“Tight” is word you hear everywhere and ALL the time. I hate the word “tight.” When talking about muscles and flexibility and deciding on how to correct a flexibility issue, the word “tight” is useless. Telling me you have “tight” hamstrings does not mean I’m going to jump right in and stretch them. Let me elaborate; I much prefer the words “stiff” or “short.” A stiff muscle indicates there is a lot of resting tension in it. Your stiff muscle may be able to achieve full ROM, but once you start to load things with weight, compensation patterns will start to emerge. A short muscle indicates that it is limited in moving through its full ROM, but the resting tension is within normal limits. Understanding if your muscle is stiff vs. short will go a long way in helping you achieve your desired goals of “less tight hamstrings.”
