The same goes for being able to touch your toes. I had that exact issue and once I was able to retrain my brain into initiating the movement with my glute first, my back squat increased by 90lbs in a very short time period. If you can retrain the brain to activate the muscles in the proper order, the body works more efficiently. As a result, the hamstrings develop fascial adhesions and excess tension, which can lead to low back pain and other issues. For example, when you run or walk, the glute medius should be firing before the hamstring, yet I often see the reverse: the hamstring becomes dominant and over-trained. Many of my patients have issues with dysfunctional movement patterns. What if I told you that short of a structural issue in your body like steel rods in your back or legs that would prevent the movement, you could touch your toes in the next 3 minutes without stretching or warming up for half an hour first. Both of those common misconceptions are very prominent, and as a Massage Therapist who works with a wide array of clientele, I hear both of these reasons all the time. Many people say they either can’t bend over and touch their toes because their hamstrings or low back and hips are too tight, or that they aren’t flexible enough to do it. Flexibility is an element of training that is important to improving performance and overall movement patterns.

Bend over touch your toes get low