Are elephant walks the greatest hamstring stretch you're not doing? I did them every day for a week to find out

Dozens of exercises have been credited as the best (there's even a move that gym-goers refer to as the World's Greatest Stretch).

So I was intrigued but skeptical when mobility expert John Lindsey shared a move he described as the greatest hamstring stretch of all time.

“If your goal is to touch your toes or get your palms to the floor on a forward fold, this is the drill you need,” he says in a recent Instagram post.

The move in question is the elephant walk, presumably because it mimics the alternating straight and bent-knee gait of an elephant's hind legs when it walks.

Since spotting Lindsey’s post, I've been doing the elephant walk daily to promote recovery after workouts—especially after marathon training sessions—to see what difference it would make.

I've also been using the stretch on rest days to offset tightness built up after a long day at my desk and before bed.

Here is what I discovered after a week of walking like the biggest beast in the jungle.

How to do the elephant walk

First, let's take a look at the exercise.

If you don't have the flexibility to touch your toes with a straight leg, Lindsey suggests using an elevated surface like yoga blocks or a bench for this move.

• Stand with your feet hip-width apart.
• Hinge forward at your hips, while keeping your legs straight.
• Place your hands on your support surface.
• Bend one knee slightly, allowing your hamstrings (muscles in the back of your thighs) to relax.
• On your straightened leg, drive your hip back and tense your quadriceps muscles (at the front of your thigh) to intensify the stretch down your hamstrings.
• Maintain this tension for two to three seconds, then switch sides.
• Lower your hands closer to the floor as your mobility allows.

Lindsey recommends performing 50 reps in total every day, keeping the movement slow and intentional.

“If you want to improve your hamstring mobility, commit to 25 reps per side, daily, for a month and see what changes,” he says.

“As you're able, you'll lower the surface. It probably won't happen in one session but as you do this consistently you'll be getting lower and lower and lower.”

Doing 25 per side takes a long time.

I did find that this quickly improved my mobility, but if you're new to movement, I'd suggest winding down the rep count to 10-15 per side and gradually building up.

What happened when I did the elephant walk every day for a week

The first time I tried stretching like Dumbo I found it tricky to tense my quads. Isolating those muscles in a forward fold can take a bit of getting used to.

But once I got the hang of it, while using my breath to deepen the stretch, it became pleasingly meditative.

That said, it's more of a workout than it looks.

I noticed the stretch most deeply just above the back of my knee joint, and 25 reps on each side can make the area heat up quickly.

That's because contracting one muscle to lengthen and relax the opposing muscle, known as active stretching, is an effective way to improve mobility rather than just flexibility.

Rather than passive hamstring stretches (like reaching for your toes), elephant walks will help you acquire the ability to control your knee joint through a fuller range of motion using your own strength.

Working in this way can make your knee and its surrounding muscles, tendons and ligaments more robust and less injury-prone.

After a few days of regular practice, I could feel the benefits through my posterior chain (all the back-of-body muscles), easing tightness in my calves after a run and lower back after sitting.

After five days, I was able to place my palms fully on the floor.

It also proved the perfect remedy after an arduous weekend of gardening.

So, what's my verdict?

As with any exercise described as the GOAT—greatest of all time—it's only effective when performed consistently.

It also needs to be part of a full-body workout that targets joints and muscles that the move misses.

That said, it's certainly earned its place in my post-workout wind-down routine.