The Straight Leg Kicks Dynamic Hamstring Stretch warms up the musculature of the posterior thigh used during running and serving.
The straight leg kicks dynamic hamstring stretch prepares the hamstrings for explosive action, such as jumping during the serve, reduces the risk for injury and improves flexibility of the hamstrings by increasing muscle tissue temperature.
If you are interested in finding out why you should warm up before you play tennis take a look at the benefits of a proper warm up routine.
Ensure that you perform the straight leg kicks in a controlled fashion, especially if you haven’t performed any other warm up exercise before, because it is easy to pull the hamstrings when they are “cold”.
If you have hamstring flexibility issues then you might not be able to kick up the leg to hip level without flexing the knee.
If that’s the case then raise the leg as far as possible without bending the knee.
Straight Leg Kicks Progress
Implement the stretch into your dynamic stretching routine prior to your training or workout. This is also a great time to mentally prepare yourself.
Make sure you can control the action throughout the entire range of motion. Otherwise you defeat the purpose of the exercise.
Very often, athletes are not focused and they just go through the motions. They become sloppy. Especially when it comes to maintaining dynamic stability.
Here are the progression levels:
- Beginner: look down during the action
- Advanced: look forward during the action & increase speed
- Professional: close your eyes
As a beginner you want to perform the stretch in a controlled fashion so that you can maintain dynamic stability throughout the stretch.
Advanced athletes can speed up the action and maintain a narrow base during the lunge position to increase the dynamic stability requirements.
Professional athletes can close their eyes during the action. That makes it even more difficult to maintain dynamic stability throughout the action.
Straight Leg Kicks Description Summary
- Face forward
- Keep leg straight and raise it as far in front of you as possible
- The ipsilateral (opposite) hand touches the toes of the raised leg
- Release the leg back to the ground
- Repeat with other leg
Targeted Musculature
- Hamstrings
More Dynamic Stretches
Of course we have more great dynamic stretches that you can do before you start playing tennis to get yourself prepared and ready for action.
Simply chose 6-8 dynamic stretches for your dynamic stretch routine that warm up the major muscle groups of the legs and hips and you are ready to go!
Here are a few suggestions:
- Single Leg Romanian Deadlift Dynamic Stretch
- Dynamic Piriformis Stretch
- Lunge And Twist Core Stretch
Other Static Stretches For You
Apart from the straight leg kicks dynamic hamstring stretch we have some other static stretches for you that target the muscles acting on the hip and the knee.
You can use these stretches during the cool down once you are finished with your match or training session.
Simply click on them to learn more or watch the videos:
Training Zone
In this section we provide you with some more workouts and training tips you may be interested in to optimize your training:
