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Side of Hams and Quads
Oh, My Aching Back touches on the role the hamstring muscles play in the health of the back. However, another important reason to pay attention to the hamstring muscles has to do with the knee. Both the hamstring and the quadricep muscle groups cross the knee joint. If one is disproportionately stronger and/or tighter than the other, the knee joint is at risk.
A handy, schedule-friendly way to work your hamstrings is to walk, run, or skip backwards. Yep, backwards: It may look odd, but it will do the trick. A convenient quadriceps drill is stair climbing: ignore the elevator. Also, concentrating on using your legs instead of your arms to get you out of a chair will help develop quadricep strength. If you have time for some isolated work on the hamstrings and quadriceps, try one of the exercises in weight training: hams & quads. In addition to specific hamstring and quadricep exercises, the lunge and squat are both useful in strengthening these muscle groups.
There is virtually no way the hamstring muscles are going to become stronger than the quadriceps. But, they can be too weak to provide the appropriate balance against the pull the quadriceps have on the knee joint. And, the hamstrings can become so inflexible and tight that they exert an unbalanced pull on the knee joint as well. The hamstrings and the quadriceps, like all opposing muscle groups (triceps/biceps, abdominals/lower back, chest/upper back) must work together in harmony for optimum joint health.
The importance of flexibility cannot be stressed enough. Keeping muscle groups flexible is just as important as keeping them strong. In fact, flexible muscles are much stronger, and far less susceptible to injury, than are inflexible muscles. See flexibility training: flexibility basics for more information on flexibility.
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