Total Body Transformation Training Blog

Good Mornings

There was a time when my weight was over 330 pounds. After shedding more than 100 pounds and keeping it off for nearly 5 years I would hardly say I have a chiseled body, but I am happy to know that I can enjoy most physical activities and especially love contact strength-endurance activities. Getting into running has been as much a psychological hurdle as it has been a physical one. I hate to run. I love to sweat, I love the exhaustion high from intense physical exercise, I love to row, box, do aikido, lift weights, stretch, practice yoga -- countless things. But I have to force myself to jog/run/walk as part of a training program. So be it. What we dislike and what we are not good at makes us stronger -- at least that's what I keep telling myself.

Despite my personal aversion to running, my body shares something in common with most North American and European runners of all kinds: weak hamstrings. The hamstrings are those knot like mucles in the back of our legs that prevent most of us from bending over without arching our backs. Stiff, inflexible hamstrings limit our range of motion and explosive power and help cause misalignments in the hip flexors and pelvis. Weak hamstrings also promote a weak lower back and ab complex.

There are many stretches and exercises to help develop the hamstrings. A problem that I've mentioned many times before is isolation -- most of the machines and movements and stretches attempt to isolate the hamstring muscles. Not only is this difficult, it promotes further imbalance. A fundamental way to help your hamstrings is to stop using the leg extension and leg press machines -- these thigh/quad isolation machines promote undue quad development at the expense of hamstring strength. Flat footed bodyweight squat holds help. With your feet should/hip width apart just squat down (back really). Your feet stay flat on the floor and your butt dips below your knees -- well below. This common position for elimination in Asia and much of the third world is excellent on the internal organs, promotes strong ankles, and help stretch the ligaments of the thigh and hamstrings.

Good Mornings though have become my favorite movement to promote strength and stretching of the hamstrings. A great exercise to do first thing in a workout, Good Mornings are not always fun but brutally effective. Be careful! There is no need to use too much weight and injure yourself here. The basic good morning exercise is done with an olympic (45 pound) barbell. Place the barbell across your back (traps), holding the barbell with a wide grip with the hands. Feet are flat, knees slightly bent and relaxed. Tighten your glutes, look up a bit, and bend at the hips. Your back needs to stay straight throughout the movement and if necessary bend your knees more to make this happen. You want to bend 90 degrees and then straighten back up. Keep your butt clenched. Good mornings strebgthen and stretch the lower back and hamstrings. Once you can do 10 slow movements add weight to the bar -- but slowly. You don't need a lot of weight to acheive a great stretch here and build hamstring strength. Move slowly and deliberately. Keep your head up, back flat, glutes squeezed, and your hamstrings will release and strength in no time. Follow your Good Mornings with some back bends and you will find your running much more fluid and easier on the legs.