The hamstrings or hamstrings are a muscle group located on the back of the thigh and is made up of the biceps femoris, semitendinosus, and semimembranosus. A group of muscles that allow flexion of the knee and extension of the hip, but which are usually always one of the forgotten areas when warming up.
Hamstrings are often shortened by stiffness, being important to carry out a series of exercises to strengthen them. A shortening that usually affects both people who lead a sedentary life, being usual that they are shortened by stiffness and the appearance of pain in the knees and lower back due to muscular decompensation, as in those people who practice sports.
When used in speed actions such as sprints, jumps or changes of direction, this musculature usually has a high injury rate. The following exercises will help you strengthen your hamstrings and avoid injury:
Nordic curl or Nordic falls
This is a eccentric-type or eccentric-resistance exercise, being one of the most used to prevent injuries. To perform this exercise you will need a mat, a partner to hold your feet or a fixed bar with which to hold them if you are alone.
The exercise begins on our knees and with a person or an object that holds our legs at the ankles. With the hands on the chest or on the hips, the body falls forward in a slow and controlled manner. When the body is close to the ground or is touched, it is necessary to return to the starting position with the concentric force of the hamstrings, being able also to help with the hands.
Femoral curl with fitball
This exercise is another of the easiest activities to work on. the biceps femoris and the rest of the hamstring muscles. To perform this exercise you will have to lie on the floor on your back, your arms fully stretched and your heels placed on top of a Swiss ball.
In this position you have to raise the body in a straight line and leaving the hips in the air and supporting the head and upper back. Bring the ball towards your head by contracting your hamstrings and then away without lowering your hips and returning to the starting position. It is important to repeat this exercise as many times as you can.
Russian skipping
According to specialists, skipping is one of the ideal exercises to learn the running technique or improve it, in addition to strengthening the muscles of the lower body and preventing injuries. The variety known as Russian skipping is ideal for working on muscular power, symmetry and explosive strength consisting of raising the leg forward moving while keeping the knees locked and the quadriceps contracted.
Slopes
Going up and down hills, depending on their incline, in addition to their unevenness, length and running power, have a positive effect on strengthening the entire lower body. It is important to warm up before running.
Plyometric exercises
These exercises are another way to ideal workout to strengthen the lower body. In this type of exercise, fast movements and movements that require strength are combined. Some movements that involve the pre-stretching of the muscle, lengthening and shortening the fiber, producing strong concentric contractions.
One of these exercises is the multi-jumps, that is, jumps with one foot or with both, bounces, swings and rapid vertical and horizontal movements.
Dead weight
This exercise has to be done with a barbell and bending the knees slightly to engage the glutes maximus and hamstrings.
The exercise consists of lift a barbell with weight from the ground to the waist, being essential to keep the spine straight and extended at all times and, as we have already pointed out, the knees only slightly bent, bearing the weight of the body on the tips of the feet and not on the heels.
If you don’t have a barbell, another alternative is the dumbbell deadlift.
Supine hip lift
This exercise also has a low difficulty level, as a beginner, involving the glutes, abdominal muscles and hamstrings, and does not require equipment. Thus, you only need to lie on your back with your arms at your sides, your knees bent and your feet firmly on the ground.
In this position you have to raise hips forming a straight line from the shoulders to the knees. You have to hold on for a moment in that position and lower your body, returning to the main position.
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