If you ever see an athlete fall to ground during a baseball or football game holding the back of his thigh screaming in pain, you can be fairly certain he has injured his “hamstring”. I have seen all degrees of injuries to the hamstring usually described as “a pulled hamstring”; “a torn hamstring”; “a strained hamstring” or “a cramp in the hamstring”. No matter what the injury is, “pulled, strained, cramped, or the worst, “torn”, you can be sure it is extremely painful and the injured athlete will be on the side line for a while. The average convalescing period for a hamstring injury is a whopping two weeks!
This group of muscles is a common source of injury and chronic pain in athletes. The injury will usually always involve the biceps femoris and can be classified into 3 grades:
Grade 1 is a mild strain with very few muscle fibers torn
Grade 2 is a moderate strain with a definite loss of strength
Grade 3 is a complete tear of the “hamstrings”
The news gets worst for these kinds of injuries because medical studies have also found that once you have injured the “hamstrings”, you are prone to injure them again.
So how can your prevent the injury if you have never had an injured “hamstring” and reduce the severity of a future injury? We have found the most effective High Intensity Strength Training exercise that specifically targets the “hamstrings” is the Leg Curl. If you have access to the MedX or Vintage Nautilus seated leg curl or prone leg curl exercise machines, they are by far the most effective in performing this High Intensity Strength Training exercise. However, there are other forms of High Intensity Strength Training conventional and body weight exercises that can strengthen your “hamstrings” while helping to define your rear upper leg muscles such as:
Conventional Barbell Stiff-leg and Regular Dead Lifts
Body Weight Manual Resistance Leg Curls
(Instructions with training partner below)
Instructions for Manual Resistance Leg Curl Exercise
You should always concentrate and focus on strengthening the “hamstrings” while completing this High Intensity Strength Training exercise with proper strict form. Leg Curls should be performed very slowly with no jerking movements and always going to momentary muscle failure!
First: Start in the extended position on your stomach and instruct your training partner to place his/her hands on your heels.
Second: As you start to flex your heels forward to your buttocks, your source of resistance is applied by your partner’s hands on your heels
Third: Continue to raise your heels until you reach full contraction and hold the contracted position for 1 second.
Fourth: Start your slow descent. Your partner can apply more force on the downward movement because as you may know, you are stronger in lowering the resistance than raising it.
Reps: Try to complete 8 to 12 reps safely. If you prefer, you may also train one leg at a time.
As with any exercise, these points are important regarding controlling your blood pressure levels: (1) relax all the body parts that are not being exercised; (2) relax your facial muscles; and (3) do not hold your breath, rather breathe in with your nose and out with your mouth.
Since the “hamstrings” are fairly easy to develop, try to include leg curls in your High Intensity Strength Training weekly workouts and keep accurate records of your increases in both your muscle strength and growth.
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