Strained Hamstring?

[jtcraig3]

I strained my hamstring about a month ago doing walking lunges. It wasn't that bad, in fact I was able to finish my workout by just doing machine exercises. It was sore for a day or two and then it pretty much felt fine. I stayed off it for about a week and thought it was good.

Next leg day I did squats on smith bar with calves elevated to put most of the pressure on my quads instead of glutes and hams - went fairly heavy with no problems.

Next time I did regular squats and as soon as I put on 315 I strained it on the 6th rep. I stopped immediately, finished with machines and laid off of it for a few days, but next time I went a little heavy same thing.

It's not that bad, and I can still run no problem...I can work around it doing certain exercises, but since I just started my cycle I want to maximize gains as much as possible. I've always believed you can't really make significant gains without hitting legs hard.

Any suggestions on leg exercises I can do that will avoid straining it anymore while still trying to grow? Any suggestions on how I can speed up healing, recovery, etc?


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[tenny]

ahhh.....times like these, i would focus on
very, very high rep extensions and high volume
calves....heavy and otherwise...for my leg days.

i wouldn't press or squat for 2 months.

 

[jtcraig3]

Damn, 2 months tenny??? I was thinking 4 weeks Thx for the input - definitely gonna take your advice, as much as I hate it. I've pretty much already been doing that, but then I always end up pushing the envelope a little bit and re-straining it. I need to just stop being stupid and bite the bullet.


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[MonkeyBoy]

Pulling a Hami is the worst!!!!

I pulled my hami a few years back, took 6 months to feel normal and still I think its never the same.

Give it time

 

[Growman]

Anyone who has messed up a hamstring will tell you they take forever to heal, and you are 100 times more likely to strain or pull it again at some point after you have done it once. It just sucks....

I strained my left hammy 10 years ago, and it still flares up from time to time, and it wasnt even a full blown pull or tear. Definitely rest it at least 2 months then ease back into it. Everyone is different but most people take a while to heal from a hamstring.

 

[jtcraig3]

Anyone who has messed up a hamstring will tell you they take forever to heal, and you are 100 times more likely to strain or pull it again at some point after you have done it once. It just sucks....

I strained my left hammy 10 years ago, and it still flares up from time to time, and it wasnt even a full blown pull or tear. Definitely rest it at least 2 months then ease back into it. Everyone is different but most people take a while to heal from a hamstring.

Yeah - I pulled my tendon completely off the bone in high school...even took a little piece of the bone with it. That was all the way up high in my glute where it connects. This is just a slight strain about half way down my hamstring.

Over the years I've strained them all over the place, both legs. I'm not very limber and I don't stretch nearly as much as I should - I'll be dedicated to it for a few months and then get lazy.

Sucks cause I just started running a cycle last week, but oh well - I'm going to do what tenny said and just try to blow them out as much as possible with low weight, high volume...probably do circuits to really get the blood pumping.

 

[tenny]

Damn, 2 months tenny??? I was thinking 4 weeks Thx for the input - definitely gonna take your advice, as much as I hate it. I've pretty much already been doing that, but then I always end up pushing the envelope a little bit and re-straining it. I need to just stop being stupid and bite the bullet.


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yes sir......2 months just to start some light squats
and presses.....no direct ham work at all, until your feeling
good with those 2 movements, and getting into some heavier
weight....

its cool though, youll focus on some direct quad work and
bring out some shape and separation...

 

[Growman]

Yeah - I pulled my tendon completely off the bone in high school...even took a little piece of the bone with it. That was all the way up high in my glute where it connects. This is just a slight strain about half way down my hamstring.

Over the years I've strained them all over the place, both legs. I'm not very limber and I don't stretch nearly as much as I should - I'll be dedicated to it for a few months and then get lazy.

Sucks cause I just started running a cycle last week, but oh well - I'm going to do what tenny said and just try to blow them out as much as possible with low weight, high volume...probably do circuits to really get the blood pumping.

Damn that first injury sounds crazy. What you did this time sounds like what I did, its like half way down and just a mild strain. Did it 10 years ago and still rears its ugly head like once a year… lying leg curls get it flared up every now and again.

 

[chinaboy]

From what I read you are messing up your bodies biomechanics. Elevating your calves for squats to exhaust your quads and negate your glutes is a bad idea. You butt is the primary extensor of your lower body. You are setting yourself up for a back injury. Your glutes are the bodies largest muscle for a reason and negating it from your largest/heaviest exercise in routine is a not the best idea.

I would take it easy for a little bit. Stretch your hams, calves , glutes and all lower body more than you do now. Stretch daily it will only help. Then slowly get back to your routine in a progressive fashion. If I doesn't heal then see a doc and do physical therapy. There is a big difference in training for a look like us bodybuilders do and training for joint/muscle heath.

 

[chinaboy]

When I watch people do lunges they always lean forward due to weak glutes amongst other issues and it creates a muscle movement pattern that does not protect your spine. Look at Ronnie and how his back is doing. Train those glutes and stretch a lot.

 

[jtcraig3]

From what I read you are messing up your bodies biomechanics. Elevating your calves for squats to exhaust your quads and negate your glutes is a bad idea. You butt is the primary extensor of your lower body. You are setting yourself up for a back injury. Your glutes are the bodies largest muscle for a reason and negating it from your largest/heaviest exercise in routine is a not the best idea.

I think you misunderstood me...elevating calves during squat routine is not my largest/heaviest exercise. It's just something I throw in every now and then to really focus on the vastus medialis. It's not something I go extremely heavy with either. I would never use that exercise to replace traditional squats.

 

[chinaboy]

Ok. Thanks for correcting me. Sorry to jump to conclusions.

Definitely stretch a lot before, after workouts and during the day. And ice the area. Let us know how it progresses.

 

[jtcraig3]

Ok. Thanks for correcting me. Sorry to jump to conclusions.



Definitely stretch a lot before, after workouts and during the day. And ice the area. Let us know how it progresses.

No need to apologize bro...thanks for the input