Flexibility isn't high on many dudes' fitness priorities lists, but as you grow older and start to become grimly and intimately familiar with the brand of early-morning wincing often portrayed in softly-lit ibuprofen commercials, it should be. One of the most common iterations of these unwelcome aches and pains is the hamstring pull, a particularly frequent injury in basketball, soccer, football, or any other activity that requires stop-start sprinting and jumping. Depending on the severity of the strain, recovery can be a lengthy, halting process that is—pardon the expression—a real pain in the ass. Here are a few steps you can take to prevent your city league career from coming to an ignominious end should you crumple into a heap.
Stretch, you idiot.
Stretching might seem boring, which is exactly why you didn't pay any attention to it as a kid. But this stuff really can make a difference. One study found that a simple 13-week hamstring stretching program made the test group's participants more flexible and halved their injury rate when compared to the control group, and plus, whenever I do them, it feels like a thousand gremlins are stabbing me in the back of the legs with their tiny hot soldering irons. Don't argue with gremlins or science.
Dynamic stretches like leg swings, which use motion to loosen up the muscles, are increasingly popular exercises that double as light warm-up, too. But the standing hamstring stretch, with the heel of the target leg's foot up on a chair, can also stretch the hammy and, if you bend the front knee just a touch, also the glute. On the ground, try putting one leg up at a little more than a 90-degree angle and bending your torso forward, so it's next to (or even below!) the line of your thigh, which should be parallel to the ground. Put that other leg harmlessly behind you, and hold the position for 30 seconds before releasing.
Get HUGE.
Look into my eyes and say it with me slowly: I will stop finding reasons to skip legs day. Quadriceps and hamstrings are complementary muscle groups, so if even if you are doing your squats—good for you, by the way—you may be inadvertently contributing to an imbalance between the two. This "quadriceps dominance" can be a significant risk factor for torn ACLs and other catastrophic knee injuries. Deadlifts, both of the conventional and Romanian variety, are two of the best exercises for strengthening hamstrings. Just remember: as with squats, for the love of God, lift with a slow, controlled movement. and please don't bend your back. Also, stretch first.
A single class can go a long way.
If you are concerned at the very real prospect of your legs falling apart like a cheap shirt that has been through the wash one too many times, but aren't really sure how to go about fixing any of that, a yoga or Pilates session can be a great investment of your time. The first time I went to a yoga class, I ended up in positions I didn't even know were physiologically possible, and even though it wasn't the type of exercise I was used to, everything still hurt like hell—in the good way—the next day. Very generally speaking, yoga focuses a little more on flexibility, while Pilates tends to trend towards strength-building, but there's also considerable overlap. Try them both out and see what you think. You could probably stand to have one fewer heavy arms day in your routine, anyway.
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