GGMM - "...but he should either grab farther up his legs..."
That is exactly why I grab the bottom of my pants rather than my toes. I am not yet flexible enough to prevent rounding my back if I grab that low and try to fully straighten my legs. By the time I've done 10 of these, I can already feel things loosening up and finding it easier to straighten my legs.
By my last few, I'm usually able to grab the back of my ankles rather than the bottom of my pants.
BTW - I do a lot of the Sun Salutations movements except downward dog, but not in a specific sequence. I do a variation of DD that I believe is called the Childs pose, but not on a regular basis.
Okay, I got it that time. In the video, you'll see he's rounding his back and also at two points flexing his neck, trying to give himself more room to straighten up. Don't do either of those things unless you want to stretch your hamstrings at the expense of your back and neck. Not sure about you, but he should either grab farther up his legs or not fully straighten, keeping his back and neck in one straight line for the entire exercise.
It's a good move and not one I'd seen before. I still like the goblet squat start better, but I can touch my toes easily.
BTW - I do a lot of the Sun Salutations movements except downward dog, but not in a specific sequence.
GGMM - Yes, that is the movement. There was some stuff I didn't see at the end of the link BTW. Reposted it without that stuff. Also note the 2 spaces after the "ww" and the "google.".
ww w.google. com/search?q=youtube+bootstraps+exercise&sca_esv=029f1710fb0d870d&sca_upv=1&sxsrf=ADLYWIKqidh3jiqhBquEAAm_XVV7Jq9bEg%3A1719248966794&ei=Rqh5Zq6TMJ7j5NoPnM6MaA&oq=youtube+bootstraps+exer&gs_lp=Egxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAiF3lvdXR1YmUgYm9vdHN0cmFwcyBleGVyKgIIADIFECEYoAEyBRAhGKABMgUQIRigAUimH1DAB1igE3ABeACQAQCYAZsCoAHiCKoBBTAuMi4zuAEByAEA-AEBmAIGoAKgCcICCRAAGLADGAgYHsICCxAAGLADGAgYChgewgIOEAAYgAQYsAMYhgMYigXCAgsQABiABBiwAxiiBMICBhAAGBYYHsICCxAAGIAEGIYDGIoFwgIIEAAYgAQYogSYAwCIBgGQBgiSBwUxLjEuNKAH_hU&sclient=gws-wiz-serp#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:807f3e59,vid:Z036rT7oH30,st:0
Nothing likes your link, but is it the one where you hold something lower leg to foot in a semi squat and then stand?
The ones I'm doing look like this 15 sec video. I usually just grab my pants leg bottoms instead of my toes, as I am still dealing with tight hamstrings, but they seem to be getting better. I should probably video myself to see if I'm rounding my back. Hard to tell when you're doing them.
ww w.google. com/search?q=youtube+bootstraps+exercise&sca_esv=029f1710fb0d870d&sca_upv=1&sxsrf=ADLYWIKqidh3jiqhBquEAAm_XVV7Jq9bEg%3A1719248966794&ei=Rqh5Zq6TMJ7j5NoPnM6MaA&oq=youtube+bootstraps+exer&gs_lp=Egxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAiF3lvdXR1YmUgYm9vdHN0cmFwcyBleGVyKgIIADIFECEYoAEyBRAhGKABMgUQIRigAUimH1DAB1igE3ABeACQAQCYAZsCoAHiCKoBBTAuMi4zuAEByAEA-AEBmAIGoAKgCcICCRAAGLADGAgYHsICCxAAGLADGAgYChgewgIOEAAYgAQYsAMYhgMYigXCAgsQABiABBiwAxiiBMICBhAAGBYYHsICCxAAGIAEGIYDGIoFwgIIEAAYgAQYogSYAwCIBgGQBgiSBwUxLjEuNKAH_hU&sclient=gws-wiz-serp#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:807f3e59,vid:Z036rT7oH30,st:0
I've looked at several videos for bootstraps/bootstrappers and the thing they have in common is that they are all different. The variation that seems least likely to have you rounding your back in the wrong way starts with a goblet squat to a bent knee forward fold, legs gradually straighten, then return to goblet squat, finish by standing. Which one are you doing?
Sun salutations are not just a great warmup. A set of ten is pretty much a whole body wakeup.
It's fairly typical to lose flexibility as you age, unless you really work at it. I have alway had tight hamstrings and nothing seemed to really make much difference. Recently I've started doing something called "bootstraps". You can Google "youtube bootstraps" if you're not familiar with them.
I try to do one set of 20 daily, and sometimes twice a day if I miss a day. In addition to stretching the hamstring itself, this also stretches the sciatic nerve, which can also feel just like tight hamstrings. It also strengthens the muscles involved in the movement because you are kind of doing squats to do these.
It only takes about a minute to do a set, but I have noticed a difference in my ability to bend forward to touch my toes after doing these for about a month. In fact, if you try to touch your toes, then do a set of these, you'll likely notice an immediate difference before/after. You may also find the last 10 are easier to acheive a full stretch vs the first 10, but you'll feel the squats more if these muscles need work.
If anyone has a stretch that they find particularly effective, please feel free to share.
