Problems with tight hamstrings
seb...@gmail.com
I always had short/tight hamstrings. When I was a young kid they made
us stand up and touch our feet in the gym class and I almost always
was the only kid who wasn't even close to touching me feet. It never
was a problem in my life for my activities except for sitting legs
straight on the floor to watch TV for example (have to bend my knees
it pulls too much in my hamstrings).
I'm now 20 years old 140 Lbs and 6', have been training on and off
with weights for 2 years and started doing some cardio exercises more
seriously a couple of month ago. I ran my first half marathon a month
ago after about 2 months of training and also recently started to do
more bicycle to go to my job (it's at about 30k from my home).
I haven't always stretched my hamstrings but lately I have been
stretching them a lot. When I did weight training and up to a couple
of weeks ago, I use to just do the same movement they made us do when
I was a kid to stretch them, but I started stretching them putting my
leg straight on a surface while I'm standing to try if it works
better.
Now, the tight hamstring problem seems to get worst and worst (it
seems to correlate with the fact that I do some more running and
cycling). A couple of weeks ago, I even started to feel numb in my
foot who is on the pedal every time I drive for more than 40 minutes.
So I started stretching them more and more (3-4 times a day) in the
hope this makes a difference. I still do this static standing
stretching leg straight on a higher surface for about 25-30 seconds on
each leg.
However it doesn't seem to affect my sports, it doesn't hurt neither
when I run nor when I do bicycle, just in other regular life
activities.
Can anyone give me some advice with that. I'm starting to feel like an
old person with sore joints even though I'm young and active!
Thanks
Tomasso
shiel...@yahoo.com
>
> Try yoga.
>
>
Yeah, listen to Tomatosauso if you want to be gay, because only gay
people do yoga. I'm not sure if the gay came before the yoga, or yoga
made them gay, but eventually they all go gay after doing it. Right
Tomassina?
John Mayson
rigor mortis had set in before death. To this day I have very tight
hamstrings. I try to stretch them everyday, else I end up with back
trouble. Even doing that, I can barely touch my toes.
--
John Mayson <jo...@mayson.us>
Austin, Texas, USA
Ed Prochak
> Hi,
>
> I always had short/tight hamstrings. When I was a young kid they made
>
> Now, the tight hamstring problem seems to get worst and worst (it
> seems to correlate with the fact that I do some more running and
> cycling). A couple of weeks ago, I even started to feel numb in my
> foot who is on the pedal every time I drive for more than 40 minutes.
> So I started stretching them more and more (3-4 times a day) in the
> hope this makes a difference. I still do this static standing
> stretching leg straight on a higher surface for about 25-30 seconds on
> each leg.
>
> However it doesn't seem to affect my sports, it doesn't hurt neither
> when I run nor when I do bicycle, just in other regular life
> activities.
>
> Can anyone give me some advice with that. I'm starting to feel like an
> old person with sore joints even though I'm young and active!
>
> Thanks
getting some in-person advice wouldn't hurt. But ac ouple weeks ago a
freind just showed me a stretch that may help.
Lay on the floor next to the wall such that your legs go straight up
the wall. To picture it, imagine the left of the screen is the wall
and you are the letter ell, like this:
L
Note: keep knees straight!
Now with one leg, lift it off the wall for no more than ten seconds.
(note how far you "lift" it)
next with that leg, press against the wall, again no more than 10
seconds.
then "lift" it again and note the improved range of motion.
repeat the press and "lift" on more time.
Then do a set on the other leg.
Nice thing about this is you see improvement immediately. You need to
repeat any stretch regularly (somewhere else I learned you need to
stretch at least daily to make improvements).
HTH,
Ed
PS yoga is not a bad idea either.
che...@gmail.com
muscle you are stretching, if you overstretch you will actually have
the opposite effect. So adjust into your stretch and then back off
just a little. I promise you will see better results faster. Also, the
body is an amazing mechanism and its parts were made to work in
correspondence with one another. So you want to stretch your whole
body because all parts are in one way or another connected. Your
hamstrings are related to your psoas and lower back. So learn how to
stretch those areas and enjoy. Stretching is supposed to be relaxing,
not a chore. :)
shinypenny
> Also, the
> body is an amazing mechanism and its parts were made to work in
> correspondence with one another. So you want to stretch your whole
> body because all parts are in one way or another connected. Your
> hamstrings are related to your psoas and lower back. So learn how to
> stretch those areas and enjoy. Stretching is supposed to be relaxing,
> not a chore. :)
This is very good advice. I also have tight hamstrings and I basically
lack flexibility. I find that my hamstrings are tightest when the
problem is actually originating from my lower back. This is especially
true when I'm required to sit at a desk all day long. Biking can also
create tightness in the lower back. Release the tension there first,
and the hamstrings stretch out easier.
One good stretch for this is to lay on your back, raising one leg in
the air. Use a towel or a belt and wrap it around your foot. Keeping
your leg straight without locking at the knee, pull on the towel or
belt while pushing against it with your foot. It's not necessary to
raise your leg to a 90 degree angle - you probably won't be able to,
at least not right away. Don't force the move. Relax into it, and feel
how the tension first releases in your lower back, then in your hips,
then finally in your hamstrings and your calves.
I also agree with the yoga recommendation. My favorite yoga position
for the hamstrings is the Downward Dog. Here is a detailed
description:
http://www.yogajournal.com/newtoyoga/1978_1.cfm
It's important to note that the key to this pose isn't forcing your
feet to be flat on the ground. That's the last thing you work on.
Instead, the stretch begins in your arms, shoulders, back, pelvis...
in that order, as you stretch like a dog waking up from a nap, with
butt up in the air, elongating from fingertips to your butt. Then and
only then, can you release the tension in your hamstrings and attempt
to lower your feet towards the floor. Usually I have to do this pose
about 3 or 4 times before I can attempt that. Sometimes I need to do
it 3 or 4 times every day for a week before my hamstrings finally let
go. Don't force it and go gradual. This pose really helps you
understand how it's all connected, and the problem is probably
originating in your upper body - not really your hamstrings.
Regarding that stretch where you sit with legs outstretched and
attempt to touch your forehead to your knee: When you practice yoga,
you come to realize that you cannot accomplish this stretch unless
you first "unlock your pelvis." In fact, if you don't unlock your
pelvis, you can shatter your lower back and do some serious damage.
Take a class or at least get a few good videos that can talk you
through this, and explain what it means to "unlock your pelvis." Once
you figure out what the heck they mean by that, it's an ah-ha moment
and you realize that all these flexible people who can touch their
knee with their forehead don't actually have really loose hamstrings -
they have loose pelvis muscles. IOW, they can more easily bend over at
the base of the spine. And you'll also learn that it can help a lot to
roll up a towel and sit on the edge of that.
jen