can you touch your toes? If you can't, chances are you've got tight hamstrings. And perhaps you've tried to improve your hamstring flexibility before and just don't really seem to get anywhere. In this video, I have an extremely efficient three-step method for you to improve your hamstring flexibility. And the crazy thing is, only one of the steps involves actually stretching it. You're going to love the results of this one, and I highly recommend taking a hamstring stretch to start. Snap a picture to get yourself a great before and after shot. So, in order to understand step number one, we first need a quick understanding of a concept called reciprocal inhibition. Fear not, it's not nearly as complicated as it sounds. Reciprocal inhibition is the relaxation of a muscle on one side of the joint in order to accommodate the contraction of a muscle on the other side. A simple example is that the tricep relaxes and lengthens in order to allow the bicep to contract and shorten. And we can use this idea to our

advantage when flexibility is the goal. So if we want our hamstring to relax and to lengthen optimally, we can engage the muscle on the other side of the joint to encourage it to do so through reciprocal inhibition. So step number one is to do a movement which strengthens the hip flexors, commonly referred to as the psoas. We're going to take this three-step method in a kneeling hamstring stretch. So come to the floor with one leg out in front of you, stabilize yourself either on yoga blocks or use a chair, and pop a cushion underneath your knee if your floor isn't too comfy. Take a small arch of the lower back like you're trying to stick your bum out behind you, and then hinge forward just a little to engage that hip flexor. You're going to try and lift your foot off the floor, keeping the leg as straight as you can. Whether it actually moves or not doesn't actually matter. Your hip flexor is engaging regardless of how much the foot moves, and that is

what's important. The more upright your torso is, the easier this becomes, so adjust if you need to. I want you to try and hold it for around 10 seconds if you can. It is harder than it looks. Okay, moving on to step two of three. This step is more about encouraging more of the muscle fibers within the hamstring itself to lengthen. Simply put, of all the muscle fibers within any given muscle, not all of them do something when we try to stretch or strengthen that muscle. There are plenty of lazy fibers that sit there and do nothing. If we can encourage more fibers to take part in a stretch, we'll be able to stretch further. So to get more muscle fibers to wake up, your metaphorical Foghorn is a strengthening movement for the hamstring itself. This time in your kneeling position, you're again going to mildly arch the back, hinge forward a little, and support yourself for balance. From here, this time drive the heel down into the floor as if you're trying to dent the floor beneath you. This should feel like quite a lot of

effort, but again, you only need to hold it for around 10 seconds, and the small bend in the knee is absolutely fine here. And then, finally, your third and final step is about manipulating your nervous system. It is far more simple than it might first sound, but it is the one that most people get wrong. As much as we associate stiffness as an issue with our muscles, the nervous system is actually the main culprit. That sense of pain or discomfort that you feel when you try to take a deep stretch, that's little receptors in your nervous system sending signals to the brain to get you to stop what you're doing, as it thinks you're about to hurt yourself. So, this third and final step is all about working with our nervous system to help it realize that we are safe, and this will allow the muscle to relax and to stretch further. So, how do we do it? Step three is a passive stretch of a hamstring. That means no application of strength, no engagement of any muscles, no movement, just as relaxed as possible. It sounds

the easiest one, but I assure you, it's the one most people get wrong. If your face is all screwed up, if your fists are tightening, and if your breath is short and sharp, or even held in, does this sound relaxing to you? If you were your nervous system, would you perceive this as a safe, risk-free scenario? Likely not. The error most people make is taking the stretch too far, too intense, and therefore not being able to relax back in your kneeling position. For a final time, take that soft arch of the spine, stabilize your balance, and hinge forwards. This time, until you feel a stretch in the hamstring. Focus here on feeling calm. Slow, steady breaths will help you with this, and this is why yoga tends to help people improve their flexibility. It really is a foolproof method, guaranteed to give you results. But there is one other thing that will really hold your hamstring flexibility back if you don't address it. So go and check out this video next for an instant fix to that issue too.

FIX Tight Hamstrings in Just 3 Steps

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FIX Tight Hamstrings in Just 3 Steps

FIX Tight Hamstrings in Just 3 Steps

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