Of all the muscles to get a bad rap and always to blame for creating trouble, the hamstring muscles would be right up there alongside the upper traps as the public enemy number one. Watch anyone who plays sports do their stretching routine and you are guaranteed to see the hamstrings get a real workout, or participate in a Yoga class to see how many hamstring stretches you will have to complete and it seems like everyone must be short and tight in this muscle group. Now while this may seem like a good idea, what you will find in this article is that many people who are cranking excessive mobility into this area are in fact creating a huge potential problem at joints like the knee, and even the lower back. It is ironic for many people are doing the stretch in the belief it is going to prevent these injuries. We will also discuss the strategies that are used to strengthen the hamstrings, in particular with sports where hamstring tears are common, and show you that it is not the hamstring that is the problem. The hamstring muscles really are very misunderstood, and when you appreciate how they actually function you will become much smarter with how you approach your training.
10 Hip Mobility Drills & Stretches to Improve Functional Movement
One of the most important and also very challenging areas of the body to work with is the hip and pelvic region. This part of the body is involved in almost every movement we make, and a constant switching between mobility and stability is required in order for us to move efficiently free of pain and limitation. The hips are designed to be very mobile and withstand both direct loading stresses and large rotational forces with weight-bearing activities, whereas the pelvis is more concerned with stability in order to preserve neutral alignment of the spine and lower limbs. This constant interaction between these two joints can very easily be disrupted by poor movement strategies or inactivity. When this happens we often see a loss of hip mobility first, as the body uses stiffness as its alternative to stability to protect the spine and pelvis from damage. Restoring it back to normal takes more than just a hip stretch and in this article we show you 10 ways to get this back.