What is a safe and efficient way of improving this? I don't want to do the splits or anything fancy, I just wast to increase the range of motion in all directions. I have found my hamsrings to be very tight and inefficent over the last couple of weeks, especially after doing sprints.
All advice appriciated.
Baz
Well jump rope for a bit or so first to warm up.
Put one hand against a wall. Now swing one leg forwards and backwards. As the joints warm up and you work the stretch a bit more KEEP GOING. Keep on swinging KICKING HARDER on the way FORWARDS and BACKWARDS.
This works great. Keep going like this. Repeat on other leg.
BUILD THE SPEED SLOWLY first.
You can also do this whilst facing the wall. But this time your leg goes from side to side instead so kind of in front of you and you turn your hips a bit. Same strategy as the other exercise.
Can you sit in a deep squat?
Hey didn't I send you an email about OL clubs in your area or so?
Sit on the floor. Have your feet straight out in front of you. Now work the the stretch so that you can get your head as close to your knees as possible. This is a tough one, but just work the range and PUSH YOURSELF HARD. Eventually you will get it.
Look in to PNF stretching also.
Koing
Koing's suggestions are good. I would also suggest active
isolated stretching. This is a method where you contract the
antagonist muscles as you go into your stretch. You hold the
stretch for two seconds and then release. This is one rep.
You do two or three sets of ten reps for each muscle group.
For your hamstrings you can do this in the position that Koing
suggested. Or, you can do one leg at a time with the other
leg bent and the foot by your knee. I also like to do it
standing with one foot up on a table or stretching bar. When
standing keep your supporting foot pointing straight ahead
and keep the supporting leg straight. Keep your hips square.
In any of these positions, contract your hip flexors and quads
as you bend forward from the hips to go into the stretch. Hold
the contraction for two seconds, then release.
This method allows you to bypass the neuromuscular
mechanisms that inhibit range of motion, and your flexibility
will increase very quickly.
Dont' forget to strengthen weak muscles (in your case, it seems to be the hamstring). Stronger muscles have more resilience to stretching and may even improve one's range of motion. This is simply because the stretch reflex don't kick in so often when a muscle is stronger, plus it doesn't get damaged easily from stretching.
BTW, when you are stretching, you are not actually stretching out the muscle fibres themselves. What you are stretching is the sheath encapsulating the muscles. A typical skeletal muscle is capable of expanding 1.5x its length from full contraction. This is considered "normal" for muscle fibres. What prevents full extension is the sheaths around the muscles. This is what needs to be stretched out.
try Davies Hurdle hip mobility drills. Purchase the book Renegade Training For Football which provides a detailed description of these movements.
thank you
coach Hale
www.maxcondition.com