Front stretch instruction conflicts with other trainers

My yoga instructor tells us to leave a little bend in the knee during stretches to prevent knee injury when stretching hamstrings with 'straight' legs. GST instructs us to lock out our knee, even constantly asking us to actively press the knee backwards. Is this safe for middle aged people to do? Is there an increased risk of injury of the knee? 

Why is there such a difference in approach wrt this stretch?

thanks

Anthony

The GB philosophy is to let the joint adapt gradually to the stress of being completely straight under load. The alternative is to avoid building up that kind of resilience, and then crossing your fingers that you won't be subjected to a load that will damage your joint. Personally, I'd go with the first option. 

The benefit to bent leg is not for the knee.  locking the knee and activating the muscles actually stabilizes the knee and decreases risk of joint injury.  The potential benefit to bent legs is less flexion in the Lspine.   if you have a history of disc disease, you may want to bend knees until you are able to get past 90 degrees on your pike.  If you are already doing foundations and jefferson curls, etc, you are already over this hump.    

Hi Anthony,

Can you please post a picture of your standing pike? In some cases, when a beginners ROM is very limited, it can be beneficial to slightly bend your knees. If your deepest pike stretch is a 90 degree hip angle, you can protect your lower back with a slight knee bend. Otherwise, you want them completely locked: