Hamstring Happiness
A happy body needs happy hamstrings, yet nobody pays much attention to their hamstrings unless they’re tight or sore. I say ignoring your hamstrings is a fitness cardinal sin. Here are three simple ways to create some hamstring happiness:
1. Give your hamstrings a massage. Sit on the floor with your legs in front of you and knees bent. Then take your fingers and “dig” into the backs of your thighs. Start behind the knee and work your way up the leg towards the glutes. This takes 1minute max, but has a restorative, “softening” effect.
2. Stretch ’em and then stretch ’em some more. The #1 way we all neglect our hamstring is lack of stretching. The photo above is a classic hamstring stretch, and I recommend doing it anytime you’ve been sitting for extended periods of time. Hold for 30 – 60 seconds on each leg and remember, it should feel good.
3. Heat ’em up! I think hamstrings, like most muscles, thrive with warmth. Get moving, get cookin’, break a sweat and feel your hamstring smile. Also, use a heating pad or Biomat, soak in a hot tub, or sit in a steam room or sauna. Heat is hamstring medicine.
The hamstrings are part of many many everyday movements. Whenever you stand up from sitting down and vice versa, you’re using your hamstrings. Whenever you walk from point A to point B, you’re using your hamstrings. Whenever you go up or down stairs…hello hamstrings! Hamstrings are big and important muscles that move us around planet Earth. Let’s dote on them a little, and let’s make them happy.