Hamstring stretch
Muscles worked : Hamstrings
How to do it
- Rest one heel on a stable support (a step, a low chair), leg straight.
- Keep the other leg slightly bent, foot firmly planted.
- Hinge your torso forward from the hips, back flat, until you feel tension at the back of the thigh.
- Hold the position steadily, breathing calmly.
Common mistakes
- Rounding the back to reach further instead of hinging from the hips.
- Bouncing in the stretch instead of holding a steady position.
- Fully locking the knee of the straight leg.
Where you should feel it
The tension should be felt along the whole back of the thigh, never in the knee or lower back. Sharp pain rather than tension signals to stop and reduce the range.
Range of motion
Hinge forward until you feel a clear but tolerable tension, never pain. The comfortable range naturally increases from one session to the next.
Tempo and breathing
No execution rhythm: the position is held still. Breathe slowly and deeply for the whole hold.
What works, precisely
The hamstrings, which flex the knee and extend the hip, are put under passive tension by hip flexion combined with knee extension. No active muscle contraction is sought here, only progressive release under tension.
Movement mechanics
Passive tensioning of the hamstrings through simultaneous hip flexion and knee extension, in the sagittal plane, with no load and no repeated movement.
Benefits
- Maintains flexibility at the back of the thigh, often shortened by prolonged sitting.
- Eases the range of hip-flexion movements (lunges, deep squats) done elsewhere in the session.
- Can be done anywhere with a simple step or ledge as support.
Precautions
Never force past a tolerable tension, and avoid this stretch cold before an intense effort: it fits better at the end of a session or away from the effort.