My hamstring is still not recovered enough to do any running, but I do feel there is progress being made, albeit very slowly.
To keep me focused I am doing a strength program 3 x week and low intensity bike and medball 2-3 x week. I was doing a HIIT session in place of bike and medball but found I wasn’t recovering well between weight sessions.
After every session I am doing glute bridges x 15 x 10sec hold and thoracic mobility work from physio. Am also daily doing hip mobility work and hot and cold showers and rolling on a cricket ball(baseball). If anything else could be done I would be happy to hear. I am also drinking 3l of water a day.
Fri 15/4
Deep squat 3 x 5 x 122.5kg
bench 2 x 5 x 100kg, 1 x 5 x 102.5kg
weighted chins 2 x 5 x 6kg, 1 x 5x 7kg
shoulder press 3 x 10 x 42.5kg
1/2 paloff press 4 x 10
box jumps 3 x 6
Sun 17/4
2 x 10 x 45 sec/15 sec rec on bike, L1 at 125-130rpm
Low int medball circuit
Abdominal circuit 30 on/30 off
Mon 18/4
Bike 10 x 45 sec/15 sec rec on L1 @ 125-130RPM
Squats 3 x 5 x 125kg
Bench 3 x 5 x 102.5kg
Weighted Chins 3 x 5 x 7kg
Shoulder press 3 x 10 x 42.5kg
Box jumps 2 x 6 on 60cm box, 1 x 6 on 75cm box
6 x squat throw
1/2 parloff press 4 x 10
Tues 19/4
Bike 5 mins easy warm up
Mobility stretches
10 x 10 x10m- 1 min rec after each set
low intensity med ball 20 mins
First time I have done any kind of running, though I could feel the hamstring slightly it has pulled up the next day very good. I am thinking of doing this session every other day and slowly increasing the intensity as I feel comfortable. The runs were at a fast jog pace.
Wed 20/4
Eliptical warm up 5 mins
Mobility stretches
Eliptical- 45 secs on/15 secs off on L2 at 16-170 rpm
weights
Front squat 3 x 5 x 100kg
Incline bench 3 x 5 x 87.5kg
seated row 3 x 5 x 75kg
behind neck military press 3 x 10 x 40kg
box jumps 3 x 6 on 75cm box- first time on higher box
squat throw x 6 with 4 kg ball
reverse overhead throw x 6
1/2 paloff press 4 x 10
strength is improving so is keeping me motivated while my hamstring heals. No adverse effects from yesterdays light run.
Sat 30/4
10 x 10 x 12m
weights
Squats 3 x 5 x 132.5kg
bench 3 x 5 x 105kg
Chin ups 3 x 5 x 8kg
shoulder press 3 x 10 x 45kg
Paloff press 4 x 10 x 45kg
box jump up 3 x 6 x 90cm box - this is a PB Height
Hamstring is still tight and niggly when I am doing the 12m runs, though it eases by the next day. I am unsure whether to continue with the runs or not, The runs have definitely gotten faster since I started them but unsure if the hamstring is healing enough to progress to full running eventually.
I would not do the runs if they are bothering your hamstring. You need to focus on carefully strengthening your hamstrings, especially with eccentric contractions. Atm you are doing a lot of work on your quads and very little on your hamstrings. You need to address this imbalance by gradually and carefully strengthening the hamstrings. The season is finished now anyway, so there’s no rush getting back into running. Proximal hamstring strains are different to the more common distal ones and are more difficult to fix.
Would you please elaborate more on the differences between proximal and distal hamstring strains? Causes of each, rehab approach, time needed to heal, predisposing factors, etc.
In terms of rehab/prevention, I would focus more on knee flexion exercises for distal hamstring injuries and hip extension exercises for proximal hamstring injuries.
Wow, thank you. so distal vs proximal in a way implies which function of hamstring is lacking. I’ll be reading the paper to get more information about it.
Very good advice Robin, Thanks. It was where I was heading as I felt My hamstring was not progressing. I never tore my hamstring it has just been tight for about 4 months now. Very frustrating.
I did not mention but I have been doing glute bridges and hip extension on the GHD machine as well as GHD’s. After your response I am adding in hamstring curls, today I could do 3 x 10 double leg with only 10kg without it being aggravated.
I had an issue with my proximal hamstring a couple of years ago. If you will look for the thread on Proximal Hamstring Tendinopathy you can find the progression I used to recover. If you are having issues with distal hamstring issues, I recommend buying Derek Hansen’s Hamstring Video. If you are having issues with the proximal hamstring, be aware that hip flexion is an aggravating factor and acceleration is often hampered and will delay healing initially.
Yes, the distal portion of the hamstrings limits end-range knee extension just before foot touch down at full speed. That’s when most of the distal hamstring strains occur. During acceleration, the knee does not extend before touch down and you can thus accelerate while rehabbing a distal hamstring strain.
The proximal portion of the hamstrings extends the hip and gets stretched during hip flexion. Hip extension and hip flexion are very much part of the acceleration phase, which is why doing acceleration work with a proximal hamstring strain is probably ill advised.
I would also make sure that the glutes are strong and firing properly (ie glutes rather than hamstrings initiate hip extension). If the glutes don’t work properly the hamstrings have to take over and get overworked.
Thanks for all the replies ,they are very helpful.
My hamstring problem appears to be ,Distal, Proximal and in the belly. It is tight all along the biceps femoris, never tore it, just tight and achey and uncomfortable. There has been limited progressover a four month period.
Is there tendon involvement? Maybe there is tendinopathy of the proximal tendon and the whole muscle is tightening up as a result (guarding)? Have you had any ultrasound scans?
I have been off running for about five months with hamstring tightness that would not go away. I have had it treated by a chiro who adjusted and gave heaps of acupuncture needles. In that time I have been doing weights and bike and elliptical tempo work. this has kept me relatively fit but it was boring as shit.
The last two weeks I have been doing tempo running starting at 3 x 5 x 100 and building up to 4 x 5 x 100. No issues so started my gpp last Saturday just as our season has started.
sat 24/9
hills 5 x 10m, 5 x 20m, 5 x 30m
weights
squats 3 x 8 x 120kg
incline bench 3 x 8 x 70kg
chins 3 x 8 x 8kg
step ups 3 x 10 x 30kg
shoulder press s x 8 x 42.5kg
hypers 3 x 10 x 15kg bar
ab circuit
hot and cold shower
sun 25/9
elliptical tempo, same as bike tempo download
core circuit
KB Swings 3 x 10 x 24kg
hypers 3 x 10 x 15kg
reverse hypers 3 x 10
ab circuit
Hot n cold
yoga in evening
Monday 26/9
core circuit
ab circuit
rest
Tues 27/9
4 x 300m -5 mins rec
med ball 5 x rev o’head, 5 x squat throw, 5 x 1 hop and throw
core circuit
ab circuit
Hot and cold shower.
I am trying to do more core and abdominal and posterior chain work this time around to see if it makes a difference to reduce injuries.
wed 28/9
Bike 10 mins
Mobility work
Weights
Squats 2 x 8 x 120kg, 1 x 6 x 130kg
Bench 2x 8 x 90kg, 1 x 6 x 95kg
Row 2 x 8 x 65kg, 1 x 6 x 70kg
Box jumps 60cm 3 x 5
standing long jump x 5
Bulgarian split squat 3 x 10 x 35kg
Shoulder press 3 x 8 x 42.5kg
Core and ab work
Thurs 29/9
2 x med ball acceleration1
2 x medball acceleration 2
Treadmill( pissing down with rain) 2 x 10 x 100 steps starting at 13kmh up to 17.5kmh, after each rep did either push ups or sit ups
4 x 30m run As
core
abs
Felt quite good today ,did not want to put tready on an incline as thought it was a good idea to take some heat off the hamstring
Friday 30/9
Core and abs
Sat 1/10
Hills
5 x 40m
4 x 40m- 2.5 mins/5 mins rec
Fence walk unders 3 x 10
Weights
Squats 2 x 8 x 120kg, 1 x 6 x 135kg
Bench 2 x 8 x 90kg, 1 x 6 x 97.5kg
chin ups 2 x 8 x 8kg, 1 x 7 x 10kg
Step ups 3 x 10 x 40kg
Shoulder press 3 x 8 x 47.5kg
Hypers 3 x 10 x 15kg
Core and abs
Hot and cold shower
Hill was windy in my face, felt ok
Sun 2/10
Eliptical tempo 2 x 10 x 45secs with various exercises off bike tempo download
core work
Hyper complex 3 x 10 x 15kg
Reverse hypers straight and bent leg 3 x 10 ea
supermans 3 x 10
abs A-40 X 5
STRETCH
Hot and cold shower
Yoga in evening.
Felt like a good week of training for me.
Mon 3/10
core
abs A-40 x5
Reverse hypers bent and straight keg 3 x10
supermans 3 x 10
stretch
Tuesday 4/10
4 x 300m with 7 mins rec
Med ball- squat throw x 5, reverse overhead x 5, hop and throw x 5
core
abs A-40 X 3, 30/30
300S WERE HARD INTO THE WIND, I NEED TO WORK ON MY FITNESS