Happy Hammies

The hamstrings are a group of three muscles in the back of each thigh, which enable you to bend your knees and pull your legs back as you walk. They also assist the "glutes" in the buttocks — the powerhouses that propel your body forward when you get up from a chair, bound across a room, or climb stairs. The glutes also help you come to a stop from a run or walk and lower your body to sit down or squat.

When your glutes are weak, your hamstrings pick up the slack forcing them to do more of the glute’s job. But hamstrings can also become tight from too much sitting. "When the glutes are weak, which is common in the age of sitting too much, the hamstrings are continually overworked and overloaded," says Matt Natanson, a physical therapist with Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women's Hospital. Basically, when you sit too much, your hip flexor muscles in the front of each hip contract and tighten, and tell the nerves to turn off the muscles that provide the opposite motion, which, as we mentioned above, are the glutes.

When tight hamstrings are forced to work overtime, they're at risk for injury. So to keep your hammies happy, it is recommended to keep all of your leg muscles healthy and working together, including the glutes and your quadriceps. A hamstring strengthening program involves two approaches: targeting a single muscle group (like a hamstring curl) and targeting several muscles at the same time (like a bridge for both your glutes and hamstrings at the same time).

Hamstring Curl

When doing seated leg curls, make sure the thigh pad rests just above your knees and that the lower leg pad is directly below your calf. while grasping the machine’s handles, push down on the lower leg pad, pulling it as close to your butt as your can. hold for up to five seconds, then return to starting position.

Glute Bridge

Lay on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the ground. Your feet should be hip-width apart with your toes pointed straight ahead. Place your arms by your side. squeeze your gludes and your abs as you start to lift your hips toward the ceiling. raise your hips as high as you can go without arching your back. the goal is to raise your hips until your body is in a straight line from your knee to your hip to your shoulder. For 2 seconds, squeeze your glutes as tightly as you can in the top position. slowly lower your hips down to the floor keeping tension in your glutes and abs.

Natanson says it may take a few months of daily strengthening and stretching to get your upper legs healthy again, and then he suggests a maintenance program of leg workouts a few times per week. He also advises taking breaks from long periods of sitting. For a personalized program of hamstring exercises, click the button below for a complimentary assessment with a certified Success Studio personal trainer. And remember, happy hammies are a key component to functional fitness so you can live life on your own terms.