the back is used as a lever to transmit force from the legs to the arms. But since we hold the toes with our fingertips, the hamstrings stretch instead.

I'm glad I found that Rippetoe method.

 

[Bulldog]

When I read Mark Rippetoe's method for stretching the hamstirngs I gave it a try. And I was amazed at how much better a stretch I got in my hamstrings than the bend over method. And I had no strain on my lower back. I've been stretching them the way Mark describes ever since!