Archive for the ‘Hamstring Exercises’ Category

Hamstring Treatment

Thursday, June 3rd, 2010

Hamstring treatment depends on the grade or level of injury. Ideally there are three levels. For injury of the first degree a strict rest period of 2-3 weeks should follow. For the second degree the resting period varies between 6-8 weeks. For injuries of the third degree the treatment may end with surgery and a proper rehabilitation program. For a clear diagnosis an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) or ultrasonography is advisable.

Third degree injuries cause a complete rupture of the muscle and so the rehabilitation period is very crucial. Any minute mistake could make things worse and one could end up loosing a lot of time in proper recovery.

The best treatment for hamstring injury is by preventing any kind of stress or pressure and involving in training programs that work on increasing power, strength, flexibility co-ordination and the like.

The treatment for hamstring muscle pull ideally begins with the most traditional and initial technique of the cold therapy i.e. Rest Ice Compress and Elevation. As soon as there is an injury the injured need to succumb to rest, an ice pack should be applied on to the affected area, put a compression bandage and elevate the limb.

If the injured is a sports person then referring a sport injury specialist would help organize things better. The specialists are aware of certain sport massages that not only help relieve pain but also helps speed up the process of recovery.

Right after the RICE therapy the injured needs to start off with a proper rehabilitation program. As stated earlier that; if the injured is a sports person then a sport injury specialist would design the program giving adequate importance to rest and rebuilding of the muscle, its strength and flexibility.

Treatment for torn hamstring is more or less similar as stated above. The degree of the injury may vary and so it is always wise to have a scan. This would further help you estimate the minimum amount of time that you would require to recover fully. Remember, it may take time but it’s worth it. Make sure you wait for the injury to heal entirely else it will only increase your pain and recur in a big way even for a minute injury.

Hamstrings are not a matter of concern for people in general. But if your activities involve running, or any sporting activity then you better take care and ensure proper flexibility and stretching in the warm up sessions!

Hamstring Roll

Thursday, June 3rd, 2010

Hamstring roll is suggested as an exercise if you want to isolate and particularly work on hamstrings. Other exercises of the lower body do involve the hamstrings but that happens partially. Machine curls help you in this regard but if you are looking for options apart from machines; an exercise ball or a Swiss ball is the best that you can work on.

Hamstring foam roll technique gives one a similar output that a sport massage would. The idea is to increase the blood circulation using your own body weight.

A foam roller helps ease the thigh muscles. The following can be listed as benefits:

  • Stretches muscles and tendons.
  • Eases out soft tissue and/or scar tissue adhesions; because of which normal movement or flexibility was being disturbed.
  • The entire network of blood vessels, nerves, muscles and bones is better connected and improves mobility.
  • Helps relieve joint pain and splints.

There are separate sets of foam roller exercises for the different muscle groups such as glutes, quads, hamstrings, calves, back, arm etc.

Foam roll exercises for the hamstrings commonly begin with positioning oneself comfortably on the buttocks on the roller. Then a ‘to and fro’ motion is to be practiced.  The roller is to be slowly taken forward from under the buttocks towards the knee and back. Initially the time period should not exceed more than 15 min. The same technique is followed sideways.

With time, gradually this could increase in number and in time. It is always advisable to take precaution and consult a physical trainer in case of any previous injury. A proper warm up is essential. Also make sure that you maintain a good intake of water.

Hamstring stretching exercises could be summed up as under:

  • These exercises are grouped under various positions like standing, sitting, lying and using chair or any other equipment.
  • All of them would require you to begin with a proper warm up session.
  • Next, it is important to stretch both during the warm up and during cool down. This initially prepares your hamstrings to resist an injury and recover for the next session. During cool down stretch a little more than warm up.
  • The most common variations in hamstring stretches are those while one is seated.
  • Some physical trainers seem to identify hamstring stretches as active and passive/static.
  • In any situation do not ever overstretch. This would only lead to a negative output.

Any stretching activity increases flexibility and improves strength. It is imperative to understand how a particular stretch exercise helps the body thereby identifying the correct method of doing it.

Hamstring Injuries

Thursday, June 3rd, 2010

Hamstrings are present at the back of ones thighs. They help in the bending and movement of the knees. They also work when the hip is in movement. An injury in this muscle group generally takes its own time to heal though severe situations have certain medical compulsions. Commonly for athletes who happen to be struck by this kind of an injury, a proper rehabilitation program is what they need to undergo for appropriate recovery.

Hamstring injuries take place when they are subjected to a sudden movement or motion of increased speed or acceleration. A hard blow or kick or stretch or sprint can also be a reason.

The best hamstring injuries treatment is rest and complete immobilization right after the injury. Any shortcuts or negligence will only worsen the injury and eventually aggravate the pain adding on to ones misery.
The common treatment is the RICE method. Put the affected area to rest, apply ice, compression bandage and elevate the limb.

As per degree the injury, pain and swelling will differ. There are normally three degrees. Whatever the extent may be, any stress should be avoided as a compulsion and if required use crutch instead of trying and walking right away.

To prevent hamstring injuries it is of utmost importance to begin a workout session with appropriate warm up exercises. This should include the muscles that would be involved in the session further. This in a way prepares your muscle tissues. Other factors which need to be taken care of to prevent injuries would be your current fitness level, stress if any, any previous injuries, your age, an average capability to stretch, flexibility and stamina.

Stretching and strengthening exercises should ideally be a part of any workout or warm up schedule. This will not improve your flexibility but will also prepare your muscles to defy most injuries. In other words, your muscles would be strong and have a kind of elastic effect to resist minor issues.

Hamstring muscle injury takes place if there is a massive tension on the hamstring muscles. There could be several reasons in turn for this; like an improper equilibrium or stability between two large muscle groups- the quadriceps and the hamstrings. Weak and inflexible hamstring muscles are also prime reasons of an injury. Inflexibility of the ankles also leads to an injury of this kind.

These injuries have both surgical and non surgical treatment. The non surgical method has been explained above already; the RICE method. Surgical methods take place only if there is a complete tear in the hamstrings. Physical therapists, massages, and medication are other ways that provide relief and help recover from the injury.

Flutter Kicks

Thursday, June 3rd, 2010

Flutter kicks are performed or practiced to increase ones strength in the lower back and due to the contraction provided; the abdominal muscles are also kept fit and in shape.

For the exercise one has to lie flat on his back with the head off the ground at an acute angle lifting his legs above the floor. This distance is ideally 3-4 inches to begin with; as per strength it could go up to 6 inches. The legs need to be at an approximate angle of 45 degrees from the ground. Then the legs would move up and down one at a time maintaining the 6 inches gap from the floor.

Abdominal flutter kicks work the same way. The motion would look similar to a scissor cutting through a sheet. The legs meet at one point and then disperse equally on the sides. Once tired, bend your knees for about 5 seconds and then repeat the same procedure, each time not more than 30 seconds. Throughout the exercise your hands have to be under your buttocks, providing support and should be in a fist.

Flutter kick exercise is common with swimmers as well. This helps them draw strength and with a powerful kick they can simply make it real far and wade through easily.

Flutter kick benefits a swimmer the most and is common among sportsmen as well. It is also diligently practiced in the army fences. The basic idea is to have a flat, well trimmed and toned abdomen. This exercise seems to top the chart when it comes to a no machine zone.

Your abs would look no less than being sculpted. This is also a common practice for men who are into ‘six pack abs’ format. It not only works wonders for them but also has the freedom of working on ones own and without machines.

Resistance band flutter kicks are even more fun. The posture and count remains the same. What is added here is an elastic band with loops. Hold the band across your naval and each loop through your foot. Then maintaining the same gap from the ground; the scissor like motion is followed. After each set of 30 seconds a similar break of 5-6 seconds can be taken.

There are a number of videos in the internet showing the correct way and the technique. As per your requirement you could choose to pick from a swimmers video or one form the army or general sports corner as well.

So if you have to work on your lower abdominal muscles and want strong, toned thighs then you know what exactly to follow.

Exercises for strengthening Hamstrings

Thursday, June 3rd, 2010

Hamstrings make up the fleshy mass of the thighs. They are involved in every activity that the lower part of the body happens to do like walking, running, climbing and the like.

Hamstring strengthening exercises can be generally summed up as under:

  • Barbell lunges
  • Dumbbell lunges
  • Lying leg curls
  • Seated leg curls
  • Standing leg curls
  • Exercise ball curls
  • One leg lying curls
  • One leg seated curls
  • Barbell dead lifts
  • Smith machine stiff leg dead lifts
  • Barbell stiff leg dead lifts
  • Elastic band kick backs
  • One legged cable kick backs

Now from the above you could always choose the best hamstring strengthening exercises and have different drills for each schedule. That way, your flexibility is well maintained and the workout sessions also become interesting. It’s always better to work on something new everyday rather than following the same old pattern for ages.

Hamstring strengthening exercises at home could be the following:
Static hamstring contraction
Bridging
Hamstring curl with resistance band
Hip extension with resistance band
Hamstring curls on Swiss balls
Single leg bridging
Hamstring stretch bending knee
Hamstring stretch sitting

The list given here is comprehensive so you have an overview of the whole program. Before doing any of these you would have to know the correct posture and technique of doing the exercise. Remember any thing done by guts or wit can lead to accidents or unnecessary medical complications.

If you are unable to visit the gym or speak personally to a trainer, check with the videos on you tube or other fitness portals. Most video not only explain the why and how, but also have options for you to write to them in case you happen to have any query.

Jogging, swimming, running, cycling are things that involve your hamstrings in a major way and help you work on them all by yourself.

Hamstring strengthening exercises for runners begins by focusing on their stamina. Runners would not only have to follow a well coordinated training program but would also have to focus equally on their diet, sleep and rest periods. It is important to understand that the workout sessions will be longer and they would have to follow the list given above meticulously till they reach the optimum level.

Once there, it is then required to maintain that level.

For runners hamstring exercises tend to be more rigorous and they need to practice squat more frequently. This would not only improve ones strength but would increase stamina equally.

Dumbbell Lunges

Thursday, June 3rd, 2010

Dumbbell lunges are performed as part of strength training exercise. Though nothing comes next to squat when we talk about strengthening muscles, but dumbbells are a descent alternative as a variation. Remember dumbbells work on the strength quotient of both legs equally. It also helps relax your spine unlike squat.

You begin with holding the dumbbells on each side; standing straight. Be very sure that your back doesn’t arch. Now take a step forward and lunge on your heel. The knee of the leg in front would be just above the ankle parallel to the floor. The toe of the leg bent at the back would be raised with the knee touching the ground. In other words, the leg in front would be resting on your toe flat on the ground at an angle of 90 degrees from the ground. The leg at the back would be at an inverted right angle to the floor having knee on the ground and the toe should raise.

Then push from the heels to get up and repeat the same with the other leg. The raised toe helps you push and get back to the starting position.

Dumbbell side lunges are similar just that they are performed on each side. If you are focusing on your quadriceps then you need to hold the dumbbells resting on your thighs. Then lunge on one side keeping the other leg straight sideways focusing on your quadriceps.

Now these exercises have other variations as well. This would depend on the muscle group that you want to focus on. Holding the dumbbells and lunges remain the same, just that the resting of the dumbbells position would change and the side or angle of the lunge may vary.

Dumbbell lunges exercise the various muscle groups and this depends on whether your lunges are long or wide spaced or short ones. A long lunge would emphasize on the gluteus and a shorter lunge would focus on the quadriceps. The final output is a pair of muscular thighs and strong toned legs.
Dumbbell lunges muscles worked too hard on may not always come out with positive results. Remember it is a part of weight training exercise and so the ‘dos and don’ts’ remain the same throughout. It is very important that you understand how to stand and hold the dumbbells. Remember to look straight and do not lean at any point of time throughout the process.

The entire process is to be at a slow pace and once you do a lunge the knee touching the ground should be at a good gap behind the toe of the leg in front. This is enabled by the flexibility of the hip and strength of the toes.

Leg Curl

Wednesday, June 2nd, 2010

Leg curl is an exercise that strengthens ones hamstring muscles. There are number of variations in this exercise and they can be done with or without using machines.

Leg curl exercises can be done when seated or standing or even lying. Further variations would be lever lying leg curl, lever seated leg curl and the like.

Leg curl machines are best used in the gym. They come mostly as compact equipment and one should be fully aware of ‘how’ it works. This could otherwise lead to unnecessary injuries. You could choose to work on any of the lying, seated, alternate or any other variation of the machine that might be available; as per your requirement and capacity. Roman chair, hyper extension bench, leg press or leg curl machine are among the most common and popular ones.

Leg curl extension is something you need to check during warm up and cool down. The machines generally have attachments and help working on a number of muscle groups together. However, proper rest between each session is important. This helps your muscles relax and recover for the next or forthcoming workout.

Leg curls at home or leg curls without machine are easier said than done. Not that they are very difficult to arrange; just that it is important for you to have the right set up. One should know what could be the substitutes or what could be used safely for such exercises at home.

It is generally seen that at home a resistance is made for the leg to curl. Or someone is arranged to hold ones leg in the movement. An accessory that could be very useful is the Swiss ball. It is safe, easy to use and can be kept up in the loft…doesn’t take too much of floor space. All you have to do is go through videos in you tube or fitness portals and know exactly what and how to do stuff.

Remember leg curl is a strengthening exercise. That does not mean that you would be a sequel to superman right away. Your regime should be designed in an ascending order. The time and frequency of the exercises will increase gradually and in turn will improve on your strength.

A well programmed warm up session with adequate stretches and other required activities with equal amount of gaps; along with the right posture and correct technique is what would make your transition to strong muscles smooth and worth!

Lying Hamstrings

Wednesday, June 2nd, 2010

Lying hamstrings target your legs and thighs. As the name suggests they primarily work on the hamstrings. This is a very commonly practiced strengthening exercise and can be done with or without machines.

Lying hamstring curls on a machine require you to lie on your stomach on the hamstring machine. Then you need to pull the weight by curling so that your heels touch your buttocks. Now; the right posture is very important so make sure you know exactly how to go ahead. Also, initially the weight may be difficult so increase your frequency in a gradual pace.

Lying hamstring stretch can be done on ones own or taking the help of your instructor. Lie down flat on your back on the floor. Lift your leg upward grasping the back of your knee with your hands close to your chest. Hold in this position for about 30 seconds. Straighten your leg high up and bring back closer to your chest. Bring the leg down and repeat the process with the other leg.

Cheap lying hamstring curl machine for home is easily found at any sports meet or annual sporting festival. They are also common in fitness or sport fairs and exhibitions. At times certain brands put old models on sale and that too is quite a buy. You could also speak to your local gym instructor who is sure to have many such resources and could help you have a machine for cheap; initially.

Another option would be the internet. You could search through fitness portals that would give you a wide variety of options to choose from. The only problem- you will not be able to try the machine before buying it. In that case, it is ideally wise to go for models that you have seen or know how they work.

One should also be careful about the payment details incase if you are making an online purchase.

There are times when certain brands put models on sale in an exchange trade. Though tricky this could serve you a good buy provided you know the machine well and are sure of your requirements.

Lying leg curl hamstring for sale should generally be checked on few parameters before making the deal. Check with the different brands available. See if there are any faults. Make sure you go through the reviews and check with the shipping, marketing and other policies. Also, you need to understand whether putting the money is worth for whatever price the machine is available even during sale.

Machines for the Hamstring

Wednesday, June 2nd, 2010

Hamstrings are the thin tendons that are present on either side at the back of the knee. The Wikipedia would give you a very clear and detailed explanation of what exactly make the ‘hamstrings’ in our body. The picture there would help you identify the areas in the leg which conjure up the hamstrings.

Hamstrings are trained separately and so the market is ready today with user friendly machines and manuals which help you understand why to buy particular equipments and what to do to be in a proper routine.

The most common hamstring machines would be:

  • Glute and hamstring machine with hip extension and wide plates
  • Glute ham and hip extension machine with roller seats
  • V strider- lower body stretching machine

The hamstring machine exercises could be summed up as:
Hack squat, leg curl, one legged smith spilt squat, cable squats, leg press. There could also be hamstring isolation and hamstring compound exercises.

Along with the above you could check with hamstring dumbbell and barbell exercises. There are cable and ball hamstring exercises as well.

If you want to practice hamstring machine curls then you would have to do the following:
Lying leg curls, seated leg curls, standing leg curls, exercise ball curls, one leg lying curls, one leg seated curls,

The leading brands that specialize in leg lift hamstring curl exercise machines would be:
Body line
Body solid
Quantum
Legend
Body craft
Magnum
Maxicam
Multisports
Champion

The above brands have been in the market for quite sometime now and are the best of the lot. You could visit their websites to have a look at the various machines available. You could also visit the store and speak to the instructors who would help you buy the right machine.

Hamstrings can be trained with a variety of machines and weights. At the same time it is important to ensure proper nutrition as bones and muscles can’t just be left at the mercy of machines!

Hamstring machines today are generally found as a compact or a combination machines that generally enables you to work on you lower body or the body as a whole. As per your budget, you could work out the details and check with your requirements before you finalize the equipment.

It is wise to have a look at the fitness portals but it is always good to go down to a store and have a one on one talk. This would help you understand the machine, its uses, its alternatives and the attachments better.

Strengthen Those Legs!

Wednesday, June 2nd, 2010

What is the standing leg curl, after all? It is an exercise for those who need to develop the muscles at the back of the thigh. Those are called the hamstring muscles. It can be done in two ways. Either you can use the machine which can be found in many gyms. Or you can just do it at home with the help of some weighs which you can hang from the ankle. There are certain steps which you must follow to do this properly as well. Here are the steps:

  • you have to first take up a light weight and face the machine. One of your legs should be in position under the weight pad.
  • Keep the pads around the ankle. Keep them close to the heels. Putting them too high on the calves will put a lot of tension the calves again.
  • You should be able to do the exercises about twelve times every time.
  • Hold the handles, exhale and then lift it upward. Flex your knee joint.
  • Try and lift the pad as high as you can. Bring it towards your backside.

Standing Leg Curl Exercise is the one which is described above here.

Doing the other type of leg curls:

There are basically three kinds of leg curls. These are:

  • Seated leg curls
  • standing leg curls
  • lever leg curls

This is for those who would like to try out the third type of exercise here. It is usually done with a machine. You stand on it with either one or both legs between the pads. Put the chosen leg by having the lever at the back of the low leg. Hold the handles for supporting yourself. The body weight should be on the other leg. Now to do the Lever Standing Leg Curl, you have to pull the lever in an upward direction. Bring it up to the thigh and behind. Flex your knee as well. Lower to original position and then repeat.
Thus doing these exercises can be really easy if you have the right equipment and the right kind of training. While you can do them on a machine, it is also possible to do them with the help of a few weights. It becomes easy with the right kind of effort being put in to it. Also remember to judge the kind of weight that you are using. This is because people often get really hurt if they misjudge the amount of weight to use while training. Be careful about that or you might injure yourself. And this is especially for the Standing 1 Leg Curls .