Runners: your tight hamstrings should be a badge of pride, not of shame!
They are an effect of your training to deliver maximum power. You need stiffness to be an efficient runner.
What’s more, you don’t need a ton of flexibility to run well. Unless you run hurdles or steeple, you need just enough to move through the range of motion of your stride. You don’t even need your hamstrings to be flexible enough for you to tie your shoes with straight legs—instead, rest your shoe on a step and keep your knee bent!
All of this said, you might enjoy hamstring stretches and find them relaxing. And you DO need to be able to relax to run well. (On which, please see The Athlete’s Guide to Recovery, now in a new second edition!)
This article I just wrote for Yoga Journal is here to help you find some hamstring stretches you’ll enjoy, and modify them to best suit your body. And as a bonus, I sneak in a little yoga philosophy for you!
Read it at Yoga Journal, and let me know how the stretches work for you.
