I saw this runner's post and I wanted to cry for them.

"I'm doing hamstring curls, split squats, RDL, single leg step downs, clam shells, glute bridges. Is there anything I am missing? Just want to run pain free again!"

This poor runner was struggling with most likely some kind of proximal hamstring tendinopathy. Or in other words that maybe even you've experienced: "a pain right under my butt cheek" or "high hamstring" injury.

Yup, an unrelenting tightness or pulling that feels immediately "under the butt" can actually be hamstring ouchies brought on by higher marathon training mileage, near race pace workouts, or tempo runs.

And it's not fun.

So I don't blame this runner for pulling out the exercises she knew, but STILL struggling to fully get back to pain free running.

Plus, if you've been here a hot minute, you already know I was shaking my head the moment clamshells entered the chat.

Because here's the thing: Hamstrings are stubborn turds. It's not that they NEVER recover; they do!

But you HAVE to load them. And you kind of have to load them aggressively. (not recklessly! but assertively.) And a lot of runners are nervous or scared to do that.

Are you ok if I get nerdy for a second? Because this is the nuanced truth you're NOT going to find on Instagram because it's not flashy or sexy enough to get picked up by the algorithm.

And if you feel prone to repeat hamstring injuries, you need to know this.

Hamstrings LOVE eccentric exercises; runner's not so much, mostly because it can leave us sore for 2-5 days, depending on how used you are to these kinds of exercises.

Quick lesson:

• a deadlift is an eccentric exercise because it asks the muscle to get strong in a lengthening, or stretched out position.
• a hamstring curl is a concentric exercises because it asks the muscle to get strong while contracting or getting shorter.

Here's the kicker:

Hamstring injuries most often happen because the muscle itself is too short, meaning the fascicles and sarcomeres, the individual units that make up the muscle cell, can be literally too short.

And when you're running longer or faster, you're repeatedly asking those muscles cells to get long while handling load. Hello, injury "up in your butt".

And while we think "any hamstring exercise is a good exercise for recovery", it's not true.

Research has found that concentric ONLY exercise did make the hamstring stronger, but it also made the fascicles even SHORTER. Definitely not ideal.

But ECCENTRIC exercises not only made the hamstring stronger, but also provided the physiological stimuli for longer fascicles within the muscle cell. BOOM! The recipe for better, more injury-resistant hamstrings.

So good news: you don't have to repeat-hamstring injury prone any more.

Maybe uncomfortable news: you need to do eccentric hamstring exercises fairly consistently (1-2x a week). So pick your favorite 2 and throw them into the rotation.

And if you're not sure where to start, obviously I've got you covered in this week's blog post.

These are the exact exercises I would start a runner on if they came to me 8-10 weeks before race day, telling me they couldn't finish long runs without hamstring tightness or pulling wrecking them by mile 12.

And until next time...

Dare to Train Differently,

Marie Whitt, PT, DPT //@dr.whitt.fit

P.S.

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