For the past several months (seems like 6) my hamstrings have been incredibly tight. I have concentrated more on them. I used to only do standing leg curls and whatever work they got from squats. I noticed how bad they were lagging and hit up stiff leg deadlifts and/or weighted hypers. For awhile when I was dieting I was also walking briskly on at an incline for 5-7 times a week. My hamstrings are getting more well developed and are finally up to my quads.
I get the usual soreness the next day or so. Even after the soreness went away they were really tight. At first I thought it was all the walking. But I haven't done any cardio in 2 months. I think I am thoroughly stretching before and after leg workouts. I got a desk job and try to stretch them. I usually extend my leg out and put my heel up on my desk while standing and grab my foot with my alternate arm and stretch. I try to do this once an hour. At home I like to do a lunging type stretch on the stairs. I keep one leg down at the bottom of the steps and bend my other leg and place it several steps up. I feel it streching the quad in my one leg and the hamstring in another.
My wife teaches pilates on the side and I use several of those techniques. My favorite is using a bath towel and laying flat on my back on the floor with the towel around the one foot and pulling it back toward my head with the other leg bent and foot flat on the floor. There are some special contraptions called reformers that I use as well but it is hard to describe those stretches.
Even with doing this all the time they are always tight. Here lately it is causing lower back soreness/pain.
Questions: 1) Is this something I am going to just have to deal with as my hamstrings get bigger & bigger & more developed?
2) Suggestions on what to do to get them loose and keep them that way?
3) Anyone experience this dilema? What did you do?
4) Perhaps I am overstreching? But when I limit my stretching to doesn't seem to help? Maybe I am not doing the "right" kind of streching?
I get the usual soreness the next day or so. Even after the soreness went away they were really tight. At first I thought it was all the walking. But I haven't done any cardio in 2 months. I think I am thoroughly stretching before and after leg workouts. I got a desk job and try to stretch them. I usually extend my leg out and put my heel up on my desk while standing and grab my foot with my alternate arm and stretch. I try to do this once an hour. At home I like to do a lunging type stretch on the stairs. I keep one leg down at the bottom of the steps and bend my other leg and place it several steps up. I feel it streching the quad in my one leg and the hamstring in another.
My wife teaches pilates on the side and I use several of those techniques. My favorite is using a bath towel and laying flat on my back on the floor with the towel around the one foot and pulling it back toward my head with the other leg bent and foot flat on the floor. There are some special contraptions called reformers that I use as well but it is hard to describe those stretches.
Even with doing this all the time they are always tight. Here lately it is causing lower back soreness/pain.
Questions: 1) Is this something I am going to just have to deal with as my hamstrings get bigger & bigger & more developed?
2) Suggestions on what to do to get them loose and keep them that way?
3) Anyone experience this dilema? What did you do?
4) Perhaps I am overstreching? But when I limit my stretching to doesn't seem to help? Maybe I am not doing the "right" kind of streching?