challenge yourself... this is for you runners...

bigred727

ok, you like to run.. you want to strengthen your hamstrings, heres a workout that will make your hamstrings skyrocket in performence... its a tai chi workout...

its called the ( back thrust ), now.. stand straight up with good posture, feet shoulder length apart (note; make shore your neas are straight at all times dont bend your legs through the whole workout), now reach down and touch right infront of your (left) foot with the tips of your fingers, come back all the way up, dont cheat yourself, then touch right infront of you, come back up, then touch right infront of your right foot, come back up, then touch right infront of you again, come back up, thats 1 rep...... now this part is where it gets hard, say you do 10 or 20 reps like this, now instede of touching the ground with the tips of your fingers, curl your fingers half way, now touch the ground like that, still aint done... now after you do 10 or 20 more reps like that, now ball up your fists... now touch the ground with your fists, do 10 or 20 more reps like that (note; do the whole workout non-stop)... this will really get your hamstrings and lower back very well... if you have never done this workout, you "will" feel it in the mornning...

i know what your saying, i cant touch the ground with my fists, or.. thats just a stretch... well exactlly right, it is a stretch.. when you touch the ground repeatedly with the tips of your fingers, it is stretching the hamstring so when you ball up your fingers you will then be able to touch the ground, and your fists... so its a workout and a stretch all in one... thats what really makes it work... not only will this make your balance go up, it will make your legs stronger, and have a whole lot more endurance... and flexability to... (note; dont do this before you run, because after you do this you aint gonna want to run)...

Mindful_Trent

This sounds like a great stretching exercise - my only concern is where you say to keep your knees straight & not to bend your legs - everything I've read and been told is that it can be dangerous to lock your knees/legs stright while exercising - it is easy to do damage to yourself this way. It's always healthier and safer to keep a slight bend in them & not lock them into a straight position.

bigred727

well thats the trick behind it... its a stretch to.. so when you get that stretching with the reps, that right there is helping you prevent the injurey... i know it gose againts what they say... but try it and tell me what you think...

daj150

Locking, in general, is bad. That is correct. However, Tai Chi is about slow and fluid movement. Locking is not really an issue here. I also want to note that you SHOULD NOT perform any type of martial art or major stretching without warming up your muscles first. Dry stretching can be very bad. I recommend walking or jogging for a 5 minutes, then performing this. And as a note for everyone, almost all Tai Chi forms are excellent for not only stretching, but enhancing your stabilizers for balance and control. Great recommendation bigred727!

bigred727

what i really ment by keeping your legs locked was dont move your legs when you go down... of coures you should have a slight bend, but dont squat down, reach down... i guess i worded it wrong... correction..lol...

godblessourhome

ok, you like to run.. you want to strengthen your hamstrings, heres a workout that will make your hamstrings skyrocket in performence... its a tai chi workout...

its called the ( back thrust ), now.. stand straight up with good posture, feet shoulder length apart (note; make shore your neas are straight at all times dont bend your legs through the whole workout), now reach down and touch right infront of your (left) foot with the tips of your fingers, come back all the way up, dont cheat yourself, then touch right infront of you, come back up, then touch right infront of your right foot, come back up, then touch right infront of you again, come back up, thats 1 rep...... now this part is where it gets hard, say you do 10 or 20 reps like this, now instede of touching the ground with the tips of your fingers, curl your fingers half way, now touch the ground like that, still aint done... now after you do 10 or 20 more reps like that, now ball up your fists... now touch the ground with your fists, do 10 or 20 more reps like that (note; do the whole workout non-stop)... this will really get your hamstrings and lower back very well... if you have never done this workout, you "will" feel it in the mornning...

i know what your saying, i cant touch the ground with my fists, or.. thats just a stretch... well exactlly right, it is a stretch.. when you touch the ground repeatedly with the tips of your fingers, it is stretching the hamstring so when you ball up your fingers you will then be able to touch the ground, and your fists... so its a workout and a stretch all in one... thats what really makes it work... not only will this make your balance go up, it will make your legs stronger, and have a whole lot more endurance... and flexability to... (note; dont do this before you run, because after you do this you aint gonna want to run)...

my hamsprings are always tight. i'm going to give this a try. thanks!