Add This To Your Routine To Combat Muscle Stiffness, According To A PT

Plus a weekly routine for tight hamstrings.

Koichiko

Jun 18, 2025 - 20:16

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Add This To Your Routine To Combat Muscle Stiffness, According To A PT

Registered Dietitian Nutritionist

By Molly Knudsen, M.S., RDN

Registered Dietitian Nutritionist

Molly Knudsen, M.S., RDN is a Registered Dietician Nutritionist with a bachelor’s degree in nutrition from Texas Christian University and a master’s in nutrition interventions, communication, and behavior change from Tufts University. She lives in Newport Beach, California, and enjoys connecting people to the food they eat and how it influences health and wellbeing.

Image by Felix Hug / Stocksy

June 18, 2025

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Do you sit all day at a desk job? Hello, tight hip flexors and shoulder tension. What about feeling stiff after a workout? For me, it's always tight hamstrings.

When your muscles feel more like plywood than a rubber band, then everything gets harder—from picking something up off the floor to sinking deeply into a squat.

And if you're anything like me, your mind may jump straight to stretching as a way to help. But surprisingly, strength training may be exactly what your body needs.

Loading your muscles can actually reduce stiffness and perceived tightness by stabilizing the joint and improving muscle stability.

If this seems counterintuitive, don't fret. We tapped a physical therapist to help break this down and share how to incorporate strength (and stretch) into your routine to help movement feel more fluid.

What is true muscle stiffness?

"Firstly, it's important to know that perceived muscle tightness is not the same as true muscle stiffness. They can be present alone or together,” says Leada Malek, P.T., DPT, CSCS, SCS. The main difference is anything can feel tight, but "stiffness can limit how well a muscle lengthens, which can impede range of motion," Malek notes. And we don't want that to happen.

Having a solid range of motion—aka mobility—improves just about everything: flexibility, joint health, blood flow, posture, injury prevention 1, and (yes) perceived muscle stiffness. To achieve optimal mobility, Malek emphasizes that the joints and muscles have to work together, which is challenging if the muscles are stiff or weak.

Muscle stiffness can arise from a variety of factors:

Inactivity: Sedentary behavior 2 and underusing the muscles can lead to tightness. When muscles are not regularly used through their full range of motion, that range can become more and more limited. Muscle fatigue: On the opposite end, overexertion 3 may be the root of stiffness. But overexertion doesn't equal overuse. It just indicates your muscles have been pushed beyond their capacity. For highly active people, this could be short term as your body adjusts to a new training load or volume, whereas others may have a lingering feeling of fatigue from taking fitness classes inconsistently. Poor posture: Hunched shoulders, craned necks, and odd seated positions 2 can strain muscles and lead to certain muscles tightening. Age-related changes: As we age, there's a natural tendency for muscles and connective tissues to lose some elasticity, leading to increased stiffness.

Strength training for improving your range of motion

Strength training to enhance mobility focuses on building strength within specific ranges of motion. This helps increase muscle length and strengthens the muscles surrounding the joints—which may contribute to improved flexibility. In turn, this means fewer shortened and stiff muscles.

"The beauty is there are a lot of ways to target this," says Malek. "It might be done on the lighter side, such as when training shoulder rotation, or it may be heavier, such as when doing deadlifts for hamstring length." While bodyweight may be an appropriate resistance to start with, Malek emphasizes that building up to higher intensities (through the full range of motion) is needed to really target flexibility.

For example, mindbodygreen editor and yoga instructor Sarah Reagan recommends glute bridges to counter tight hip flexors. This exercise (and stretch) extends the tight muscles, but adding weights is an effective way to strengthen your glutes and stabilize your hips and lower back.

Don't ignore stretching

And pairing stretching with strength training helps optimize your body's ability to move effectively and efficiently, leading to improved strength training outcomes.

A sample routine for stiff hamstrings

So, how can you couple strength and stretch in one routine? I asked Malek what routine she recommends for stiff hamstrings.

Strength

Two or three times a week that target hamstrings in the lengthened—extended—position. This could be a Romanian deadlift (or a single-leg variation) or a hamstring curl. The number of reps and the weights used will vary from person to person. Just don't go too heavy too fast if you're new to strength.

Stretch

Add in stretching three to five times a week by doing a seated hamstring stretch and holding each side for 30-60 seconds, two or three times. You do this by sitting on the floor with one leg extended and the other bent—with the foot of the bent leg against the inner thigh of the other. Then, hinge at the hips, reaching forward toward your toes while keeping the back straight. You should feel a gentle stretch in the hamstring.

If you're stretching before a workout, consider two to three sets of a moving, or dynamic, stretch, like hamstring sweeps for 30-45 seconds.

"You may need to increase the stretch intensity and duration as you become more exposed to it, but of course remember this shouldn't hurt beyond just being a little foreign and uncomfortable," says Malek.

What else can you do for strength & stiffness?

As a dietitian, I feel compelled to point out a few nutritional strategies that can support these physical efforts in building strength and alleviating stiffness.

Protein: Getting enough protein daily is crucial for optimal muscle health. Most people should be getting a minimum of 100 grams a day. Here's our top advice for increasing your protein intake, and you can lean on a protein powder to help get you there.Curcumin: This is the main active compound in turmeric. Studies show that it can help promote joint strength, function, and mobility by reducing proinflammatory markers. Try adding a teaspoon or two to your day, or opt for a supplement. Omega-3s: These fatty acids (mainly EPA and DHA) have potent anti-inflammatory and antioxidant actions that promote joint comfort and mobility by reducing pain, stiffness, and soft tissue swelling. They're most commonly found in fatty fish like salmon or fish oil supplements. Collagen: Collagen comprises about 60% of cartilage—the connective tissues that cushion the space in your joint where bones mean. So losing collagen, means that bone is hitting bone (and ouch that hurts). Collagen supplements are a great way to get easily absorbable collagen peptides, which research shows supports connective tissue flexibility.

The takeaway

If you're experiencing true muscle stiffness that is making you feel tight or limiting your daily movements, it's time to reevaluate and revamp your strength training routine.

Strengthening your muscles, especially those around your joints, and moving through your range of motion with resistance can help you feel more limber and move with more ease and comfort.