A few weekends ago I was in London teaching a workshop with my friend Luke Worthington.
We had a group of 35 trainers from across the UK (and Europe) keen to learn more about assessment, program design, coaching joint strength movements and how I rank the Bourne films.
One of the main umbrella themes we kept coming home to was that, contrary to popular belief, “tight” hamstrings aren’t really a thing.
Labeling hamstrings as “tight” is often the default scapegoat and is blamed for everything from butt wink to lower back pain in male pattern baldness. So it was no surprise to see the overwhelming reactions from the majority of the audience when Luke and I kept repeating our message.
You’d think Gandalf walked into a Unicorn shouting “You should not stretch the hamstrings!” based on people’s facial expressions.
via GIPHY
Did Tony just say there are no tightropes?
What’s next: Isn’t water liquid? Isn’t the grass green? Doesn’t Ryan Gosling’s gaze pierce my soul?
Listen, I’m as skeptical as they come whenever someone in the health/fitness industry uses the words “everyone“, “always,” or “When.”
These are three words that, when used ad nauseam, immediately scream “shady mom with an agenda,whenever i hear them.
- Of When the hamstrings. OR It should be When eat after 7pm.
- Always avoid gluten. OR If you are serious about losing fat, always avoid carbohydrates.
- Everyone must be picked up dead off the floor. OR Everyone anyone who reads this site is clearly smart and attractive. (<— 100% true).
However, there are exceptions to every rule and circumstance. I’d be remiss not to tip my hat to the idea that there are, indeed, people out there who have legitimately tight (or, more specifically, anatomically short) thighs.
That said, I doubt you’re one of them.
I’m not going to sit here and say it is When the case, but it’s such a rare occurrence that you’re more likely to win an arm wrestle against a grizzly bear than have really tight/tight hamstrings.
Take the wink for example.
The common culprit is tight hamstrings (pictured right).
Image via Girls Gone Strong
But if we were to discuss (and respect) basic anatomy, we would note the following:
- My folks can cut diamonds.
- The hamstrings are a structural muscle group that crosses both the hip and knee joints.
- As we descend into deep hip flexion—that is, squatting—the hamstrings elongate in one extremity (hips) and shorten on the other (knee), for a clean change of nada.
#itsnotthehamstrings.
But how can we tell?
It’s amazing how many people I’ve interacted with in my career who describe having tight hamstrings and after being told they’ve been stretching them for 43 years (<— just a slight exaggeration), they're yet looking for that magic stretch to heal them.
My first step is to get him/her on an evaluation table and have them do a simple screen to determine if they do in fact have tight hamstrings.
It’s called the Active Straight Leg Raise.
Image: FMS.com
You lay the person on their back and slowly ask them, while keeping one leg attached to the table or floor, to lift the other leg off the table while keeping it as straight as possible. They continue until they feel the first trigger of resistance (or start to see compensations such as the pelvis rotate, the leg rotate, and/or the knee begin to bend).
An acceptable ROM is anywhere from 70-90 degrees of hip flexion.
A funny thing almost always happens.
Most people pass the screen in bright colors.
My: “You don’t have tight thighs.”
Their: “Read out! You mean, aren’t there any other stretches I should be doing?”
My: “Zero.”
Their: “Zero;”
My: “Yes, zero.”
[Cue crickets chirping]
This finding, however, does not rule out the fact that the individual’s hind femurs are still present. TOUCH tight.
So, W……..T……….F?
Something is wrong.
To peel back the onion a little more, I’m going to apply a great trick that Ottawa-based personal trainer, Elsbeth Vaino.
The bridge test
I will have the same person do a standard glute or hip bridge. They’ll get into position and then I’ll ask “where do you feel that?”
Many will immediately say “stems”.
I will then have them do a single leg butt bridge and ask them to hold that position for 10-15 seconds.
Most don’t last five.
“YOWSA….. my hamstrings are tight.”
Why?
The body’s #1 hip extensor is the gluteus maximus, and if it’s not doing its job well, the body’s #2 hip extensor, the hamstrings, will pick up the slack.
Most likely, for most people most of the time, the hamstrings feel tight because 1) they are overactive and doing double the work and/or 2) pelvic alignment needs to be addressed (more glutes and anterior core = more posterior pelvic tilt = loose hamstrings).
NOTE: the last point – hamstrings elongated due to (excessive) anterior pelvic tilt – is because stretching them only feeds the problem. The tightness that many feel is of a nervous nature, not due to actual shortening. Stretching an already stretched muscle makes things worse.
Something else to consider: Active End-Range Hip Flexion
To add another nail to the “it’s not the hamstrings” coffin I will also look at one’s ability to move their hip into (active) end range flexion.
This “trick” delves into some of them Dr. Andreo Spinait works on Functional Range Conditioning (FRC) and is another great way to gently tell someone to stop stretching their hamstrings.
No difficulty, no doubt.
Final Word
The feeling of tight hamstrings is less about an anatomically short muscle that requires endless hours of static stretching and more about improving:
- Pelvic positioning/alignment by pushing individuals into a slightly more posterior pelvic tilt by hammering the glutes and anterior core.
- Active end-range hip flexion. Allow people to experience this position more often and good things will happen.
Stop…..stretching…..the…..stems.
