subject: Exercising Your Hamstrings [print this page] The Hamstring Standing Curls or Knee Flexion exercise is an easy way to strengthen your hamstring muscles. If you can stand and use a chair or counter for support while flexing one leg and standing on the other, you can do this exercise.
The Biceps femoris, Semitendinosus and the Semimembranosus are your three hamstring muscles, which are located in the back of your thigh. Flexing your leg and extending your thigh are the primary actions of these muscles. As you walk or run, these muscles allow you to bend and control the motion of your knees. If you want to be able to walk or run with confidence as you grow older, you must keep these muscles strong with exercise.
Preventing an injury called Runner's Knee is also an incentive to keeping your hamstrings physically fit. This painful condition is also called the patellofemoral pain syndrome. If you have weak hamstrings, you may not be sufficiently bending your knees, which causes more force to be applied to a small area of the knee. By strengthening your hamstrings, you will develop more knee bending ability, and be able to spread the impact force over a wider area of your knees, and thus may help prevent this injury.
The pros of the Knee Flexion exercise is that it is easy to do, and can be done almost anywhere. It also needs no special equipment. If you like, you can increase the difficulty of the exercise by wearing ankle weights.
First balance yourself by placing a few fingers on a chair or counter. Make sure that you keep your neck and spine well aligned. As you breathe out, bend your right knee and raise your right calf behind you. Keep your thighs parallel as you bend your knee. As you breathe in, lower your right leg back to the starting position. Repeat this procedure with you left leg. You should try to do 8 to 12 repetitions with each leg.
You will also increase the strength of the gluteus maximus, piriformis and adductor magnus muscles with this exercise. The primary action of these muscles is to extend your thigh. By doing the Hamstring Standing Curls exercise regularly, you will be able to walk with confidence as you age, and increase your range of motion.
