Did you know that we have 3 main Hamstrings, which all attach to the sit bones.

• Biceps femoris, closest to the outside of your body
• Semimembranosus, closest to the middle of your body
• Semitendinosus between the Semimembranous and the Biceps Femoris

This is why we always ask our clients to sit tall when they want a good seated hamstring stretch otherwise, if they slump into their posture, the sit bones just tuck under and so they’ve lost good form and a decent amount of a ‘healthy pull’ on that stretch.

I always like to think of the ‘Ham’ part of the word Hamstrings to be the big thick meaty part of that muscle, and the ‘Strings’ to be the thinner part of the muscle that’s blending into the tendons on either side of your knee. Both need stretching but I’m always more cautious with my stretching techniques when working on the strings due to the proximity to the tendons.

Quick note: If you’re feeling a pulling at the back of the knee it’s not actually your hamstring that’s tight but your Tibial nerve – a component of the Sciatic Nerve.

So, first whilst lying supine with both feet flat on the floor work, bring one leg in close to the chest with a bent knee, keep the thigh as close to the chest as you can and just gently pump the leg longish (don’t force this) also adding a Dorsi flexion with the movement. Do this at least 8 times to ease up this Tibual nerve.

When stretching my Hamstrings I’m inclined to play with the angle of my foot in order to get into each of the hamstrings already mentioned. We often stretch the hamstrings with the foot at the same angle, try and vary this.

The Adductor Magnus (inside thigh) also attaches to the ischial tuberosity (sit bones) and can extend the thigh at the hip joint. For this reason, the Adductor Magnus is sometimes referred to as the ‘Fourth Hamstring’.So as you’re stretching out those hamstrings simply add an inside thigh stretch that you can feel is also working into that Hamstring no4.

Speaking of the Adductor Magnus, if this guy and/or the Glutes are lazy muscles, then this could be the reason for the Hamstrings tightness. The Hamstrings will be completely overloaded if other muscles are letting them do all the work, so make sure you always add some good strengthening exercises to wake lazy muscles up and start firing!

Quick Hamstring stretch with the purestretch band

Below are a selection of 5 – 10mins hamstring stretches, don’t forget to add your Tibial Nerve and Adductor Stretching.

Hips and Hamstrings Stretch

Hamstring Stretch