Knee-friendly work-outs for firming up hamstrings

[arielmoon]

Oh this is fantastic! I have similar issues with both hammies and knees. My PT believes both problems are caused by my stiff quads.

[aicabsolut]

Oh this is fantastic! I have similar issues with both hammies and knees. My PT believes both problems are caused by my stiff quads.

I tend get some knee problems from too tight hamstrings (overworking the quads to fight against them) .

+1 for climbing long, extended climbs on your bike. I did something close to a 10mi climb on Friday, and my hamstrings and calves got a major workout! I was extra sore because over some gravel patch before that climb my saddle moved back (and also pointed up, but I caught the angle issue but not the fore/aft issue before doing the climbing).

[Yen]

Thank you for the additional suggestions.

It's easy to get caught up in counting miles and hours on the bike, yet neglect to stretch and cross-train our body on a regular basis. It never ceases to amaze me that no matter how far, long or hard I ride (within my abilities), I feel soreness in the outer thighs and hamstrings after a good long brisk walk. Now I'm practicing the push-off technique mentioned above.

Fortunately, I have lots of walking opportunities built-in to my work day. I walk a total of about 40 minutes just going to the vanpool, to my office, several trips up and down the stairs (4 flights) throughout the day, and another walk back home from the vanpool in the afternoon. If I have no other time to exercise that day, I can count on that 40+ minutes of walking. And I ALWAYS take the stairs (unless I'm with someone who can't or won't).

I have a styrofoam roll I use for tight back muscles. It never occurred to me to use it on other body parts -- I bet that will feel good!

[tulip]

I realized how much work walking is when I got a dog...I was sore for the first two weeks (two hour-long walks a day).