Your hamstrings, the large muscles at the back of your thigh, should have at least 80 percent the strength of your quadriceps, the large muscle at the front of your thigh, says certified coach Brian Mackenzie, creator of the BrianMac Sports Coach website. Weak hamstrings increase your susceptibility to injury. When landing from a jump, for example, your knees must bend to protect your knee ligaments. If your quadriceps possess more strength than your hamstrings, they will straighten or hyper-extend your knees, potentially causing ligament tears. Hamstring strengthening exercises prevent future injuries and help heal existing ones.
Root Causes
Many people assume they have tight hamstrings, but they actually have tight hip flexors, which connect the thighs to the pelvis. Tight hip flexors, through a neuro-muscular process called reciprocal inhibition, cause the gluteal muscles to deactivate, explains certified trainer Eric Cressey. When your gluteal muscles stop working, your hamstrings, a relatively weak muscle group, pick up the slack. Since your hamstrings do not have enough strength to handle the increased workload, they tighten. Stretching them, while a logical approach, exacerbates the problem, since stretching actually weakens a muscle group. Get to the root of the problem by stretching your hip flexors. Lie prone, with your hip flexors against a foam roller. Let your body weight sink into the roller, and hold the stretch for about one minute each day.
Stability Ball Leg Curl
The stability ball leg curl strengthens the hamstrings and gluteals while stretching the hip flexors, thereby addressing a number of crucial issues simultaneously. Lie supine with your legs extended and your feet on the ball. Lift each vertebra from the mat and create a spinal bridge. Remain in the bridge position as you bend and straighten your legs. Perform five sets of eight repetitions. Since the ball imposes a balance challenge, this exercise trains your hamstrings to activate when moving on unstable surfaces, such as ice, snow or rugged outdoor hiking terrain.
Office Chair Exercise
If your injury required knee surgery, you may be unable to perform standing, weight-bearing hamstring exercises. The Nicholas Institute of Sports Medicine and Athletic Trauma at Lenox Hill Hospital uses an office chair with wheels for seated therapeutic hamstring strengthening. Sit on the chair with one heel on the floor, with your leg in an extended position. Lift the other foot a few inches from the floor. Pull the chair toward your heel by bending your knee. Then, straighten your leg and repeat. Progress the exercise by performing it on a carpeted floor.
Resistance Band
The Nicholas Institute also recommends this band exercise. Attach one end of the band to your ankle, and secure the other end to a doorknob. Sit facing the doorknob with your leg extended and your foot a few inches from the floor. Slowly bend your knee against the band's resistance, than straighten your leg with control. You can intensify the exercise by using a heavier resistance band or by moving the chair farther away from the doorknob.
References
- Robertson Training Systems; Get Your Butt in Gear; Eric Cressey
- BrianMac Sports Coach: Muscle Strength & Balance Checks
- NSCA's Essentials of Personal Training; Roger W. Earle, Thomas R. Baechle, National Strength & Conditioning Association; 2005
- Nicholas Institute for Sports Medicine and Athletic Trauma: Physical Therapy Corner: Hamstring Pull
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