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Hamstrings
 

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Sparky
Joined: 08 Dec 2003
Posts: 19063
Location: PDX

2/21/13 3:41 PM

Hamstrings

Getting some time on the bike with the higher bars. I seem to be getting a lot tighter hamstrings for my new position. I do pedal heals low FWIW, always have.

Comments ?

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dan emery
Joined: 11 Jan 2004
Posts: 6882
Location: Maine

2/21/13 3:46 PM

Hammies

I periodically notice my hamstrings tightening while riding, particularly when I switch bikes. However I've never figured out exactly what causes it, so I'm not much help. It's never gotten to be much of a problem, and never limited my riding. I do think it tends to happen more on a mtn or commuting type bike with a bit more upright position than the road bike.

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Sparky
Joined: 08 Dec 2003
Posts: 19063
Location: PDX

2/21/13 3:54 PM

"I do think it tends to happen more on a mtn or commuting type bike with a bit more upright position than the road bike."


Well my MTB is still bar way low, not that I ride it anymore. But I was thinking it is because of the higher bars/riding position... Or at least wanted to see
if anyone else thought so before I ruled in my imagination. :)

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dfcas
Joined: 11 Jan 2004
Posts: 2815
Location: hillbilly heaven

2/21/13 4:03 PM

I suspect its just change. Any change at all in position causes a different range of motion, and is like cross training to a small dgree. I sometimes find my hamstrings tighten up early in a ride and a stop to stretch them seems to work wonders. I suspect as you get used to the more upright bars that tightening will go away.

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ErikS
Joined: 19 May 2005
Posts: 8337
Location: Slowing boiling over in the steamy south, Global Warming is real

2/21/13 5:15 PM

Take up yoga.

Yep, hippie yoga is great for tight muscles. I try for 3 days a week though the last two weeks work hours has limited what I can do. I opted to run and ride with what little time I had.

I love yoga.

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KerryIrons
Joined: 12 Jan 2004
Posts: 3234
Location: Midland, MI

2/21/13 7:27 PM

Tightening up

It is "always" said that cycling tightens up your ham strings and reduces flexibility. I have not found this to be the case but I generally ride in the drops, elbows bent and a fairly stretched out position. I have always assumed that this is the reason I don't tighten up despites lots of time on the bike. My presumption is that a more upright position might indeed result in said tightening. I have no actual data to support this supposition.

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Rickk
Joined: 01 Jun 2004
Posts: 528
Location: Montreal

2/21/13 9:17 PM

Is that the ONLY VARIABLE you changed ,

...(ie. "higher handlebars") compared to your other/previous bike?

If yes, then bingo, likely the cause.

Although generally, from a strictly biomechanical pov, higher bars (with all other variables unchanged) should theoretically demand LESS stretch from your hamstrings, vs lower bars.

If the higher bars were not not the only variable changed , then...
..back to the drawing board.

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Sparky
Joined: 08 Dec 2003
Posts: 19063
Location: PDX

2/21/13 10:18 PM

Other changes?

Bike wise, little shorter stem and raised the bars.
Also, this made me think. A certain saddle which I didn't find particularly comfy, now is. And my fav saddle on my Strong on the Computrainer is tweaking my sit bones since I raised and shortened the stem on it. I slid the saddle a little forward after my last CT session yesterday. Will see tomorrow how that works, took the day off the bike for stretching and core stuff.

I started walking the dog a lot lately, poor old fart is getting tuckered out. Instead of just letting him out in the back yard [big] a few times a day, I have been walking 1/2 mile to a huge park folks run their dogs. Doing a few laps and back, probably 2 miles each trip. So that is new for me as well... Walking on uneven terrain upright 4 miles a day could be tightening up the hammies as well. So I am doing more stretching.

And this is the most active I have been since I tweaked the nerve, but doc sez it is ok. So I am all over the place as far as changes I guess...

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Nick Payne
Joined: 10 Jan 2004
Posts: 2625
Location: Canberra, Australia

2/21/13 10:44 PM

All my bikes except my road race machine have the handlebars about 2cm higher than the saddle, and those are the bikes on which I do most of my miles. I don't notice any hamstring problems, but I've had my handlebar height set there for a long time.

I'd also second the yoga recommendation. I started doing yoga at university a bit over 40 years ago, with almost daily practice since, and what I notice is that the only time I ever notice anything with my hamstrings is on days where I didn't do my usual yoga practice the previous day...

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dddd
Joined: 11 Jan 2004
Posts: 3345
Location: NorCal

2/22/13 12:50 PM

I battled a seemingly "tight" left hammy after the first CX race, the one where I got stuck in heavy football-game traffic on I-80 and then ran to the start line sans any warmup, followed by the de-riguer emulation of a track/field ace doing the barriers.

This lasted a long time. I had also resumed my regular (seasonal) running, so not sure whether and how much that was causative. I was at first fearful of the left knee having a related tendonitis behind the joint, which I got past, but extra extension of the leg seems a likely cause since a tight muscle can be in response to even a slight tearing in the muscle.

Perhaps a more-upright position has you sliding back on the saddle to achieve more leg force against the added air resistance? This might have the same effect as a higher saddle.

Lastly, muscles need time to adapt to any bike changes, while you're learning a new appropriate reponse to percieved exertion.

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dan emery
Joined: 11 Jan 2004
Posts: 6882
Location: Maine

2/22/13 3:32 PM

Holiday Inn advice

I've always had tight hamstrings (not painful or a problem, just not very flexible). Even back in high school, hurdler's stretches were torture.

After my hip replacement, alot of the physical therapy was directed to stretching the hammies so the hip could work normally. The tightness was a source of amusement to my PT: "You're tight as an old boot!"

Anyway, one thing I learned is that the posture of the pelvis has a big effect on how the hamstring functions. An anterior tilt (toward the front) stretches the hammies, while a posterior tilt shortens them. I recall that when I got the knack of adding an anterior tilt to the streching esercises, it felt like someone with winding up the muscle with a winch.

So maybe the changed bike position changes the pelvis posture which affects the hammy.

Like free legal advice, this advice is worth exactly what you paid for it!

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