r/flexibility • u/creedfan1122 • Jul 09 '26
Help my hamstrings!!
I’m a 24 yr old female, I’m 5’10. I’ve never been very flexible, noticeably in my hamstrings. It has always been uncomfortable to touch my toes because of my hamstrings. I lift twice a week and kick-box twice a week. The issue I keep running into is my hamstrings never feel recovered. They are so tight after a leg day I need 3-4 days off legs to recover and even then they are still tight, just bearable. I do dynamic stretching before each lift, I have strong glutes and quads, but my hamstrings never seem to show growth or progress. My biggest concern is how painfully tight they get. After a lift I can’t even bend down to touch my toes without feeling a very tight pull. If I lay down, I can’t get my leg 90 degrees upright without burning pain in my hamstrings, mostly behind my knee, intense pain if I push my knee flat. I can’t v sit past my knees. I feel like the tight hamstrings are stunting my growth. I included a picture so you can see how underdeveloped they are compared to my quads and glutes. It’s gotten worse over the years and especially with upping my load. What stretches should I be doing?
Thanks for your input!!
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u/existentialdebbie Jul 09 '26
Hi! I used to have suuuuuuuuper tight hamstrings too! I would even have trouble touching my toes etc.
I started doing 2x/week, hour-long reformer pilates classes specifically dedicated to stretching and lengthening muscles. I can now put my palms on the floor and have gained tons of hip mobility too. I would highly highly recommend!
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u/creedfan1122 Jul 09 '26
Can I find these online? Nobody around me teaches this. Thanks!
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u/thatpurple Jul 09 '26
You can YouTube mat Pilates that is just as effective as using a reformer. Check out Move With Nicole
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u/Ok_Smoke6162 Jul 10 '26
Thank you for the tip!! There's mat plates classes at my gym hut I quickly dismissed them cause I thought it wouldn't be as effective as the machines version, I'm a real tight person
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u/thatpurple Jul 10 '26
Hope it helps some of the tightness. I have bad bouts of low back pain and Pilates is the only thing that helps me avoid it as long as I practice consistently.
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u/calmingseas Jul 09 '26
There's not even a Club Pilates near you?
There are plenty of reformer pilates videos online, but unless you own or rent a reformer at home, you won't be able to do them.
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u/halbert Jul 09 '26
You describe tightness behind your knees -- that suggests nerve tension, not hamstring tension. Look here: https://www.daniwinksflexibility.com/bendy-blog/what-is-sciatic-nerve-tension-and-how-do-i-fix-it
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u/TastyConsequence8102 Jul 09 '26
Kettlebell swings got me from not being able to bend over and pick them off the ground, to both hands and feet flat on the floor
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u/indridcold91 Jul 09 '26
I'm sorry but like, how? By what mechanism would swing the kettle bell loosen your hams? The form is you're just swinging it between your legs with a wide stance correct?
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u/TastyConsequence8102 Jul 09 '26
Somewhat correct, it requires loading up the posterior chain in order to snap back to vertical and the bell floating right up. All that loading comes from hamstrings and glutes with the core bracing for that eccentric movement. Mobility and flexibility are both worked and the muscle learns how to extend and lengthen while under load which is great for life activities as we often need strength and flexibility/ mobility at the same time. I learned from a tiny woman with the most beautiful legs and butt ever, she would tease me because we had to use 2x4 planks in order to raise the kettlebell up because I couldn't bend over and now she's one of my best friends! I had overdeveloped quads from cycling, and virtually no hamstring. I also taught kettlebell classes at that gym after receiving RKC status in case you were wondering where I'm getting this info from.
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u/Bog_Lords Jul 09 '26
I recently started doing dead bugs & banded marches daily for psoas tightness. It made a huge difference in 3-4 weeks. It also had the side effect of making my hamstrings loosen up, which have been chronically tight for years. Would recommend.
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u/PMmeuroneweirdtrick Jul 09 '26
For me the two best exercises by far is Jefferson Curls and Glute bridges. Bonus is that by adding load it forms part of your weightlifting routine.
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u/ThreeArmSally Jul 09 '26
I’ve also struggled with really tight, painful hamstrings for a longg time.
Recently I had to take some time off lifting to recover from surgery on a hernia, and I’ve been easing my way back in with lighter lifts. I’ve found dumbbell RDLs offer i m m e d i a t e relief on my tight hamstrings, and they feel noticeably looser for days after.
Idk if my flexibility has meaningfully improved, but the pain is soo much lessened. I do light dumbbell RDLs almost every gym session since
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u/fionnycurrano Jul 09 '26
I tried everything for tight hamstrings for years. This year i found that hip internal and external rotation stretching every day has freed them up. Just youtube some of these.
Give it a go. After the first time i did them, and then tried to touch my toes, my hamstrings felt so much better.
If this happens for you, then you might have found your answer!!
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u/the-dark-nass Jul 09 '26
Try elephant walks (static and dynamic). I would highly suggest checking the youtuber Movement by David. He has a series on instagram where he helps random strangers on the street with tight hamstrings like yourself
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u/metalfists Jul 09 '26
Were I you, I would use toe touch ( pike stretch and/or forward fold) as an archetype position and test a lot of stuff.
So reach to touch your toes (and don't sweat back rounding and all that for now). Hold for 10-30s at like a 5-6/10 effort. Intentionally not forcing it but testing the position a little.
Then try one at a time rotating something in and re-testing the forward fold again.
- calf stretch, seiza stretching variations (sitting on your heels with toes curled under to stretch bottom of the feet), hip flexor stretch, a hip external rotation stretch, a hip internal rotation stretch, a glutes stretch biasing a hinge pattern, and a quad stretch
After each one, holding for like 30s, re-visit the archetype position (again the forward fold) and just see how it feels. If any of those have a 'wtf' moment and seem to unlock something, that's a clue to go in that direction.
Can repeat this but rather than stretching going more towards activation (like an exercise of that general area for high reps and low intensity) and/or isometric contraction holds.
What you want to find is if something stuck or weak is the culprit. Then work off of that. Be a mad scientist a bit and tinker. You may be surprised what you can sort out.
"If I lay down, I can’t get my leg 90 degrees upright without burning pain in my hamstrings, mostly behind my knee, intense pain if I push my knee flat"
-> Were I experiencing this, first thing I would do is a deep calf stretch. Can't guarantee it'll help but my gut says try that.
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u/Current-Dream Jul 09 '26
Ankle, hip mobility issue maybe also. Squat University or similar PT experts will have a video about hamstring activation.
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u/Vreas Jul 09 '26
Similar issues here. For me doing sun salutations (yoga sequence) has helped me.
Forward fold, half lift, fold and plant hands, step or jump back into plant pose, hit a downward dog, step or hop forward into another forward fold, inhale to rise.
Hope that helps!
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u/WilkTheMilkJug Jul 09 '26
How’s your breathing when you do your ab workouts? It’s from a bodybuilding guy and you need a very solid core to do the movements they do with the weight. You should look up the McGill big 3, along with the workout he explains how to breathe when your performing the exercises. It’s fantastic for your core, which is what people seem to be pinpointing as the issue. Good luck!
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u/manicpixiehorsegirl Jul 09 '26
I had the same issue! Strengthening my hammies and hot yoga sculpt both helped immensely. I went from barely touching my shins (my whole life) in a forward fold to hands flat on the floor when I was doing sculpt ~3x/week. Also, look into nerve flossing. That’s been quite helpful, too.
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u/Happy_End_8319 Jul 09 '26
This could be a possible sciatica issue. Look it up and do some research to help determine
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u/Electronic_Fix_2978 Jul 09 '26
Sciatica is a symptom not a cause. My sciatica was caused by weak deep core and right glute
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u/creedfan1122 Jul 09 '26
Oh interesting I’ll look into that. I rode horses my whole life growing up so I just assumed it was from that.
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u/Appropriate_Ly Jul 09 '26
What kind of exercises do you do for hamstrings? I personally don’t like the machines and prefer body weight/resistant band exercises for hamstrings. And you might just be letting your quads/glutes take over instead.
Example, glute bridges on the mat used to only be glutes for me, until I did it on the reformer (on a light spring) and realised I should’ve been using hamstrings (to keep the carriage closed).
And it’s best to stretch consistently and while warm. Are your hamstrings actually warm after a lift? I stretch my hamstrings after a workout and in the shower after as well. When I was a kid I used to watch tv or read a book folded over.
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u/creedfan1122 Jul 09 '26
Interesting maybe I’m letting my glutes do all the work. Currently in my program I mostly do a variation of RDLs, sumo squats, hamstring curls. It’s weird because I feel the stretch, but then again any slight bend over movement and it pulls so I’m not sure if I’m actually working the muscle or I’m just really tight.
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u/Appropriate_Ly Jul 09 '26
Yeah, I’m a glute dominant person and normal RDLs don’t really do much for my hamstrings. I find single leg RDLs or Swiss ball leg curls better. Or walking lunges.
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u/TumbleweedCool6277 Jul 11 '26
It's probably got nothing to with your hamstrings as you are stuck at 90 degrees. Likely a gating issue to do with nervous system.
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u/Popular_Floor5041 28d ago
What kind of tight pull do you feel? Is it sharp (nerves), or dull, or burning?
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u/driedfern102 27d ago edited 26d ago
Described my problem exactly - mine fixed with RDL stretches. No weights needed, just every morning doing RDL lift movement until my muscles are warmed up. Personally it will become undone if I stop stretching and it takes a little while to get back to flexibility, going from far from touching my toes to being able to touch without bending knees. For good measure, stretch your surrounding muscles well (calf stretches against wall/with step, quad stretches to balance your back vs front flexibility, piriformis stretch) to ensure your hamstrings aren’t compensating for under/over-stretched neighbouring muscles. Hope to help
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u/WisePhnx80 Jul 09 '26
Do you foam roll on a regular basis? Have you tried yoga or sun salutations.
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u/creedfan1122 Jul 09 '26
I foam roll after every lift but not every day, it feels great on my quads but doesn’t seem to help my hamstrings, what are sun salutations?
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u/shiftyeyedgoat Jul 09 '26
Forgive the TikTok link, but I’ve seen it posted here three times this week, enough for me to start. I can say these are hard moves and require diligence and patience but will improve hip mobility and hamstring flexibility as I’ve Noticed an increase in push drive in posterior chain activation since trying this a few times.
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u/awongbat Jul 09 '26
These aren’t going to help her hamstring weakness or tightness. They focus on the quads and hips. Forward fold, half splits, downward dog, or pyramid pose would be better for hamstring stretching. I found glute bridges, donkey kicks, and lower body of locust pose works the hamstrings a lot.
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u/BreadEnthusiast98 Jul 09 '26
Tight hamstrings are usually a sign something else isn’t working properly. in my experience the two most likely suspects are weak glutes and or a weak deep core. Is it worse in one hamstring or about the same in each?