3 Exercises to Improve Hamstring Flexibility

Having good flexibility is very important in climbing, but I never really focused onit Now the routine is pretty short, around 10 minutes long, so it's pretty easy to integrate into your daily or weekly routine.

Now the first thing you're gonna do is get warmed up.

If you've already climbed or worked out, you can skip the warm-up and go straight into the stretching Once that's done, we're going to test the positions that we are trying to improve.

We are going to test the toe touch position again to see if we made any improvements Let's get right into the stretching.

The first one we're gonna do is the Banded Hamstring Stretch To get into the position, you're gonna lay down on the ground and wrap a band or belt around your foot and then use your hands to pull your leg back like this.

So you're basically going to do is pull the belt with your arms and then resist against the belt by contracting your leg. Hold that contraction for 5 seconds; then relax for 5 seconds.

Now the leg doesn't have to be completely straight Soft bend is okay When you relax, make sure you really take a big exhale and then use your arms and hip flexors to gently pull your leg closer to your face Once you've relaxed for 5 seconds, you're going to contract again for another 5 seconds and then repeat until you've done 10 reps on both legs, and you will wanna try to go further for each relaxation.

So one of the things we are trying to do, we are teaching our body that it is okay to be in this new range of motion So when you're in the relaxing phase, really try your hardest to stay calm and relax. Allow yourself to sit in that new range of motion.

It's time to move on to the Wall Calf Stretch Now with this stretch, you're gonna put your foot against the wall like this Then you're going to visualize moving your hips against the wall like this Inhale when you come back, exhale when you going forward.

Remember it's hips to the wall, not face to the wall Now we're gonna go on to the third stretch, which is called the FMS toe touch You will need to find a slightly raised platform, and then find something that you can squeeze in between your knees Now you're gonna stand with your toes elevated and the object squeezed between your knees Then you are going to bend over and try to touch your toes.

Let's say you are kinda inflexible, and you can't quite touch your toe, so you are in a position like this.

If that's you and you reach your end point, squeeze as hard as you can and then see if you can go any lower, and if you still can't, then it's okay to bend your knees.

But just the bare minimum so that you can touch your toes Once you've done the 10 reps, you're gonna do the exact same thing, except with your heels elevated this time All the same cues that apply to the last one apply to this one as well.

Three, squeeze Now that we've gone through the routine, we are going to go ahead and retest the toe touch position totally wasn't expecting an instant improvement You might be thinking But let's say you test the toe touching position again first thing in the morning tomorrow.

You will probably find that you are not as flexible as you are right now right after the stretching session But if you continue to stretch consistently, you will find that your baseline is going to improve over time.