Hello, I'm a big fan of isometric stretching. It's worked wonders for my adductor flexibility. However, I'm having a hard time finding stretches that work well for my hamstrings. It seems most stretches don't work quite right for me. I don't know if this is because I'm doing them wrong or what. Generally, I have a very hard time feeling a stretch in my hamstrings; I'll either get a stretch behind my knees, or I'll simply reach a point where I can not go any farther, without really feeling a stretch anywhere. Even stretches that seem to work relaxively don't really work isometrically. Anyone have any suggestions for good hamstring stretches that lend themselves well to isometric application? Thanks.
raise your leg and put ur foot straight out in front of you on an elevated object, like a table, and lean foward and touch your toes. like this if you dont feel a strech, find a higher object.
That stretch worked well for a while, but now that I can get my foot to about head height with both legs straight I find that it's a lot of trouble to get my leg up and I tend to feel it more in the hip flexor of my standing leg as well. Thanks microhard, I'll check out the elasticsteel forums.
I dunno. I just can't seem to find any hamstring stretches that I can actually feel in my hamstrings. Most of the time I either feel them behind my knees or in my lower back. I can palm the floor with my knees locked and everything, but I can't even sit upright with my back straight. My back is reasonably flexible, but my hamstrings are really inflexible. My sidesplits are getting close (maybe 5 inches off the ground at best) but my frontsplits haven't really progressed. Ever. It's really annoying. Help?
you're not stretching the hamstrings if you feel it in your back or behind the knee. try lying on your back and stick one leg straight in the air and the other leg straight out on the ground. wrap a towel around the ankle and pull the vertical leg towards your chest. to make the stretch isometric just resist against the pull of the towel. simple. by lying on the floor you will ensure your lumbar is in the corretc position and does not get involved in the stretch. this is why the toe touch is a bad stretch for hamstrings as it often just overstretches the lower back. being able to touch your toes does not automaitcally mean you have good hamstring flexibility.
That's what I was saying. I can touch my palms to the ground but my hamstrings are about as inflexible as is possible. I'll try the towel stretch though, thanks. One question though: should I flex or point my feet? I've heard plenty of people say to flex and plenty of people say to point, so I'm a bit confused about this. Whenever I flex my feet when trying to stretch my hamstrings, I seem to feel it behind my knee.
