These may be my favorite typos, ever! Meant to say "Hamstrings" in training peaks, but "Hamstrong" is so much cooler I had to leave it alone!
If you've trained with me for awhile, you know how I feel about hamstrings- we DO NOT mess with them!!! Hamstrings are tiny muscles whose job is to assist bigger muscles; when they are screaming, you are deep in the danger zone. When they are screaming, they are overworked because your larger muscles have fatigued. We keep them strong by keeping our calves and hips supple and mobile. Yoga is a great way to do this!
Every day is a great day for giving your hamstrings some love, or opening your hips a bit! Below are some of the yoga workouts I've been assigning to my 1:1 clients:
Peloton Yoga
Hamstrings with Aditi - Aditi is a baby-faced assassin. Be warned! She is great but her classes can be on the tough side.
I love everything Chelsea Jackson does! She offers a bunch of shorter yin and restorative classes I like to do with my oldest kid before bed.
I really love the way Peloton presents their yoga workouts. You can do simple stretches, focus on certain body parts, or go through a traditional flow. I tend to do their Focus Flow classes at home and save the longer more traditional yoga for studio work.
For those who don't use Peloton, here are some equally great options:
Iyengar for Plantar Fasciitis - The Iyengar family developed their own style of yoga; its focus centers around oodles of calf stretching (and holding poses for 5-6 minutes each). Its' super good for you, but know that this isn't what most people think of when they think of yoga.
Yoga with Melissa - this is a really cool active restorative class that really gets into your hips!
Yoga Strap Work - anything with a yoga strap will totally go deeper and hit differently!
Carrie Anne! Our very own Coach Carrie hosts events, you should follow her!
Apple + Fitness also offers yoga classes- my husband is partial to Dustin
If you work some lighter yoga into your routine, your body will be singing Hamsongs in no time! LOLOLOLOL
Note: Everything I'm suggesting in this post is easy, gentle, muscle activation. If you are in a race training cycle, specifically in that 10-week pre-race ramp, you really need to avoid power flow classes and hot yoga classes until after your race. Please, please stick to restorative, Iyengar and Yin classes!