Help with hips/hamstrings

[Marc Gillesoie]

Hi,

I've only recently got into stretching and i've already saw improvements (i can just touch my nose off my thighs when reaching for my toes!) but theres one area which I'm struggling with. The following link shows a classic hamstring stretch () 

As long as my other leg is bent with the foot on the ground I can straighten out my leg ok. But as soon as I put my leg on the ground like in the above picture I find it a lot more difficult to pull my straightened leg up and closer to my head. 

Can anyone help with what the main cause of tightness is here and how I can basically improve this? I want to be able to to the splits eventually. I think my hamstrings/hips I need to work on a lot first. 

Is it just a case of getting some stretching straps and pushing each time that little bit further to increase the range?

Thanks,

Marc

[Alessandro Mainente]

Hi Marc,hamstring are only a piece of the puzzle, hamstring, adductors, glutes, calves, hips flexor are still involved into split. for a good results you can look for front split stretch course.

[Marc Gillesoie]

Thanks for this. So I am doing a lot of different stretching at the minute which involves all of these but find the above stretch and being able to put my lower leg flat on the ground.

I was asking if anyone knew specifically what muscle causes this issue and how I can focus more on this?

Or like you said if I continue to do all kinds of stretches I will find this will get better over time?

Also my second question: "Is it just a case of getting some stretching straps and pushing each time that little bit further to increase the range?"


Thanks,

Marc

[Pauline Taube]

Hi Marc,

As Alessandro mentioned there's not one specific muscle that's causing the tightness in this stretch. There are many muscle groups involved here. These are addressed specifically in the Front Split and Middle Split course.

A stretch strap will help you pull your leg slightly closer to your body but in order to develop a solid Front Split you'll need to do stretches that focus on the calves and hip flexors as well.