SR Therapies

• If you’ve been sitting at your desk all day, the frog can help develop flexibility around your hips, translating to strength-based exercises like lunges, deadlifts, or squats.

How:

Try to close your eyes and breathe in and out through your nose, using the exhale to soften deeper into the stretch. Aim for several minutes without moving. To make the exercise harder, walk your hands away and lower your chest to the floor. To reduce intensity, draw your heels closer to each other. 

2. Wall hamstring stretch

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You’ll need a wall or doorframe for this exercise. Support your lower back on your exercise mat to help keep your spine neutral. Keep a soft bend in your knees if you have tight hamstrings, and flex your feet so that your toes point toward you.

How:

To make the exercise harder and achieve a deeper stretch, use a door frame that allows you to position one leg against the frame and extend the other leg away through the door. Remember to switch sides.

You can double-wrap one of the best resistance bands around your feet and gently pull the band toward you to deepen the stretch. Hold for several minutes, breathing in and out through your nose.

• 3. Cossack squat

 

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• The Cossack squat is a side lunge that helps develop flexibility in the hips, knees and ankles and builds lower body strength and power, targeting the quads, outer glutes (gluteus medius), hamstrings, adductors (inner thighs), core and lower back.
• It’s also a deep hip opener that can help you find better posture during strength exercises like squats and lunges, helping you to sit deeper into position without compromising your back. 
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How:

Benefits of the best hamstring stretches 

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• The three exercises work well together as a routine and shouldn’t take longer than 10 minutes. Cossack squats work well as a warm-up exercise before loading your squats, deadlifts, or lunges, but static stretches like frog pose and wall stretches are best for cool-downs. 
• To get the most out of each stretch, hold for at least 30 seconds and perform several rounds as part of a stretching routine, or use them as standalone exercises for several minutes first thing in the morning or evening before bedtime. Avoid holding a stretch for any less than 15-30 seconds as your body will need a moment to adjust to the exercise.

• Strength and flexibility exercises are the best way to relieve tight muscles. Tight hamstrings and glutes in particular can inhibit pelvic mobility, placing more pressure on the lower back, impacting posture and increasing the risk of injury during athletic performance. 
• Plus, some studies (like this by the Journal of Sports Science and Medicine) suggest that regular dynamic stretching (with movement, like the Cossack squat) increases flexibility and reduces stiffness over time.