Tight/pulling feeling in hamstrings during deadlift set up and pull

[Inda87]

Past couple months my hamstrings have felt very tight when in a deadlift position and when I pull it hurts in my hamstrings because they are so tight even just getting into deadlift position with no weight.. The tightness sometimes goes away by time I get to the heavier sets and sometimes does not. I stretched them for a few days pretty constant and my deadlifts felt normal again.. But then kind of stopped being consistent with the stretching and they are right back. Is this just tight hamstrings? I used to have great hamstring flexibility then all of a sudden this tightness started to happen and i wasn't stretching at all when my flexibility was good. What could be the cause of this tightness?took me about a Half hour of doing the deadlift motion with just the bar for that to be comfortable but as soon as I put on 135 and went to pull the bar felt like it went up so slow because of how tight and painful it felt in my hanmstrings...what the hell is going on?

[Nick Klemetson]

Post a video, maybe?

[Inda87]

Here is what my deadlift form looks like..http://youtu.be/qJ0S6BpcCD0

[Nick Klemetson]

That could be part of the problem.

http://startingstrength.com/resource...468#post182468

Read this, apply it, and try again.

[Inda87]

That could be part of the problem.

http://startingstrength.com/resource...468#post182468

Read this, apply it, and try again.

How does this apply to tight feeling hamstrings?

[Nick Klemetson]

You say your "deadlift position" hurts your hamstrings. Your version of the deadlift position is wrong. The bar is too far forward by several inches. Try getting into the proper position using the setup guide and see if it feels better.

[G1981C]

try stretching, very slowly and gradually and without forcing it in any way. stretch this way every day for a week or two, until you can touch the floor with closed fists without bending your knees.

when i used to deadlift i never started until i was sure i can, without pain, touch the floor with my closed fists without bending my knees. that's when i knew i had done enough warmup.

however if you never stretched before don't do it immediately before you lift, or something unexpected ( bad ) may happen in your workout. just stretch at a different time of day.

eventually when you get used to stretching you can do it before the lift as part of your warmup. then start lifting after you feel 100% comfortable throughout the range of motion.

i would say it is normal to feel the pulling in your hamstrings but it should be ONLY from the weight, not from the form / movement. you should be able to perform the movement with light weight in proper form and not feel any discomfort whatsoever. it is only when the weight starts getting close to your max that you should feel the pulling.

of course at some point the pulling may become an injury, or a torn muscle. that's when a brain and experience are nice to have. you should know from experience what level of pulling sensation corresponds to how long it takes you to recover. if the soreness persists for more than bout 3 days then it is in my opinion already an injury and not just normal soreness. pay close attention to the sensation as you lift and don't allow it to go beyond the level that you deem safe based on experience.

of course injury doesn't result just from effort, but other factors also play into it. brain / experience / knowledge are helpful here as well. but i would say it helps to not be overtrained, not be sore, and good warmup / stretching also i think are crucial. however not everybody believes this.

well, that's just my opinion, and i'm not a doctor or trainer.

[Charlie Davies]

Inda87, you have all the flexibility you need for deadlifting, just fix your form as per the link Nick posted.

Re: feeling tight and sore, what is your programming like? If you are not recovering adequately between training sessions, you might need to adjust your diet or sleep or your program.