Hodge-podge of questions

[FriendlyFire]

I have just a couple of random things.

First off, when I stretch towards my toes, I never feel it in my hamstrings. In fact I never feel the normal pulling that I get from other stretches. My calves burn, very similar to the burning when you are doing a ton of calf raises. Every other stretch I get the normal pain and feeling of actually stretching something. Wether I am standing, on the ground, middle split, any toe reach just burns my calves. And if I touch my toe and hold it, the burning quickly increases in pain till unbearable. I have developed a type of rythmic bouncing to my toe streches because of it. I am pretty sure this is weird, and bad. Any advice? (Extra weird note, regular calf streches don't bother me, I get a little of the burning pain but it still is like a normal stretch, one I can hold)

Secondly, I always find my legs become more soar and take longer to recover then my arms, abs, back, whatever. My brother says he finds the same thing. Is that normal due to muscle size and daily use, or is there a potential issue in my workout.

Finally, I have read that leg presses are not suppose to go past 90 degrees. I always went deeper. What is best? And thanks for any advice

PS. Lol at a curler in the squat rack today. He was using more hip thrust then bicep to get his bar up.

[TheRuss]

1) Do these.
2) I'd imagine it's something specific to your body and workouts. You should be able to improve your leg recovery time through training.
3/4) A guy who does leg presses making fun of a guy who does hip curls?

[mrm1775]

Do squats. Ass to calves. Don't sweat it if you can't use much weight at first. Getting the full range of motion is more important than going heavy.

[Emevas]

I wouldn't really suggest ass to calves style of squats for most beginning lifters, as the form tends to be tricky to accomplish while maintaining the arch, and most folks tend to round the back to be able to accomplish the ROM. For most new lifters (or hell, most lifters in general), slightly below powerlifting legal (knee joint parallel to hip joint) is going to accomplish most goals of strength training while maintaining safety of both the knee and the lower back.

If your goal is olympic lifting, then by all means, learn ATG squatting.

[Nubster]

I enjoy squatting ass to heels but the weight has to be MUCH MUCH lighter than normally used for regular squats. I also really like box squats. For a great hamstring workout try Romanian deadlifts. They are a favorite of mine.

[AeroChica]

First off, when I stretch towards my toes, I never feel it in my hamstrings. In fact I never feel the normal pulling that I get from other stretches. My calves burn, very similar to the burning when you are doing a ton of calf raises. Every other stretch I get the normal pain and feeling of actually stretching something. Wether I am standing, on the ground, middle split, any toe reach just burns my calves. And if I touch my toe and hold it, the burning quickly increases in pain till unbearable. I have developed a type of rythmic bouncing to my toe streches because of it. I am pretty sure this is weird, and bad. Any advice? (Extra weird note, regular calf streches don't bother me, I get a little of the burning pain but it still is like a normal stretch, one I can hold)

You might have a build up of scar tissue in your calves. For some lucky people, over time, the many small injuries and tears in the muscle re-knit, but it may not be the long smooth fibres that should be there. I have this, and it's a pain - my calves tighten up early in my exercise routine, and fatique out early. Here's the tell-tale - do the muscles in your calves feel smooth or kinda lumpy? If you feel lumps, some physio can fix you up, but I warn you- ART (active release therapy) has probably been used as torture in developing countries. It huuuuurts, but it works. You probably want to get it checked out - leave it too long and you'll end up with a lovely case of shin splints.