Are tight hamstrings hampering your favorite weight loss activities?

March 30, 2017 Ashley 0 Comments

The exercise aspect of weight loss can be tremendously fun.

But you know what makes it miserable?

Tight muscles… Particularly those hammies.

(“Maybe if I curl my spine into a cursive ‘C’, I can touch my toe tips…”)

Now, you’ve probably read a plethora of articles before (mostly probably by me) on here about how to stretch out those tight thigh-backsides for a fabulous activity sesh. Yet, while I stand by all’ve that, I also stand for more standing overall when it comes to tight hammies; more standing and more stretching (of some muscles you might not expect). Why? Because excessive sitting might just be the primary problem causing your pins pain and insufficient looseness.

And you wanna know the strange thing?

It’s not even your hamstrings that are the issue half the time. Rather, the discomfort you’re getting back there is simply a symptom of another bunch of other muscles that demand attention: like your hip flexors, core, and glutes. See, when we sit for too long (presumably for work or that fume infused commute), our hip flexor muscles shorten and the thing we’re sitting on weakens.

The result?

Our whole pelvis goes into an anterior tilt (shown above), our back extends, and those poor hamstrings’ve got nowhere to go. So they tighten as a result. While they might be the first thing we notice, they’re the last thing that happening on that somatic misery list. They’re just an effect of our flexors getting too tight. That means that if you simply address and stretch the symptom – the hamstrings – you never actually resolve the problem. (And it’ll keep recurring.) Sure, you might get a little relief fleetingly. But, before you know it, that weak rump and those taut flexors are gonna cause the same problem all over again in no time. Meanwhile, they’ll also be causing general discomfort all over your body, leading to potential injury during anything from your daily activities to your next workout.

So, what do you do about it?

Stretch and strengthen, my dear. Now, I’m not gonna say don’t stretch your hamstrings at all. ’cause, obviously, that will offer some immediate relief. But, make sure to first work out the priority problems at the start of your body-pain domino cascade. Stretch your hip flexors (so that they don’t pull your pelvis into that inimical tilt anymore), strengthen your core (in a way that doesn’t bug said flexors too much), and definitely work that booty, too. Those latter two workouts will help fortify your body’s powerhouse tremendously so that you aren’t getting your force from all the wrong muscles or taxing your hammies. And, above all, get up more and move throughout the day. If you’ve gotta job where sitting’s inevitable, make break-taking a priority. Get up. Take lunch away from your desk. Fake a nicotine addiction, if you need to, to get some extra seconds standing. Hey, maybe you could even reserve some of that time for stretches, squats, and ab blastery. Not only will it help with your weight loss goals (and build a Brazilian level booty), but it’ll also make the schmexy trek there far more enjoyable.

So don’t just hammer away at your hammies with the foam roller.

Get to stretching those flexors instead – followed by a hardcore core and rear workout.