Today I was coaching at the Cardiff Tae Kwon-Do academy. I asked if there was anyone there who has flexibility issues. 6 people raised their hand (but to be honest, there were probably 12 people who should have raised their hand). When asked what area they struggled with nearly everyone said hamstrings. This always comes as a surprise to me because every Tae Kwon-Do instructor I've been trained by seems to place emphasis on the adductors (groin) and hamstrings but neglect other areas. My conclusion was that the participants didn't appreciate the nature of the hamstrings. Without understanding the hamstrings structure how could you understand appropriate stretching methodology to improve their length.
The hamstring group is made up of three muscles. They are the Biceps Femoris, the Semitendinosus and the Semimembranosus. All three of these muscles originate at the pelvis. Also, all three of these muscles insert at the Tibia (shin bone). There is a lot of focus on maintaining a straight leg whist performing hamstring stretches such as a simple toe touch. This is the correct thing to do but people miss out on 2 important technical applications.
You must maintain a 90 degree angle on your ankle. Some stretches may not allow you to do this but most hamstring stretches will allow it. Most people will complain that they feel the stretch more in the top of their calf when they do this. Again, the hamstrings insert on your shin bone. It's still the hamstring feeling the stretch!
You must roll your hips forward. Basically you need to assume a duck butt pelvic alignment. This is the first thing you should do when settling into the stretch. If you feel your posture go you know that you are not stretching correctly. You can get so deep into this stretch with poor posture but soon enough your progress will come to a halt due to poor positioning.
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