Streching the hamstring muscle is not as simple as you may think. The first problem that most people encounter when trying to stretch the hamstring muscle is not being able to isolate the stretch to the muscle belly. In other words they seem to feel the stretch behind their knee in the tendon insertions of the muscles. The second prolem the occurs is not holding the stretch long enough to achieve any real increase in flexiblity. Recent studies have shown that to achieve any change in flexibilty of the musce being stretched, you will need to hold the stretch gently for at least 1-2 minutes.
Here are a few tips for proper hamstring stretching.
1. Warm-up before stretching with a cardio warm-up or some dynamic callistenic type movements.
2. Stand up and place one of your feet up on a normal height chair.
3. Keep a slight bend in your knee on the leg to be stretched.
4. Arch your lower back to increase the lumbar curve.
5. Shift your hip backward on the stretching side leg.
6. Raise your chest forward and upward to increase the intensity of the stretch as you lean slightly forward.
As I mentioned you should feel this stretch in the belly of the muscle and not behind your knee. To vary the stetch you can turn your foot out or in to help stretch more fibers of the hamstring group.
