Tip: Train Your Hamstrings to Improve Your Posture and Prevent Leg Injuries
Hamstrings!?
What are those?
You know... the back of your leg, above your knee. It is responsible for bending your knees and largely goes unused due to all the sitting most people do.
Training them and making sure they get used can do wonders for improving your posture and preventing leg injuries.
The hamstrings are responsible for helping you slow down if you ever take off in a mad dash chasing after your little one or running down a pop fly in your kickball game.
The ability to properly slow down will lessen the amount of pressure on the joints in your lower body and prevent a lot of common injuries.
Since you do a ton of sitting and if they do go to the gym tend to work the "mirror" muscles only, you end up with weak hamstrings. When they are weak and tight they will "tug" on your hips and cause your lower back to arch and shoulders to round.
No bueno.
To prevent this it is important to train your hamstrings so they are strong and balanced with the rest of your body.
Three of the best hamstring exercises are:
1. Bodyweight Leg Curls
These can be done on furniture sliders or straps. Lay on your back with your hands pushing into the ground. Place your feet on the slider or straps and squeeze your glutes, driving your hips into the air.
From that position curl your legs in towards your butt. Extend them back out and repeat for 10-15 reps.
2. Glute-Ham Raises
You can use a special machine for these or rig up a barbell like in the video below.
These are very hard and can take awhile to work up to doing. Stick to 5-10 reps and you may need band assistance.
3. Band Leg Curls
(pictured above)
These can be done seated or lying and are great for higher repetitions. Just loop band around a sturdy object and curl your legs in. Then in a slow and controlled manner resist the tension of the band as your extend them back to the starting postion. Repeat for 15 reps or so.
Start implementing these exercises in your your workouts and let us know how you feel after a few weeks!
If you want a workout program that provides plenty of hamstring work in results based routine that takes place in a fun, motivating environment then fill out a contact form and we will sit down with you for a free strategy session.