All of a sudden I am having pulled hamstring issues!

[bottleneckblooz]

Ok, so I've been training since I was 15 and I'm 36 now. So for 21 years I've never pulled a hamstring or had any issues like that before. Then, about a month and a half ago while doing lying leg curls I felt my right hamstring pull or tear slightly. It wasn't bad enough to cause any bruising but it kept me from doing any hamstring and even bent over rowing movements for a couple of weeks. After 2 weeks I started slowly with hamstring work again. If I pushed it too hard I could still feel the injury slightly so I kept the weight light and slowly built up the weight with each subsequent workout.

Then Last night during my 2nd or 3rd rep of my second set of bent over rows....BOOM! My OTHER hamstring let go! This one was worse than the first time.

So I guess I'm wondering if anyone else has any experience with hamstring injuries and will my hams be much easier to injure from now on?

The really shitty part is that lately my hams have been responding and growing really well, and now I'm going to feel like I have to hold back when training them.

[L3]

after my first near-tear-experience with my right ham (also doing lying leg curls) i was really afraid i wouldnt be able to squat again so i just dont bother with them anymore... you should see the size of my quads now tho HoeLey

it does suck for bent over rows tho now my legs give out before my back does :(

[faller]

Same thing happening to me. No idea why now after so many years my hams decide to give me problems. I've stopped doing all ham work.

[skaffer]

Obviously i'm no professional since i'm only 17, but do you still stretch regularly and warm up properly? Only thing I could think of that would mess up your hamstring since you're probably strong as heck training from that long

[faller]

I spend about 10/15 min on the elyptical(sp), warm up sets before going max, and i stretch for 20/25 min. 6 days a week.

[bottleneckblooz]

Same thing happening to me. No idea why now after so many years my hams decide to give me problems. I've stopped doing all ham work.


Permanently? Or just until they heal up?

[bottleneckblooz]

Obviously i'm no professional since i'm only 17, but do you still stretch regularly and warm up properly? Only thing I could think of that would mess up your hamstring since you're probably strong as heck training from that long

I usually warm up by starting with a light weight and pyramidding the weight up each set until I reach my max weight. I don't usually stretch much, although sometimes I'll alternate lying leg curls with light stiff legged dead lifts to help stretch them out.

One thing I noticed though that may be worth mentioning is I've always, for the longest time started my leg workout with hams. I like to get them warmed up really good before hitting quads because I used to have problems with my hams cramping up if I started my leg workout with squats.

The day that I injured my ham while doing leg curls I changed that routine up, and started with quads, and finished with hams. That may have contributed to the problem, I don't know.

[L3]

i dont see the point of trainig hams DIRECTLY unless your competing... its not like anyone who squats over 3 plates needs bigger legs/ass... only stress my hams get is indirectly from shoulder-width squats, i've chafed off all my inner thight hair and at the seams in 38"/30" docker khakis

[natenator]

i dont see the point of trainig hams DIRECTLY unless your competing... its not like anyone who squats over 3 plates needs bigger legs/ass... only stress my hams get is indirectly from shoulder-width squats, i've chafed off all my inner thight hair and at the seams in 38"/30" docker khakis
while someone may not wish to compete now what about future?

And, having balanced muscles makes for less injuries in general.

[O-Train]

i dont see the point of trainig hams DIRECTLY unless your competing... its not like anyone who squats over 3 plates needs bigger legs/ass... only stress my hams get is indirectly from shoulder-width squats, i've chafed off all my inner thight hair and at the seams in 38"/30" docker khakis

??? No direct training for biceps or upper traps sure but Hamstrings?

Hamstrings are one muscle group you definitely need to stretch. You shouldn't be hurting yourself doing leg curls.

[bigben]

Unfortunately it looks like the initial injury was bad enough that it needed more than the 2 weeks to recover. You need to cut your losses, and not do any more damage until it heals. There's a strong possibility that you are now compensating with the other leg and over taxing it as well. You are going to need to give it more time to heal, avoid anything that aggrevates it, regain flexibility before resuming direct training, ice it down several times a day if possible to speed healing. When you resume training, you may need to focus on more reps and less weight for a considerable period of time. Injuries can take a long time to heal fully.

[BigDaddyFreak]

Many pulls happen because of one muscle group overpowering the antagonist or during deceleration of a movement (Charlie Francis lol), but since this happened with an isolation movement, the only thing I would suggest is to make sure the QUADS are stretched and relaxed well before doing hamstrings. It really will help.

[St]

I had a Hamstring injury before,you should go see a RMT for a massage works wonders.

[faller]

Got mine from stiff legged DL. Been doing them for a long time. I don't do leg curls or extentions.