Your hamstring stretch probably sucks too.

[PirateJon]

I know because I have done http://www.exrx.net/Stretches/Hamstrings/Seated.html forever, and I got royally bitched out by my PT yesterday for it.

The problem that I had - and that the chick in the link has - is that I was rounding my lower back which removes the lower back curve (lordosis) and that puts extra stress on your lower spine. This is especially bad if you already have low back issues.

The solution is to sit down, exaggerate the lordosis, get your legs out flat in front of you and then tilt forward from the pelvis. Since the hammy attaches to pelvis, this ends up a much more effective way to stretch. I could feel the tightness immediately.

Same deal with standing hammy streches - keep the low back curved.

[Emevas]

Isn't it just a good rule of thumb in general to always keep the natural arch of your back in all activity and not let it round?

[Lily]

No, my stretch puts no strain on my lower back (I've never suffered a single day of back pain).

What sort of person keeps doing a stretch that doesn't feel 'good'? Even if you can't get down that far, stretches (as with all exercises) need to be done with proper form.

Pirate Jon, do you use the simple technique of breathing in when you start at the top of your stretch and breathing out slowly as you move into the actual stretch? I find this helps maintain good form as well.

[RunningDog]

[Lily]

You forgot the big stomach on your stick drawing.

[RunningDog]

Stick figures don't have bellies. IDIOTA!!!!!!!!!!!!111ONE!!!!11

[PirateJon]

Stick figures don't have bellies. IDIOTA!!!!!!!!!!!!111ONE!!!!11

mine should.

Isn't it just a good rule of thumb in general to always keep the natural arch of your back in all activity and not let it round?

very true, but when you do the typical hamstring strech, you lose that arch. This...



is bad for your back. moreso if you already have back problems.

[Teh El Macho]

Hmmm, if a person does not have a back problem, that curvature in the lower back should not cause a problem. Curvature on the lower back is not that bad on itself. It is bad when you apply load under that curvature - and this is where such a stretch can cause a problem.

See, a lot of people grab their feet and pull in an attempt to stretch the hammies. But instead of pulling with their arms and lats (which can facilitate bending at the hip), they pull with the erector spinae. Pulling with the erector spinae + curved lower back == bad mojo.

OTH, if the person has very flexible hips and hamstrings, he/she can reach the hands over the feet and stretch the hams with little pressure to the lower back, even when curved (again, provided the aforementioned person does not have lower back problems.)

[Kintanon]

Hah! Kung Fu FTW! One of the things I learned in my KF class was to stretch with my back straight/curved naturally, not bent forward.

[Lily]

As TEM said, the trick is to extend your hands straight above your head and start the stretch through the arms, lats, waist, hips so that the body retains the correct alignment. And for the record, I can fold myself up without any pressure to the lower back and without a warm up.

PirateJon - hope you start stretching smart, its good that you found out now (better late than never) and look after that lower back.

P.S. - RunningDog/Idiot, I was right about the belly!

[PirateJon]

Well I learned that strech from my football coach ("bend over and PUSH!") and it was never corrected. I guess the partner streches we did where you push down on your partners rounded upper back are just awful.


FYI - I found out about this becasue my PT recommended the "McKenzie Method" and we're doing that. Good intro here:
http://forum.dragondoor.com/training/message/178062

[spirez]

I find doing them one leg at a time is better anyway.

[tyciol]

Isn't it better to do them standing, or maybe using a tilted bench? I've tried to anteriorly pelvic tilt sitting on the ground and while it is a better way to target the hamstrings, there's not really any weight on it. It'd be nice if we had a weighted pulley to help bring us forward.

I bet those decline benches would be good when you'd doing the thing lying on your back pulling the leg up because lying flat you need to get past 90 degrees of flexion before the leg even starts to help the stretch with its own weight. On a decline bench this would happen earlier.

Upside down would probably be best but it'd be too stressful to anchor, I think that's why the standing stretch could be better for those of us starting out. We can always put one leg in front of elevate it to take some weight off the increasedly stretched leg and put it into further hip flexion.

[Sweet Mercury]

I stretched with a rounded back like that my whole life until my first yoga class. It's only natural, when you think about it. In school when they did PE test and measured flexibility, they can't easily measure the angle you can flex to, but they can measure how far your hands move. By rounding the back, you push the fingers a little further towards/past the toes. We probably all learn it wrong from day one.

What the yoga instructor told me as a basic rule of thumb that has helped me a lot in my stretching, unless you're targeting the back specifically, the back muscles should be holding the spine in it's natural state. This seems to be true for weightlifting too.

After the first few classes my back would ACHE (in a good way) from all the isometric flexing. But I have a much stronger lower back now for it.

[Ketsueki]

I stretch my hamstrings lying on the ground, one at a time. I will use my arms, or a belt if I must, but I prefer to use a doorway.

Put your ground leg through the door, and keep it and your back flat on the ground.

Bring your stretching leg up into position while bent, placing your heel on the wall.

Slowly straighten your leg to full extension, using the wall as your support.

Mark progress by how close your bottom is to the wall.

I've got short hamstrings, so this is rough work for me, but if I get to where my legs can comfortably make that 90 degree angle while in that position, I suppose I'll start bringing the leg farther by hand.