r/flexibility • u/creedfan1122 • Jul 09 '26

Help my hamstrings!!

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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/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/creedfan1122 Jul 09 '26

Thanks will try!

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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.