| Here is way to do a great Hamstring stretch using a rope, belt or strap to assist you. This method of stretching is called Active Isolated Stretching. There are two books I like to refer to for this: “The Wharton’s Stretch” Book by Phil and Jim Wharton, and “Active Isolated Stretching, the Mattes Method” by Aaron Mattes. The models in the pictures that demo today’s stretch are massage students at the Parker School of Massage.
To start: you’re on your back, leg to be stretched is straight with your stretching rope or belt around the arch of your foot, the non-stretched leg is bent.
Keeping the knee straight on the stretching leg, bend your leg at the hip and raise your straight leg as far as it will go comfortably (where you begin to feel a stretch), but not as far as you could make it go. Next, using primarily your own effort and the rope or belt to assist you, raise your straight leg just past the point where you could comfortably take it and hold that for 2 seconds then lower it to the start position.
Do this nine more times to make a set of ten repetitions. Repeat on the other leg. I recommend doing two sets of ten on each leg
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