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Stop Stretching Your Hamstrings (UNTIL YOU WATCH)

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Rating: 4.0; Vote: 1

Hamstring stretching is something that almost everyone is either told to do or we instinctively do when the hamstrings are tight. In this video, I-m going to show you why you don-t always want to stretch when you feel tightness in the hamstrings and why you may want to do the exact opposite of this in order to fix the problem long term. To start, you will have to determine whether you should be stretching your hamstrings or not and that begins by assessing the position of your pelvis. Most of us are either too far anterior or posterior. If you have an anterior pelvic tilt you will not be stretching your hamstrings out. If you have a posterior pelvic tilt you will want to do hamstring stretches (especially the one I show you here. The easiest way to determine whether you have an anterior pelvic tilt or a posterior pelvic tilt is to look at your pelvis in the mirror from a side angle. The angle of your waistline should be ever so slightly downward. With APT, you will notice that your butt sticks out, you have a big arch in your back and the waistline is pointing downward quite a bit. On the other hand, if you have a posterior tilt you will notice that you have a very caved in butt, your upper back will likely round and your waistline will either be level or pointed downward in the back a bit. In the case of the posterior pelvic tilt you will need to recognize that the tightness that you feel in the hamstrings is actually the cause of your pelvic malpositioning. So in order to counteract this you need to stretch your hamstrings. The most effective way to do this is by performing the stretch that I show. Place your foot in front of you and up onto an elevated surface (to put your ankle in slight dorsiflexion. Drop your other leg behind you and lock out the knee on the leg in front of you. From here, lean forward while making sure to tilt your pelvis into an anterior tilt. Hold this stretch for 30 seconds and then intensify it by leaning forward a bit while reaching your arms above your body in front of you. This secondary move will help to keep your thoracic spine in extension which is something that you lose when you get a significant posterior tilt of the pelvis. Slowly lean into the stretch and see if you can hold it on each leg for at least 30-45 seconds without letting go of the anterior position of the pelvis. Again, if you are feeling tightness in the hamstrings but notice that you have an anterior pelvic tilt, understand that the tilt is not caused by the hamstrings but that the tightness in the hammies is a consequence of the pulling of the pelvis by the hip flexors on the opposite side of the joint. I hope you find this small but hugely important distinction to be a key to you finally getting rid of your tight hamstrings once and for all. For a complete program that puts the science back in strength and trains you to correct muscle imbalance, be sure to head to and get the ATHLEAN-X Training System
Date: 2022-04-22

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Comments and reviews: 10

David
Great ham stretch. I tried something you may want to share with your audience. I really don't have a good angle in my house to the standing ham stretch. I tried a some wood and old books (books are never old, read or donate to the library.
It turns out that I have these indestructible rubber tire chocks. They are a right triangle with a little handle on them. SOLID RUBBER. You can put one up against a wall, fridge, etc. They fit my feet great. They don't slip. I can put as much weight in my stretch without having to worry about slipping of it and hurting my ankle. The were very inexpensive. I think I bought them at Walmart or Harbor Freight in Connecticut (one of those impulse buys near checkout. Please tell Jesse to shoot the locks of his wallet, blow all the dust off and get a pair. They don't slip on carpet, tile, or wood.
Most important, never ever change a tire without putting a chock on the appropriate tires. Its all fun and games until the car slips off the jack. It can ruin your day.
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Alex
Jeff thank you so much! I found this video this morning and by this afternoon as I write this I can already tell you-ve just changed my life for the better. I have had APT and I always thought it was due to tightness in my hamstrings and/or lower back, so I always focused on stretching those areas, foam rolling, etc. Nothing would get rid of my lower back pain! I have studied ballet and Alexander Technique and both made me feel better but only temporarily. Since just focusing on what I-ll call keeping my hips forward throughout my day so far I am having the first afternoon without lower back pain that I can remember in my life. I can-t wait to start doing the exercises from APT and the abs meeting you referred to in it.
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Captain
Agreed, Awesome videos! I have always been stretching my left hamstring, lots of times during the day. Turns out it needs strengthening and stretching is making it worse, which leads to aching hip flexor! As soon as i did the lunge exercise to fix it I could feel a difference. A couple of days of pain from never training my legs properly (back problems) and now i feel ten times better.
Thanks Jeff, keep it up, we love your videos.
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Dean's
I do this thing without thinking where I push my calves and knees back when i'm standing upright. I don't stick my ass out but calves and knees bent back. I think it's because it's more relaxing and less pressure on my legs when standing still. i'm not sure, but something i've always done. Is that affecting anything and what stretches should I do? I'm trying to stop doing that stance.
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WantDemPoints
Hey Jeff. I got tight hamstrings aswell and since stretching didnt help i thought the problem with the weqk gluteus muscle and tight hip flexors seemed very fitting in my situation. 2 months of working my abs stretching my hip flexors and training my gluteus later: my hamstrings are still tight and my backpain is stronger than ever. You got any ideas for me? Let me know
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Eddie
Hi. I over stretched my Hamstrings last year. put my bed on milk crates. was higher then the rails. and next thing i know my legs hurt. tried massage them but nvr healed
I January. i got Calafication. left butt. but Hospital first said was piriformis. or Sciatica. wasnt either. so now when im on my feet or sit. my legs and feet go red. if you can offer any info. thankyou
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Eyal
I'm so lucky that I encountered this video and so thankful that you created it.
All I wanted is to stretch my hamstrings but then I found out the reason why I have back pain in almost every workout that I do since I remember myself - Anterior Pelvic Tilt.
I had a feeling that my posture is wrong but I couldn't find an answer for it until now.
You rock!
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Prof
You could have genu flexum on top of anterior pelvic tilt, therefore still have short hams. That's me. And my hams are also weak. Its never black or white. Its never straight forward to -correct- anything postural. Because having deviations from -standard- postures does not necessarily mean pathology.
Otherwise, great demo of a hams stretch!
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Drew
My hamstrings are super tight, so I checked in the mirror, it doesn-t seem that I am tilted anterior or posterior. I am neither an -ass- or an -ass not-. It seems that my hamstrings are tight because I am -half assed-, which does seem to fit. But still I wonder. what is the treatment for a half assed guy with tight hamstrings?
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Apsteronaldo
This video is such an eye opener, as somebody with apparently an anterior pelvic tilt, doing stretches that only hurt and caused more problems. I never understood the value of stretching as I felt it only gave me injuries as a young child and teen, which it was supposedly to prevent. This makes a lot of sense! Thanks!
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