Pyramid Good Mornings
Pyramid Good Mornings
Muscle Group Stretched: Hamstrings
Muscle Group Strengthened: Hamstrings, Back
Type of Stretch: Active Dynamic
Difficulty: All Levels
Suggested Prerequisites: none
This variation of the traditional bodyweight good mornings drill is a nice way to focus on one leg at a time. This can be especially useful if you have one hip that’s tighter than the other so you can give your “challenge” side some extra reps to help even them out.
How To
Step 1
Start standing. Step one foot backwards about 2 feet to stagger your legs, and angle the back foot out to the side slightly for balance. Keep both hip bones pointing forwards. The front leg will be the leg we’re focusing on stretching.
Step 2
Keeping your back flat, hinge at the hips to initiate a forward fold. Focus on rotating the front of your hip bones towards the floor, lifting your sits bones and tailbone away from the ground - you should be feeling a stretch in the back of your front thigh (hamstrings). Don’t worry if you can’t lean far before you feel the stretch - as long as you’re feeling the hamstring stretch, you’ll be benefiting from this drill!
Step 3
Once you’ve leaned as far forwards as you can with a flat back (even if that’s not yet parallel to the floor), press into the front foot to engage your hamstrings as you lift your torso back on up to standing.
Repeat for 8-12 reps.
Modifications
Need to make it easier?
Bend your front knee a bit. As long as you’re still feeling a stretch in your hamstrings, a knee bend is A-OK
Brace your hands against your front thigh for support.
Want to make it harder?
Reach your arms out to the side, or overhead - this will make the “lever arm” of your upper body feel heavier, so your hamstrings will have to work harder to lift the weight.
Add weight. Hold weights in your hands, or a barbell on your back. For the purposes of flexibility training, pick a weight that still allows you to go through the same range of motion that you can as before you added weight.
