Tightness

[juiper]

I wonder if anybody else has this problem and any suggestions to get round it.

When I do leg presses I can't lock my knees at the top of the movement because i feel a twinge on my lower back. Instead i keep my legs slightly bent, which incidentally, has made the exercise much tougher.

I just need to know - are my hams too tight? I need to do some stretches but I am not sure which bodypart to hit, lower back or hams?

 

[dude]

You hammstrings are too tight. An excellent way to stretch them out is to lie on the floor and grap a towel. Keeping your leg straight use the towel at the sole of your foot to bring your leg up. Hold the stretch for 30 seconds and rest. Repeat 4-6x. You could just bend over and attempt to touch your toes but the you HAVE to make sure that you keep your back straight during the stretch to target the hammies and not the lower back. Many people can touch their toes and have still have tight hamstrings. The problem is that this extra motion is accomplished through excessive flexion of the back.