Solutions to Hamstring Tightness?

Bigger Stronger Leaner Competitive Bodybuilding
21

DP, I’d be interested in a few details. Like how does your hamstring tightness limit you? I ask this because I have about the same reach as you, but I don’t feel I’m limited by it at all. I can squat atg with good form as well as DL with good form. I don’t go deep on RDLs but I don’t see that as a problem.

I’m also curious if you’ve ever been flexible in the hammys? For some people trying to achieve “flexibilty” in the hamstrings is like banging head against wall. If you’ve got short muscle bodies and short tendons, there’s only so much you can do about it.

I concur with those who suggest you do a lot of rolling and to do SLDL. Also, try the static stretching but don’t push it too hard if the results aren’t coming. Finally, be gentle and quit at the first sign of trouble with the hip flexor stretching. That’s playing with fire imo.

22

my pelvis looks exactly like that…If you look at the image, you can see that my hamstrings are already being stretched…the solution would be to strengthen the abs(they would pull upward on the pelvis in the front)…and strengthen the glutes(pull down on the pelvis in the back)…while stretching the hip flexors/low back/quads…

it makes sense to me…

I might not ever be super flexible…but I would like my body to operate in the correct manner…

23

hamstring stretching, strengthening your abs and glutes, etc. are all good things but just after 7:00 dan john, an author on this site and an oly lift beast tells you what he thinks about stretching. http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6529481301858251744# lack of atg on squats and deads is a coordination/balance issue. use goblets.

p.s. this is stolen from another thread but it seemed incredibly relevant here

24

[quote]bicepenvy wrote:
jo3 wrote:
bicepenvy wrote:
TAKE A YOGA CLASS!!!

I’m gonna go to my Wednesday yoga class :slight_smile:

very good, it will help you big time! just stick with it. it’s hard at first but gets easier.[/quote]

I HATE yoga. That shit is fucking hard! Not sure it’s the fastest way to get flexible either…

25

do you play any sports? i had this problem because i played soccer. straight after, and for days after long bouts of soccer, i would get ridiculously tight hamstrings. sometimes they would even cramp. i also experienced after doing leg curls when i was new to lifting (was doing 15-20 reps). i figured it was as a result of high volume. whenever i rested it it would get better.

this is how i fixed it, and if you’re similar to me, then this will help you. do not stretch it, especially when it is tight. give it a break (may take weeks to months) until it’s not tender and not so tight.
then start to stretch it dynamically only (and be careful, don’t push too hard, you have to be patient with flexibility, otherwise you’ll hurt yourself) and not after a workout. do leg curls with high load, low reps (6 reps). never do high rep leg culrs, and don’t static stretch. try it and let me know.

and about your anterior tilt, the hamstrings are not a causative part of the problem, because tight hamstrings would posteriorly tilt the pelvis. if you actually feel tight when you’re walking around, then your hamstrings are SERIOUSLY short. fix the anterior tilt and it will alleviate the tention on the hamstrings. the solution is to practice keeping your pelvis neutral during the day and during different activities. unless something is seriously wrong, i don’t think you particularly need to do strengthening exercises for your abs/glutes. you’ve just got to teach them to activate while standing, walking etc, to pull the pelvis in the right direction.

26

[quote]Airtruth wrote:
stiff legged deadlifts kills two birds with one stone. you can stretch and get them stronger.[/quote]

Bad idea. There can be many reasons why the OP is unable to reach his toes. One could be that he has very limited mobility at the hip or around where the sacrum meets the lumbar area (.ie. somewhere between L5 and S1-S2).

For someone like that to try to do a stiff legged dead lift with the weight necessary for hamstring development is a bad idea.

To the OP: when you stretch, stretch one hamstring/glute at a time. It is easier. During your warm ups, stretch one leg at a time and notice how far you can go. Then, stretch both at the same time up to that point. Then go back to one leg stretch, moving further down. Rinse and repeat.

Deep tissue massage/foam rolling and yoga should work for you as well. Stretch after your leg workouts always (but with care of course.)

27

[quote]GoddessAthlete wrote:
The foam rolling is a great idea. You may also want to look at your diet. I’ve had many clients who are sensitive to gluten and it can cause a lot of tension in the fascia, when they reduced the gluten in their diets, their flexibility improved tremendously.

You may also want to try PNF stretching.[/quote]

Really? I eliminated gluten and whey from my diet recently and have noticed my incredibly tight hamstrings getting much better. There were days I couldn’t sit at my desk for more than 2 minutes! Now it’s much better with little change in my stretching routine. Amazing. And PNF has helped me too

28

try PNF STRETCHING>

29

hamstrings are actually three muscles- semimembranous, semitendinosis and the rectus femoris. stretch all three - point your foot forward, to the outside, to the inside to hit all three. works best if you point toes towards you and turn foot so that the inside of heel is closest to you.

when you are stretching them, tighten quads & corresponding buttock muscle - this will invoke sherrington’s law & hamstrings should release.

hurdlers stretch with back heel facing outside - will help release the hip flexors.

make sure you drink lots of fluid before & after stretching to keep muscles/fascia hydrated. i learned this via rolfing - has worked wonders for me. hope this helps you.

30

Can someone explain what PNF stretching shit is? I hate when people use acronyms and don’t say what they mean! Poor form!

My hams have been killing me too, especially in the mornings. If I bend over at all I can get a mild pull, been trying to stretch them every night, but damn it’s a bitch.

31

[quote]waylanderxx wrote:
Can someone explain what PNF stretching shit is? I hate when people use acronyms and don’t say what they mean! Poor form!

My hams have been killing me too, especially in the mornings. If I bend over at all I can get a mild pull, been trying to stretch them every night, but damn it’s a bitch.[/quote]

Can’t remember what the acronym stands for exactly…

I think its post neuro-muscular faciliation…

Anyway, basically you just have someone stretch you. Ever watched the pornos when the guy lifts the girls leg up to stretch her hammies? haha

  • Partner holds you in a regular stretch for 20-30 seconds
  • Then you relax and move the muscle around that has been stretched for a 5-10 seconds.
  • Partner puts you into a slightly deeper stretch than before, and you gently flex the muscle back against their resistance, hold for 20-30 seconds.

Done.

Feels awesome after you are done.

32

[quote]Goodfellow wrote:
waylanderxx wrote:
Can someone explain what PNF stretching shit is? I hate when people use acronyms and don’t say what they mean! Poor form!

My hams have been killing me too, especially in the mornings. If I bend over at all I can get a mild pull, been trying to stretch them every night, but damn it’s a bitch.

Can’t remember what the acronym stands for exactly…

I think its post neuro-muscular faciliation…

Anyway, basically you just have someone stretch you. Ever watched the pornos when the guy lifts the girls leg up to stretch her hammies? haha

  • Partner holds you in a regular stretch for 20-30 seconds
  • Then you relax and move the muscle around that has been stretched for a 5-10 seconds.
  • Partner puts you into a slightly deeper stretch than before, and you gently flex the muscle back against their resistance, hold for 20-30 seconds.

Done.

Feels awesome after you are done.[/quote]

Thanks.

33

[quote]waylanderxx wrote:
Goodfellow wrote:
waylanderxx wrote:
Can someone explain what PNF stretching shit is? I hate when people use acronyms and don’t say what they mean! Poor form!

My hams have been killing me too, especially in the mornings. If I bend over at all I can get a mild pull, been trying to stretch them every night, but damn it’s a bitch.

Can’t remember what the acronym stands for exactly…

I think its post neuro-muscular faciliation…

Anyway, basically you just have someone stretch you. Ever watched the pornos when the guy lifts the girls leg up to stretch her hammies? haha

  • Partner holds you in a regular stretch for 20-30 seconds
  • Then you relax and move the muscle around that has been stretched for a 5-10 seconds.
  • Partner puts you into a slightly deeper stretch than before, and you gently flex the muscle back against their resistance, hold for 20-30 seconds.

Done.

Feels awesome after you are done.

Thanks.[/quote]

WRONG!!!

You dont need a partner to PNF stretch,
You need to contract the muscle your stretching, EX<reach to furthest point, contract that muscle *drive heel into ground if hamstring.
relax, come up and each time down further, contract, relax again,

PNF,
LOOK UP STRETCH TO WIN.

nothing to do with a partner.
i PNF stetch all my body.

PS its the only stretch you should do prior to workout as it activates your nervous system
static stretching Which is what you described relaxes your nervous system.

PNF stretching give you a 30% increase in stretch vs static BTW.

34

[quote]Goodfellow wrote:

  • Partner puts you into a slightly deeper stretch than before, and you gently flex the muscle back against their resistance, hold for 20-30 seconds.
    [/quote]

You are not supposed to flex while stretching, it stretches the tendon not the muscle if you do. I forget who wrote an article about is on this site.

35

[quote]ucallthatbass wrote:
Goodfellow wrote:

  • Partner puts you into a slightly deeper stretch than before, and you gently flex the muscle back against their resistance, hold for 20-30 seconds.

You are not supposed to flex while stretching, it stretches the tendon not the muscle if you do. I forget who wrote an article about is on this site.[/quote]

I was just explaining what PNF stretching is, thats how it was taught to me.

36

[quote]ROGUE SPEAR wrote:
waylanderxx wrote:
Goodfellow wrote:
waylanderxx wrote:
Can someone explain what PNF stretching shit is? I hate when people use acronyms and don’t say what they mean! Poor form!

My hams have been killing me too, especially in the mornings. If I bend over at all I can get a mild pull, been trying to stretch them every night, but damn it’s a bitch.

Can’t remember what the acronym stands for exactly…

I think its post neuro-muscular faciliation…

Anyway, basically you just have someone stretch you. Ever watched the pornos when the guy lifts the girls leg up to stretch her hammies? haha

  • Partner holds you in a regular stretch for 20-30 seconds
  • Then you relax and move the muscle around that has been stretched for a 5-10 seconds.
  • Partner puts you into a slightly deeper stretch than before, and you gently flex the muscle back against their resistance, hold for 20-30 seconds.

Done.

Feels awesome after you are done.

Thanks.

WRONG!!!

You dont need a partner to PNF stretch,
You need to contract the muscle your stretching, EX<reach to furthest point, contract that muscle *drive heel into ground if hamstring.
relax, come up and each time down further, contract, relax again,

PNF,
LOOK UP STRETCH TO WIN.

nothing to do with a partner.
i PNF stetch all my body.

PS its the only stretch you should do prior to workout as it activates your nervous system
static stretching Which is what you described relaxes your nervous system.

PNF stretching give you a 30% increase in stretch vs static BTW.
[/quote]

I didn’t say you NEED a partner.

It’s just a lot easier to contract the muscle while stretching it with someone helping.

37

[quote]ucallthatbass wrote:
Goodfellow wrote:

  • Partner puts you into a slightly deeper stretch than before, and you gently flex the muscle back against their resistance, hold for 20-30 seconds.

You are not supposed to flex while stretching, it stretches the tendon not the muscle if you do. I forget who wrote an article about is on this site.[/quote]

What? If you’re doing a pnf stretch in the hamstrings, just bend the knee some if you’re feeling it int he tendon. PNF stretching is way more effective than static stretching since you actually build strength and neural comfort in the stretched position. It’s an active process, so learning actually takes place, unlike static stretching.

@ the other poster who said that some people with short tendons will always be limited in their flexibility:

Flexibility does not increase by lengthening the muscle belly. That’s ridiculous. Your muscle has all the length it will ever need, flexibility is regulated neurally. People are a lot more flexible when unconscious, give the stiff guy anesthesia and you can put him in whatever position you want.

Reduce threat and stress, increase flexibility.

38

I feel obligated to post this since this problem hindered my progress for years.

I’ve fixed this problem pretty much. I don’t have perfect flexbility, but I have adequate flexibility to perform deadlifts/squats using correct technique.

Heres what I did.

I suggest you plan flexbility/foamrolling sessions throughout the week a long side your workouts until the problem gets corrected…

SO for flexibility/Foamrolling work…

First you need to loosen up any scar tissue in the muscles.

Foam roll your quads, IT band, and adductors.

Use a tennis ball/lacrosse ball on your piriformis, calves, and the bottom of your feet. You could probably also visit an ART practitioner and get better results.

heres a video that covers pretty much what I did to loosen up the muscles.

Then do static stretching. You have to realize though that you should not be forcing stretches. You need to teach your body how to gain back flexbility…It’s not about inflicting pain… you need to teach the muscle to relax and gain ROM…Breathing and relaxing is critical…

static stretch your rectus femoris, hip flexors, piriformis. first three here.

static stretch your calves.

static stretch TFL.

I also stretched my low back. I just did that by keeping my knees bent in a regular hamstring stretch and let my arms hang down. don’t stretch the hamstrings.

Now…For Training

Do a dynamic warm up before you do lower body training. I recommend Joe defrancos agile 8…Look it up on google.

As far as exercise selction, you need to emphasize hip extension(hips pushing forward like a deadlift) rather then knee flexion(squatting movements). 45 degree back raises, DB Step ups, deadlift variations, GHR, reverse hyper, pullthroughs). In all these movements, Keep your abs tight and your torso straight and Squeeze your Glutes to finish the movements.

You may also want to do glute activation exercises before and in between sets. The purpose of this is to teach your glutes to fire – you can’t strengthen a muscle is if it doesn’t know how to fire. side lying clam, X band walks, and glute bridges are good choices.

You need to train the abdominals to act as stabilizers. The paloff press and ab wheel/ball rollouts are the best exercises in this regard but plank variations are a good start – you must stay tight in the plank…any deviation is a fail(2 min on front plank and 90 sec on side plank are standard times). drop the crunches/sit ups as they mainly train the hip flexors. Strong hip flexors are needed to squat big weights but chances are if you have tight hamstrings then you don’t need more hip flexor work.

Finally when you do get back to Deadlifting from the floor and squatting. You need to emphasize PERFECT form EVERY REP. You need to end the set before your form breaks down or else your CNS will store bad motor patterns and you will actually teach your body to compensate and fail rather then to succeed. Look at the best lifters in the world. They end the set early. How many times have you seen or heard “He made that look easy. He could have done more reps with that weight”…Yeah he could have but he would have used bad form to get them, and he would have never made it to where he has now if he listened to you…

I’m not an expert in this field, but what I did…did work…

I’m in the process of correcting my Upper body now. I have a ton of issues since I’ve played baseball/football since I was a young kid which has probably caused a ton of issues.

39

Thanks for the post. I ditto what you say. I started heavily doing a version of self-myofacial release including foam rolling (i modified many different techniques to create my own method). I used to not be able to deadlift, squat, even shoulder press with good form (although I was strong - hit 495 max on dead – but my back was always so fried. i mean so fried, needless to say not with good form).

Now I can get in position so easily and my form is allowing me to train back to my max! Amazing how tricky the body is. It’s like a disobedient child. You’ve got to have it respect you (and take care of its needs) then it will stop being a little f#$& up, and behave.

40

Another issue is ankle mobility. A lot of guys can’t squat deep with out elevated heels and that is due to poor ankle mobility.

here is exercise to help correct that.

also DB dorsiflexion raises. sit on a bench…put a db in between your feet and flex your feet toward you.

I can’t tell you guys how much this type of stuff frustrates me…