How do I avoid back of thigh cramps when I do a quad stretch?

Question

Quad stretches before jogging are very difficult for me because Ithey give me a charley-horse cramp in the back of the thighs. Why am I getting these cramps? What can I do to prevent these cramps? Is there another exercise for me to stretch quads that wouldn't be so severe?

Answer 1

My 2 cents:

Either don't stretch the muscles as much (just to the point that you almost start to feel the stretch) or jog a little before stretching. A light jog for about 15 minutes. Just enough to get you sweating, get your heart rate up, and the blood pumping enough to warm up your muscles. What you may be doing is stretching "cold" muscles. It can be as useful as not stretching at all (or, in your case, more harmful). Warm muscles are stretched more easily where as stretching cold muscles can cause much more strain.