Hamstrings and Touching Toes
BeaconRuth
Posts: 2,086
Vermooten's recent question about the length of his hamstrings got me thinking a bit. Cyclists are known for having tight hamstrings and a very simple test for this is how close you can come to touching your toes.
So, looking at a cross-section of average cyclists, just how bad are our hamstrings?
Ruth
So, looking at a cross-section of average cyclists, just how bad are our hamstrings?
Ruth
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BeaconRuth wrote:So, looking at a cross-section of average cyclists, just how bad are our hamstrings?
Ruth
very!0 -
My hamstrings are so tight, I can't even reach my wallet!
Sorry - old cycling joke.
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I can get my fingers flat on the floor in the morning but can get down lower as I warm up through the day.0
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Ruth,
What is your view on flexibility as an aid to injury prevention?
purely from anedotal evidence, the two most flexible blokes I know at the rugby club are also the most commonly injured, it makes me suspicious of how highly rated flexibility is0 -
Palms on the floor for me.0
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just a question, is 'hamstring length' the only limitation ?, i've not read into it, so honestly don't know, what about back, crotch, upper body suppleness, belly ! etc ?0
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LOL! No amount of stretching and flexibility is going to prevent injury if you have a mass of 15-20st blokes landing on top of you in a scrum or get brought down badly in some high-speed tackle! When people say that stretching regularly prevents injuries, they don't mean that you will become bomb-proof on a rugby pitch!fidbod wrote:What is your view on flexibility as an aid to injury prevention?
purely from anedotal evidence, the two most flexible blokes I know at the rugby club are also the most commonly injured, it makes me suspicious of how highly rated flexibility is
However, muscles that are in good condition are (away from the rugby pitch) less likely to pick up strains and injuries and they will recover better from hard training. I think cyclists generally don't take their stretching very seriously because the risk of injury through riding is very low compared to most other sports. Personally I see good muscle condition as being more important for its impact on performance than on injury prevention............... but regardless of your main motivation, it's still vital that you do it IMO.
Ruth0 -
I only used 'hamstring length' because that was the term Vermooten used in his original post. I was assuming that he was being mildly flippant suggesting that his hamstrings might change in length rather than seriously expecting his hamstrings to gain a few cms!PhilofCas wrote:just a question, is 'hamstring length' the only limitation ?, i've not read into it, so honestly don't know, what about back, crotch, upper body suppleness, belly ! etc ?
I'm quite sure other areas of the body and other muscles need to be in good condition, but the main muscles that will constrain your ability to touch your toes are your hamstrings.
Ruth0 -
Can all my fingers to touch the floor, but not my palms! Anyone twanged a hamstring trying this yet!!
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:oops:
Fair point Ruth - I didn't intend to suggest that stretching prevented the kind of impact damage you get on the rugby field. Although I think non rugby players overestimate the damage done on the rugby field. By far my worst injury this season has occurred sitting in a plane seat doing nothing
My question could probably be better put as have you seen anything to suggest that overdevelopment of flexibility can make you more prone to muscular injuries especially tears and strains?0 -
Palms on the floor for me. Not bad for a lardy old sprinter with a seriously dodgy back! 8)
Yoga plays a big part in helping keep me flexible and mobile.I’m a sprinter – I warmed up yesterday.0 -
palms on the floor for me, but not until recently, I have my weekly Pilates class to thank for the increased flexability.0
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I am low calf only. I am not even 40, and fairly trim and fit. I spend 2 hours a day, 5 days a week and about 4 hours every other weekend on a bike. Is that bad?Dan0
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Ruth Can we bend our backs or are we supposed to do it properly?Racing is life - everything else is just waiting0
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Never really had a problem with this stretch, probably because I have always enjoyed my ham, and often ate the string that bound the joint.
I would say that these factors have played a major physiological part in my stretching ability in this area, and would recommend it as method to ease stretching ham strings.
Oh yeah, chew string thoroughly before swallowing 8)0 -
I've never been able to touch my toes but I've never ever had any hamstring problems. I'm also a very poor sprinter. I used to play on the wing (rugby) but I was slower than the props so slowly moved position inward. Now on the other hand my friend was very flexible in the hamstrings, was very fast but was forever pulling them despite spending an age warming up.
So is there a link between hamstring flexibility and pure speed? Do people with flexible hamstrings also have a higher tendancy to pull them?
and anyway wtf has this got to do with cycling?... oh never mind, at least it wont degenerate into a power is the way forward debate, which will make a change.
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Ah, I have short legs, palms flat on the ground and push a bit down beyond that, any time, no warm up.
Stretched out every day for a month once to see what would happen and got to the stage of palms flat on the ground...... while standing on a 4" step ;-)0 -
HiBeaconRuth wrote:Vermooten's recent question about the length of his hamstrings got me thinking a bit. Cyclists are known for having tight hamstrings and a very simple test for this is how close you can come to touching your toes.
So, looking at a cross-section of average cyclists, just how bad are our hamstrings?
Ruth
Hamstrings are I am sure a factor but overall body composition is almost certainly a greater factor in the "what can you touch" debate (ectomorph, endomorph, mesomorph, etc.) and whether an individual has proportionately long femora in relation to spine length.
It's actually quite easy to hurt your back trying to bend further than you naturally can and there is an argument that says one of the reasons we have knee joints is to allow us to easily get down to our feet and the ground
I believe the benefits (real, not imagined) of stretching have been looked at in some detail and as far as I am aware the most recent thinking is that by and large in terms of injury prevention it's a complete waste of time though some people do say that it "feels nice". Oddly the bloke I know who stretches more than any of our little band is the only one who suffers from cramp regularly but I'm not suggesting that there is a relationship!
Each to their own really, if it feels good do it, if it doesn't you'll almost certainly do yourself no harm.
PBWeblog at:
http://www.pedalbiker.blogspot.com0 -
Really? Why do you think that? Just writing my reply to you yesterday made be wince at the pounding I imagine rugby players must get during a match, but I've never come close to playing rugby so maybe it looks a lot worse than it is?fidbod wrote::oops:
Fair point Ruth - I didn't intend to suggest that stretching prevented the kind of impact damage you get on the rugby field. Although I think non rugby players overestimate the damage done on the rugby field. By far my worst injury this season has occurred sitting in a plane seat doing nothing
No, I haven't seen anything along those lines - although I'm sure it's the case that stretching and flexibility exercises done badly can cause strains.My question could probably be better put as have you seen anything to suggest that overdevelopment of flexibility can make you more prone to muscular injuries especially tears and strains?
I wonder if one of the reasons you're thinking along the lines you are is because people who work hardest on their flexibility are usually those who push their bodies to the limit most often. Take gymnasts for instance. Probably the most flexible athletes who exist and certainly they must work very hard at keeping flexible............ and they are athletes who are very prone to strains and injuries. But their flexibillity per se doesn't cause their injuries and strains - it's the gymnastics they do that does that!
Ruth0 -
Ruth, your point on flexibility is very well taken and not something I can counter argue
as to the pounding in rugby matches, well I have no full answer but I suspect it is lack of experience within the sport. The best example I can give is the concept of getting rucked I.E. when the opposing players stand on you repeatedly because you are in the way.
When I watch rugby on TV with non rugby playing friends this situation gets by far the most exclamations of how savage things are. The reality is that it doesn't hurt that much past the initial "S***" they are standing on me reaction. The end result is mostly like a mild friction burn and you only notice when you step into a hot shower at then end of the game - then it stings like buggery!!! but no serious damage sustained.0 -
Mt father in law was president of the North Road CC (his son is now the president, and a bloody good bloke he is too). He cycled for yonks and him and his pals in the club were members man and boy.
He never did any hamstring stretches and over the years he developed a stooping gaite. Notwithstanding any of the athletic benefits strectching will offset the contraction of the hamstrings from cycling and help to maintain a good posture.0 -
flattythehurdler wrote:I am low calf only. I am not even 40, and fairly trim and fit. I spend 2 hours a day, 5 days a week and about 4 hours every other weekend on a bike. Is that bad?
Dunno, but I'm exactly the same. I've never been able to touch my toes, even when I was a kid.
No amount of stretching seems to help either :?
Neil--
"Because the cycling is pain. The cycling is soul crushing pain."0 -
I've set myself an objective of being able to rest my forehead on my knees with legs straight as soon as I can. It's along way off but I'll post a photo as proof once this ridiculous milestone has been achieved.0
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Be careful Vermooten - setting yourself targets for things like stretching is perhaps not the best idea as it may lead you to push the stretches too far. Just stretch as much as is comfortable!vermooten wrote:I've set myself an objective of being able to rest my forehead on my knees with legs straight as soon as I can. It's along way off but I'll post a photo as proof once this ridiculous milestone has been achieved.
Ruth0 -
Indeed Ruth, I was going to add words to that effect to my post but it's a good message to send out to everyone.0
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I can just about manage fingers on floor. My daughter, a gymnast, is able to lay her head on her knees in the old seated hamstring stretch touch your toes position - very flexible, just like her mother. This does not make either of them quicker on a bike than me though!
Seriously though, I had a trampoline accident earlier in the year and went to the chiropractor to put everything back straight. She made a point of stretching my hamstrings every visit as the tightness of them was pulling my pelvis out of shape. Even after about 3weeks off the bike completely, when I started riding again I managed a seasons best 10mile TT first evening out. Perhaps there might be something to loose legs...... If only the legs were as good as the bike....0 -
I say if God had wanted me to bend over, he would have sprinkled the floor with diamonds 0
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Very interesting! 59% of the 61 people who've answered the poll so far can touch the floor. :shock: I wouldn't have guessed that. I wonder how that would compare with a cross-section of the general public? I'm guessing it's a great deal better.
Ruth0 -
I've just tried to skew your 59%.....
I can barely reach my lower calfs. My background is distance running with occasional cycling, but more cycling of late since I've stopped taking the running seriously. I've never had good flexibility and have never been able to touch my toes. I've never stretched properly, and I've always had problems with my hamstrings.....0
