Leg shaking on Lying Hamstring Stretches

[Ramsey Abdulrahim]

When I do a lying hamstring stretch, my entire affected leg shakes and I feel the pressure of the stretch in my knees. Any tips for focusing on the hamstrings more? As of right now, I physically can not place the thigh perpendicular to the body either.

What sort of weakness does this imply and how can I address it?

Thank you

[Mike Mallory]

it implies a weakness in the hamstrings!

stretch/strengthen accordingly...........regular CF stuff should take care of it

[Robert Fabsik]

You might want to start out by stretching you hammies one leg at a time from a standing position by putting one straight leg on a box/low table, then keeping both legs straight/slightly bent and then bend at the waist keeping the spine in neutral.

Check out http://mobilitywod.blogspot.com/ (WFS) to get the lowdown on moblility.

[Joseph Pasciotty]

Originally Posted by Robert Fabsik

You might want to start out by stretching you hammies one leg at a time from a standing position by putting one straight leg on a box/low table, then keeping both legs straight/slightly bent and then bend at the waist keeping the spine in neutral.

Check out http://mobilitywod.blogspot.com/ (WFS) to get the lowdown on moblility.

this vid was exactly what ive been searching for

[Darla Powell]

Google PNF stretching. Works very well for me. Opened up my hips a lot and helped with my hammies which are tight from running.

[Ramsey Abdulrahim]

Thanks all.

I tried the standing one with a table. I can not get my torso up on my thigh like most people but I can at least touch my right toes and feel it in my hamstrings. My right side, though, is another story. I can't even get close to my left foot and I feel a lot of pressure in my knees. If I place my hand on the bottom of my thigh, I feel the tightness of a flexed muscle, though. Just stick with it and the flexibility will come?

PNF stretching is cool and we did a lot of that at OCS. It's tricky doing it by yourself though. The table hamstring stretch that Robert just described seems to come from the same background.

[Robert Fabsik]

Most people who have their torso touch their thigh are losing midline/neutral spine position and just using the bending of those joints to reach their thigh and avoiding stretching the hamstrings. On an 18" table, when I put one foot on it and the other standing straight, I can almost touch my knee if I bend through the spine, if I keep midline/neutral position I move maybe 10 degrees foreward and the stretch in the hammies is just as good if not better and doesn't wreck the back.

I'd suggest keeping your spine in the neutral position and just gently pushing forward to feel the stretch in your hammies. Hold the position for a total of 2 minutes, gently moving forward when tension eases. In my opinion, this type of statcic stretching should be done after workouts, never right before them