Stretching the Hamstring

The Jefferson Curls in its essence is a loaded stretch for both the lower back and the hamstring. Because the hamstrings in general are much stronger (and tighter for most of us), we can overstretch the lower back muscles while under stretching the hamstrings.

A really tight hamstring prevents us from tying our shoes, putting on our socks, and more importantly, putting on our underwear.

So in the last few workouts, I have been trying to focus bit more on isolating the hamstring muscles. Here are few pointers that will help you with your hamstring flexibility:

1. Establish and maintain a flat back on your way up during the Jefferson Curls by anteriorly tilting your pelvis.
2. Peddle your way to greater hamstring length at the bottom of the Jefferson Curl; this strategy focuses the stretch to one hamstring at a time.
3. Stretching really is not about “stretching” the muscle fibers but resetting your nervous system so use PNF contract and release  technique for more effectively flexibility result.

Let me know how these tips work out for you.

As always if you have any questions, you can contact me at dtchun@yahoo.com