Seated Single-Leg Hamstring Stretch

How to do it

Setup

1. Sit upright on the floor with one leg extended straight forward and the foot dorsiflexed.
2. Bend the opposite knee and place the sole of that foot flat against the inner thigh of the extended leg.

Movement

1. Sit tall to lengthen your spine, squaring your chest toward the extended leg.
2. Hinge at the hips and reach forward along the extended leg with both hands.
3. Lower your chest toward your thigh until you feel a gentle, sustained stretch along the back of the leg.
4. Hold the position smoothly without bouncing, then release and repeat on the opposite side.

Breathing

Inhale to lengthen your spine, and exhale as you fold deeper into the stretch.

Cues

• Hinge from the hips, not just the lower back
• Keep the knee softly extended, not hyperextended
• Lead with the chest toward the shin

Common faults

Excessively rounding the upper back to touch the toes instead of hinging at the hip.

Focus on driving your chest toward your knee while keeping the spine elongated.

Bouncing dynamically into and out of the stretch.

Hold a steady, static position at comfortable tension to avoid triggering the stretch reflex.

Safety

• Do not force your forehead to your knee if you experience sharp pain or excessive nerve tension behind the knee.

Muscles

• Biceps femoris stretched
• Semitendinosus stretched
• Semimembranosus stretched
• Gastrocnemius stretched
• Erector spinae stretched
• Gluteus maximus stretched

Joints

• Hip: Flexion
• Knee: Extension
• Lumbar spine: Flexion

Details

Movement

Stretch, Hip hinge

Modality

Flexibility

Mechanics

isolation

Force

static

Laterality

unilateral

Kinetic chain

not applicable

Level

beginner

Equipment

None

Record

Duration

Load

none

Sources

• wger: Single Leg Hamstring Stretch, by captive0592 (CC-BY-SA-4.0)
• wger: Hamstring Stretch, by tobias08 (CC-BY-SA-4.0)

This record: CC-BY-SA-4.0.

Data

seated-single-leg-hamstring-stretch.json