Sometimes it pays to revisit some basics… the basics like effective hamstring stretching.

This is an area that a surprising number of runners always seem to get get slightly wrong!

In this quick video above, I explain and demonstrate the difference between a stretch which brings on an intense feeling behind the knee, and a true stretch of the hamstring muscles. I call this exercise a ‘bent knee hamstring stretch’, or ‘reverse hamstring stretch’ as you push back into the stretch from a flexed knee.

Sciatic Tension vs Hamstring Stretch

The intense feeling or ‘burn’ behind the knee that many runners associate with feeling a hamstring stretch is often actually the feeling of increasing tension on the sciatic nerve as you lean forward… rather than the targeted hamstring muscles themselves.

Instead we should be looking to create a stretching feeling in the muscle belly of each of those hamstring muscles (middle of the posterior thigh), using the hamstring stretch in the video. Try it! 🙂

Last updated on January 10th, 2019.