maratoolStanding Hamstring and Calf Stretch
How to do the standing hamstring and calf stretch
- Being by looping a belt, band, or rope around one foot. While standing, place that foot forward.
- Bend your back leg, while keeping the front one straight. Now raise the toes of your front foot off of the ground and lean forward.
- Using the belt, pull on the top of the foot to increase the stretch in the calf. Hold for 10-20 seconds and repeat with the other foot.
Muscles worked
The muscles under tension are the hamstrings, which extend the hip and bend the knee, frequently at both joints in the same repetition.
A stretch loads them at the far end of the range they normally work in, so the position you hold is itself the resistance.
Every exercise for:Hamstrings
How this movement works
Nothing travels once you are in position. The muscle holds a length under tension instead of working through a range, so effort is measured in seconds rather than repetitions — and the honest progression is more time in a good position, not a deeper one forced early.
It is filed under stretching, so the target is range of motion rather than force — a position you can settle into and breathe in, held long enough for the tissue to give.
What you need
These train the hamstrings too, using equipment this one does not:
- Standing Leg Curlmachine
- Stiff-Legged Barbell Deadliftbarbell
- Stiff-Legged Dumbbell Deadliftdumbbell
- 90/90 Hamstringbody only
- Alternating Hang Cleankettlebell
Difficulty
Listed at beginner level: the pattern is simple enough to pick up without coaching, and a position that goes wrong mid-set is obvious enough to correct on the next repetition.
Of the 86 hamstrings exercises in this database, 37 are listed at beginner level.
Photos: free-exercise-db — public domain (Unlicense) Full attribution →
ⓘ Informational only — not a substitute for professional fitness or medical advice.