Mike's Question of The Week!
Hey everyone, I had a couple of really good questions this week. The question I'd like to discuss this week is from Joanne C. She mentioned, "...despite how hard I try to stretch my hamstrings, my hamstring flexibility never increases. I feel I can get a little bit farther in my stretch when I repeatedly try touching my toes in a bouncing motion. Is there anything else I can do to improve this?"
​
My response to Joanne:
Joanne, there are many factors that go into hamstring flexibility. Sometimes it is not always the hamstrings muscle causing the issue. It can derive from traction on the nerve such as the sciatic nerve, or it could be tightness in the hip capsule itself. It sounds like the way you are stretching your hamstrings may be doing more damage than good! Whenever performing a stretch to increase flexibility, you want to perform what is called a static stretch. This means you should hold the stretch position without moving for 15-30 seconds and sometimes more! This allows for the muscle to relax. The stretch that you feel during the bouncing motion is called a ballistic stretch. Ballistic stretching can be useful in other modes of exercise (such as plyometrics), but it in fact causes the muscle, when quickly stretched/bounced, to reflexively contract/shorten. Repeating ballistic stretching can tighten the muscle, as opposed to increasing flexibility. I hope this helps! For further understanding on Static and Ballistic stretching, be sure to message me.