Bent-Leg Hamstring Stretch | Best Hamstring Exercise | Kit Laughlin from Stretch Therapy

[@samdekker1490]

Hello Kit, just wanted to put down a thank you for helping tons of people with great exercises. I have been basicly sitting in a chair for the last 5 years and recently realized this is not the life I should be living in terms of health. I am doing stretches 3 times a week and bodyweight strenght 3 times a week for about a month now, while I cant say I see alot of progress in mass and flexibility(yet?), I am experiencing improvement in energy levels and bodypains. I can even say that after a workout my body pains are completely gone. Thanks again and keep up the great work!

[@KitLaughlin]

A pleasure. Re. progress: in terms of flexibility (and compared to strength work) progress is slowest in the beginning. Resole to continue for a minimum of six months, and progress is assured.

[@paraspatel3410]

In med school as DO student, sitting on my laptop 10 hours a day, glad I got to see reciprocal inhibition used and can't wait to use it!

[@KitLaughlin]

And combining this reflex with the agonist-antagonist one supercharges both!

[@Seedy446]

Love this stretch! It feels sooo good!

[@KO-iq2kv]

Love your shirt Kit! 🕉️🪷

[@KitLaughlin]

That's a Jim McAirt original. Find him here: zennotzen.bigcartel.com/ All my, and Liv's tattoos have been done by Jim, too, and by hand-no guns. Three thumbs up for Jim!

[@tayloramman3535]

Hi Kit, I've been trying out this stretch a few times and had two questions about it. 1) I've tried doing it resting on the heel of my front leg as shown in the video but I feel like I can relax more into the stretch when my foot is flat. Is that ok to do or is there a reason for bringing the ball of the foot off the ground? 2) After performing the contractions and attempting to fully relax my body into the stretch I have been letting my trunk and head fall over onto my front leg so I am basically laying with my stomach/chest on top of my quadriceps with my cheek right next to the inside of my knee. In the video your back stays straight and your head never gets close to your knee. I wasn't sure if keeping the back straight is more important or "fully relaxing" into the stretch, which for me is letting my trunk and head drop instead of holding them up like shown in the video. What should I be doing? Thank you!

[@KitLaughlin]

Re. 1: totally OK to have the front foot and ankle in any position that works for you. Opening out the front leg's knee is the primary goal. Re. 2: what you are doing is perfectly fine. Again, opening the knee is the goal. The angle of the body WRT the floor determines the *emphasis* of the effects: the closer to vertical, the stronger the hip flexor effect becomes. This means that a version of the one basic position allows stretching of both the front and the back legs, depending on what you choose to prioritise.

[@dsrguru]

Hi Kit, you've said that the outer hamstring is the tighter one in almost everyone, but I mainly feel this in the inner hamstrings slightly to the medial side of where the semitendinosus starts to become the tendon that attaches to the knee. The area is maybe 3-5 cm from the knee. It stays tight for a while after doing this stretch. It also often tightens in the front leg of a hip flexor / quad lunge. Any idea if something else is at play besides a tight semitendinosus or semimembranosus?

[@KitLaughlin]

The outer hamstring is the tightest in most people, if we look at this from an averaging perspective (we have tested and questioned thousands of beginners to come to this view), but everything changes as you begin to practice. The tightest places in any individual on any given day can change over time, too. And where you are feeling the maximum sensation is also a common spot. The reality is that fascial adhesions can occur within any of the hamstrings, and in some people _between_ hamstrings (or gracilis, esp. WRT the pancake). So, just go with where you are feeling the maximum sensation, being confident that this will change in time as you are able to go deeper. Thanks for commenting.

[@dsrguru]

@@KitLaughlin Thank you!

[@hansmans2895]

What if I can't keep my back straight in the Bent Knee to straight leg position?

[@KitLaughlin]

Try this position instead: kzbin.info/www/bejne/omraonp7gM58rdE Keeping the back straight as you straighten the knee (in the exercise you posted this question to) is advanced stretching-the end position can take a year or more to get. The lunge hamstring stretch I have linked you to makes this easier. Good luck and please report back.

[@AtomicTreBomb]

How does this look for someone who is extremely inflexible in the hamstring and hip flexors? This looks like it will rip my body in half. For reference, when keeping my back straight and attempting to touch my toes, my hands are about 10-12 inches from my toes. And when performing a kneeling/lunge hip flexor stretch with a straight back/activated glutes and core, I cannot get my hip flexor/thigh past perpendicular to the floor.

[@KitLaughlin]

So, you start where you are today, and go gently. You wrote, "And when performing a kneeling/lunge hip flexor stretch with a straight back/activated glutes and core, I cannot get my hip flexor/thigh past perpendicular to the floor.", that is not how the exercise is done. Your back can be relaxed and bent forward as much as you need; put a cushion in between your trunk and the front thigh, and let the whole body go as soft as possible. Definitely do not activate the glutes and core: let the body be as soft as possible, move slowly and gently, and do not anticipate anything. Instead, follow the instructions and see what happens.

[@myoman1977]

I would not do this stretch.

[@sunsunsunh]

Hi Kit. I was doing this stretch and when I was in the deepest range of motion, the back foot cramped really bad so I had to contract the stretched hamstrings in an undesirable manner unintentionally. After that, the pain in the proximal hamstring tendon has increased and it hurts bad every time I get it in a lengthened position. It happened a week ago. Please, could you recommend some limbering exercise that could work to make the recovery quicker. I fear not being able to stretch because my posterior pelvic tilt also hurts my back. I have the Mastery Course but I am not sure how to treat a tendon that is already damaged. Any info would be so appreciated, thank you.

[@KitLaughlin]

You have asked the same question over at the forums (kitlaughlin.com/forums/), and I will reply over there. We will help you get over this.

[@sunsunsunh]

@@KitLaughlin Thank you🙏

[@KitLaughlin]

@@sunsunsunh Liv and I both will reply to you tomorrow our time. This is a common problem (and even more comon among experienced stretchers, actually) and we have helped many others (and ourselves!) in this regard.

[@DarthNoshitam]

I've heard it's possible to overdo stretches that utilize reciprocal inhibition (e.g., they shouldn't be done on consecutive days). Thoughts?

[@KitLaughlin]

It's possible to overdo *any* stretches, using reciprocal inhibition or any other neural approach. We never recommend using contractions or reciprocal inhibition reflex techniques on successive days. We recommend two serious stretching sessions a week on your tightest parts, repeating any exercise 2-3 times for each tight part, and then doing only mobilisation exercises for the next two or three days until the body has recovered completely. There is much more detail on our forums. kitlaughlin.com/forums/ Joining is free.

[@harkiratsinghvasir7973]

I feel sciatic nerve sensation in straight leg hamstring strech....will this help me to get rid of that sensation?

[@KitLaughlin]

The next time you try the exercise, do the piriformis exercises beforehand (search on this channel for "piriformis"). In time, doing whichever piriformis exercise that works best for you plus this hamstring exercise should ease that sciatica sensation. It is common to feel this sensation as you near the end or your current range of movement, and this will change in time. I used to fee the same sensations whenever I did a pike, in the early days. The main thing to keep in mind is that these kinds of changes take time, so don't try to rush it.

[@rochakv]

Can this be done any time of the day? Is warm up needed?

[@KitLaughlin]

No warmup needed, but you must attend to what the body is telling you as you get deeper into it. Take your time, and do a number of repetitions, and don't go so deep you can't relax in the final position. Any time of day is fine, but you will be a bit more flexible in the afternoons and evenings.

[@rochakv]

Thanks for the quick reply. Appreciate it. I wanna get full splits. I am gonna be patient and try it out.

[@KitLaughlin]

@@rochakv the key to full splits is to loosen your hip flexors - we have some excellent exercises for that on this channel, too.

[@karljohnson1347]

Is there something I can buy similar to the slidy thing? or could you share how it was made?

[@KitLaughlin]

There are devices called "Sliderz", but when we teach workshops, we use plastic barbeque plates with pieces of kid's kickboards (for pool use) placed inside-these cost pennies. You can probably find something around te house that slides, too (plastic document folders, for example) that will do the same job on a carpet floor. Socks and a wooden floor also work really well.

[@gauravcheema]

I use a piece of paper lol. Might work for you as well!

[@Newbrict]

Socks

[@KitLaughlin]

@@Newbrict Socks IF sliding the front foot forwards, but I prefer using the grip of the front foot to push/slide the whole body back (you can do this either way).

[@Newbrict]

@@KitLaughlin what's the reason for that distinction? If I had to guess I'd say to focus more on using the quad to extend the leg.

[@FernandoLopezAU]

This stretch doesn't work at all of you actually have tight hamstrings, it's not possible to get into either position raised or seated.

[@KitLaughlin]

Fernando? What you say is nonsense. When you say, "it's not possible to get into either position raised or seated", this is not a seated exercise. Are you confusing this exercise with another one? Are you able to get down onto the floor? I will assist you if I can.

[@FernandoLopezAU]

@@KitLaughlin Hi Kit, the video has 2 exercises, one is seated on the floor (the 2nd one). It involves grabbing your foot, but I'm unable to reach it without extension and certainly not after.l - any advice?

[@KitLaughlin]

@@FernandoLopezAU Fernando, do the floor one and skip the floor version), but prepare for the first one with this exercise: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fKaTYqd9ZcaMn68 You should find the lunge exercise (the first one above) easier to do after trying the Elephant walk. And make sure you are letting gravity help you get into a deep position-if your hamstrings are really tight, this is one of the few exercises that will really work, but you need to follow the instructions closely, and you need _months_ of weekly repetition to get the cumulative effects. Usually, tight hamstrings do not want to let go, but they can be encouraged. A longish session once a week (where you do the exercise on both sides a few times, holding the end position for at least a minute) works much better than daily repetition. Expect to be sore (identical to DOMS).

[@benko6171]

first?

[@KitLaughlin]

Meaning?

[@Kleyguy7]

I'm also shocked this video has so many views, but not so many comments.

[@DetectiveConan990v3]

@@KitLaughlin they were just expressing the fact that they have the first comment on this video.

[@KitLaughlin]

@@DetectiveConan990v3 Ah! I'm a bit slow, sometimes, Thanks.