1/3
Felt really tired and sick so took the day off.
2/3
Weights
Bench 4 x 6 x 92.5kg
squats 3 x6 x 140kg, hamstring was tight so missed 4th set
push press 4 x 6 x 50kg
hams 4 x 10
lat pulldown 4 x 6 x 75kg
Felt much better today, must have been a 24hr thing
Thurs 3/3
Elliptical Tempo
2 x 10 x 45 secs L2 AT 160 - 170 rpm
Low intensity medball circuit 15 mins
Fri 4/3
Rest
SAT 5/3
4 x 30m from a push up start- 7 mins rec
2 x 60m from stand- 15 mins rec
felt very stiff in first 60, but a lot better in 2nd 60, I relaxed more I think
weights
Squats 3 x 6 x 130kg- dropped the weight as didn’t want to stress hamstring doing squats again
Bench 4 x 6 x 97.5kg
Push press 4 x 6 x 52.5kg
hams 4 x 10
lat pulldown 4 x 6 x 75kg
abs 10 mins
stretch
hot and cold shower and swim in surf
Sun 6/3
bike tempo 2 x 10 x 45secs L1 at 130rpm
low int med ball- 15 mins
Glute activation work 2 x 10 reps
Stretch
Hot and cold shower
Overall a good training week except for Tuesday illness, feel as though coming along ok and have major race of the season in 3 weeks. Am cutting back on number of sets in weights now and drop the reps.
Tues 7/3
2 x 30m from push up start- 5 mins rec
3 x 80m from stand start - 15 mins rec
300 SIT UPS
Felt like rubbish in first two 80m runs , third one was ok but co ordination is out… HAVE been trying a low carb high fat diet and lacked energy, am increasing carbs to see if it helps… am having trouble controlling weight.
Wed 9/3
weights
Squats 4 x 4 x 140kg
Incline bench 4 x 4 x 85kg
Hang clean 4 x 4 x 60kg
Seated row 4 x 4x 75kg
Hams 4 x 10
Abs 30/30 for 10 mins
Hot and cold shower
Thursday 10/3
Tempo 2 x 100,100,100,200,200,100,100,100
3 X 30 m Run AS
cIRCUIT OF 3 X 20 PUSH UPS, 100 SITUPS, 20 SQUATS
Hamstrings felt a bit tight doing tempo runs and feel tight next day. This is the first time I have done tempo runs in a while and I can feel the benefit but not sure my legs can handle it. Will see how I pull up after a day off and for saturday speed session.
I read this as being 2000m of tempo. Perhaps a slightly high volume given how little running tempo you have been doing. Maybe try a progression of 1000 (just 100s), 1500 (100s+200s) then 2000 over 3 sessions. Or try the CF versions in which the session is split into blocks of 500-600m to make up the total volume.
Good point oldbloke and thanks for the reminder, as I coach myself I always go a bit gungho, where I am more conservative when coaching others. That is why this forum is great. Thanks
Saturday 12/3/16
4 x 30m from a push up start- 5 mins rec
10 mins rec
2 x 60m from a falling start- 15 mins rec
Felt very good in all the runs today, though my hamstrings and calf were niggly. I think I will leave the tempo runs out and go back to the bike/elliptical as I have end of season race in two weeks, though my legs energetically felt better for the tempo running. ???
Weights
squats 3 x 3 x 145kg
bench 3 x 3 x 107.5kg
push press 3 x 3 x 65kg
hams 4 x 10
lat pulldown 3 x 3 x 85kg
abs 30/30 for 10 mins
stretch
swim in surf
hot and cold shower.
Have bought the Kelly Starrett book Ready to run , he wrote , how to be a supple leopard. This book has a lot of good mobility exercises in it that I am beginning to use.
23/3
Have final race of the season this weekend and it’s not looking good. I strained my hamstring last Tuesday and have rested it since. Did a trial run yesterday at about 90% and it was tight and I ran like shit. Have had lots of ART treatment and a massages. This has been a disrupted season. I am going to have to change things up for next season. Am thinking one day of speed and one day of special end, to reduce the intensity.
Well I managed to compete in the final race of the season which was a minor miracle in itself as my hamstring did not feel good leading into the race. In the heat I got a very good start and was about 2-3 metres clear at the 70m mark, then my lack of SE training showed and I got over run by two athletes. I qualified 6th fastest for the semi finals which were the following day. After the race my hamstring was very tight and I just hoped it would pull up ok after a nights sleep. Unfortunately it was very tight when warming up and I could hardly get out of a jog and had to withdraw.
It was bitter sweet as I was disappointed in having to withdraw but realised I can win this event if I get my body right.
Two things I have decided to do so far is include Spec end runs (300m) right from the start of the program and reduce the number to two as SPP approaches and then reduce the distance down to 150m. I am also going to get regular massage, which is something I didn’t do this year. Also I am going to reduce the volume of weight training and then reduce intensity slightly.
I’m open to any suggestions or thoughts.
No it hasn’t always been a problem, just that I was hampered all year with the hamstring and only did speed work up to 60m occasionally and even this was sub max. I could go max for 30m, so really my speed work was out to 30m only I feel. Thinking a lot of the problems could be from trying to do speed 2 x week, ie, tues and sat 0-60m. So am thinking of changing one session to 150-300m, starting at 300m and working down, That’s my thinking at this stage . Am open to suggestions??
[QUOTE=grooster;254390]Well I managed to compete in the final race of the season which was a minor miracle in itself as my hamstring did not feel good leading into the race. In the heat I got a very good start and was about 2-3 metres clear at the 70m mark, then my lack of SE training showed and I got over run by two athletes. I qualified 6th fastest for the semi finals which were the following day. After the race my hamstring was very tight and I just hoped it would pull up ok after a nights sleep. Unfortunately it was very tight when warming up and I could hardly get out of a jog and had to withdraw.
It was bitter sweet as I was disappointed in having to withdraw but realised I can win this event if I get my body right.
Two things I have decided to do so far is include Spec end runs (300m) right from the start of the program and reduce the number to two as SPP approaches and then reduce the distance down to 150m. I am also going to get regular massage, which is something I didn’t do this year. Also I am going to reduce the volume of weight training and then reduce intensity slightly.
I’m open to any suggestions or thoughts.[/QUOT
Grooster,
I don’t understand why you ran knowing less than 10 full days ago you had an issue with your hamstring?
In an ideal situation you have 10 full days to do a complete hamstring rehab but that’s with a lot of therapy and attention and massage and training and knowledge of following through the protocol of how to rehab your hamstring. Did you do any of that rehab?
And then you knew going into the race that it was not great. Did you think it was going to be okay?
I think the max spread that you want from one speed day to the next is Monday Thursday or Tuesday Friday and Wednesday Saturday. I don’t know your reasons for the Tuesday Saturday and I also don’t know what is going on with the other days.
If the hamstring has been an issue all season and you could not do more than 30 m max consistently what were the reasons?
You were not prepared which is understandable and frankly you are fortunate to not have had more of an issue.
Here are some things you can check yourself to see if you are doing these things.
Forget about the training for a minute as the training is only going to be as good as your ability to do the training. Right?
What are the things you are able to do today or tonight or first thing starting tomorrow?
how has your water intake been? I used to find I needed to check myself routinely as every now and then I got lazy and was not drinking enough water. Try to finish water drinking by 7 or 8pm or train your bladder (yes it can be done) to not be woken up at night having to use the bathroom.
How are you recovering from the training that you are able to do? Are you improving? Check your nutrition and are you even starving, do you end training tired or hungry and if so you need to change that right now. You can make sure you have a light version smoothie / protein shake before and during training or if you prefer make sure you have one as soon as the training is done and then make sure a meal is happening about 2 or 3 hours after that shake. When my training was at it’s best I was taking protein shake at night before bed and I noticed this was very helpful. The shakes you have at night will be different then shakes first thing in the morning and during the day. You want very high protein and not too many things in there that prevent excellent sleep.
Do you ever apply heat on the hamstrings, wrap with saran and then a tensor and sleep that way each night to keep the hamstrings hot and loose and ready for training? RE apply and do all over again for the warm up and training session. Likely you will need to take off the saran when speed begins.
A therapist told me not very long ago that it’s old theory that breaking up scar tissue is something that works? Is this true? I don’t know but I am going to check into this. Charlie allegedly “broke up” the scar tissue in Darren Clark’s legs a bit before Seoul Korea. I am not sure if I believe that this idea is a theory let alone an old and out of date theory. As Mike Hurst and Darren Clark and see what they say. Suffice to say you need to find out what is going on with the hamstrings from someone with knowledge that can help you extend your range of motion.
If using the pool or contrast baths are not part of your routine you are missing a huge advantage unless you can’t swim but contrast baths do not require swimming. I’ve told many stories about contrast baths to the extent it can’t seem real or true but what’s my angle or gain? If I were selling a contrast bath piece of equipment great but Im not. I used water therapy more than we ever used EMS for the simple reason that we did not have a EMS machine and there were so many other things to do that you choose in order of priority of what you have access to. EVERYONE has a shower.
how is your sleep and are you getting enough and are you getting good quality sleep? Sleep allows the body to heal itself. No amount of sleep is going to heal a messed up muscle if there is scar tissue IMHO. At least not from what I have seen for the past few decades but I would love to hear what others say or think regarding their experiences.
Last time I had a hamstring issue of note - aching fair bit during training but not really painful - therapist told me it would be about 4 weeks recovery. Given the need to return to speed training fully after that period means a 6 week period of no racing or at least not optimal performance. Discovered he was right.
Realise there are varying degrees of injury particularly at the level of sort of uncomfortable but once you hit age 50s will be at the slow end of any recovery range.
My takeway - if measuring time to next race in days it is not enough time to recover. Need to be measuring in weeks.
Lack of SE - Various models exist. Cut down from 300s to 150s is one. Another is the 3x(4x60) or thereabouts. Short intensive tempo efforts of say 100-120 is another. Not sure there is a correct answer since people respond in different ways.
Nevertheless hamstring recovery is the key point. Losing or degrading quality sessions and being unable to run much tempo due to injury probably more important than the specific SE sessions anyone can propose.
Hi Ange,
Thanks for your detailed response and certainly gives me things to work on for next season, particularly the feeling hungry during and after training an dbeing hydrated. I am getting massage now and do not intend to start a pre season until the Hammies are fully functional.
I ran that race as it was the last race of the season and I wanted to get to the start line as best I could. On the upside it has motivated me to continue into the next season.
Good points oldbloke and thanks. My therapist has said it will be around 6 weeks until at full speed again and I plan on not running again until it is healed. I ran the last event as it was the final race of the season even though I knew was unprepeared. I am thinking the 300 down to 150 method may work as it will reduce the intensity slightly 9 over the repeat 60s) and may help with injury. Would the short intensive tempo efforts involve something lik,e 2 x 3 x 120m with walk back recovery and a good break between sets. I am unsure about this method?
I am curious that if you think about this differently if it will influence how you handle this injury?
If someone like a therapist or dr. tells you something about your body with respect to an injury, do you believe everything they say?
If I accept something a doctor or therapist says then I also want to understand why they are saying it and on what bases is their information correct?
If you are saying it is going to 6 weeks to return to full speed training what is going to be done in that 6 weeks because there are tons of things you can and will and or SHOULD be doing in that 6 week period and NOT sprinting is something you should be doing. It’s only a question of HOW the sprinting needs to be done and at what distance and what prep you need to do in order to run for 5 meters to begin with.
I strongly disagree with waiting 6 weeks and not running. Unless you never plan to run again.
My recovery used a progresion of easy continous runs of around 20 mins. Tempo limited to 100m with increasing volume. Followed by the short accelerations proposed on some threads on this site. 5x10m 8x10m 5x15m and so on. Working at sub max pacesw. But i started some running work after a week of non running rest. As per Angies comment it was not a no running model.
interesting both of us got a 4 to 6 week recovery diagnosis. My guy was a sports massage therapist. Specialised in martial arts sportsmen but was working with sprinter preparing for London 2012 .
Intensive tempo. Yes the model you propose is something very similar to what i have seen proposed.
Important to differentiate betwen the optimal method to improve SE versus how to improve it without hamstring damage. For example if you are a powerful sprinter mainly running 100s then repeats of shorter efforts may be best. For the leaner/200 runner longer IT or cut downs may be more suitable for developing SE.
However that may not match your hamstring weakness. If it tends to be damaged by short repeats and multiple accelerations then cut downs may be lower risk of reInjury. So there is a possibility of a mismatch between ideal SE training and injury prevention.
since you are now off season suggest following longer term hamstring rehab via the progressions described on this site so you can optimse SE training for next season.
Are you getting your hamstring strains in the upper or lower part of the hamstring? What are you doing to strengthen your hamstrings and ensure they are not overpowered by your quads? Most hamstring tears are in the lower part of the muscle and usually happen just before touchdown when the hamstrings are working to limit knee extension.
Hi Ange,
I am 51.
I am taking 6 weeks off running for a number of reasons,
Hamstring hurts when I walk so running is out of the question.
Psychologically I need a break from trying to run with tight hamstrings for a long time
The physio suggested a break to give it time to heal.
In this time away from running I am having massage, doing bike sessions and weights and exercises that the physio gave me.
Cheers Oldbloke,
The physio feels there is a bit of Tendonitis and the hamstring still hurts when walking. When I can begin running the progressions mentioned seem wise and something I will follow.
I feel that the longer SE may help as the intensity is a little lower than repeat 60s and as I am a veteran there is more time spent in the SE range than an elite so this may benefit performance as well. Who know, I just feel I need to try something different to get a different result
My hamstring problems are in the belly and up high on the ischial tuberosity, physio feels there is some tendonitis. I am doing exercises from physio. Bridges, eccentric curls with no weight and light stretches and massage. Not much improvement at this stage. I imagine the exercises will progress as the injury heals.
Cheers