Oh Those Hammies! Hamstring Info Part 1
Do you have tight hamstrings? Do you stretch them only to find that you're not any closer to the suppleness that you desire in those posterior hip extenders? Do you feel they're tighter than Gringotts Bank Security?
Thieves Beware...
Have you tweaked/pulled your hamstring (due to your tightness maybe?)? Today, we'll go over some of the reasons why the hamstrings might be tight and in part 2 we'll go over some of the prevention/rehabilitation techniques to deal with hamstring tweaks. You may be surprised to find that your tight hamstrings are not actually tight... That sounds like something Professor Dumbledore might say.
Ok, so here's some of the causes of "tight" hamstrings. (You'll see why I put "tight" in quotation marks at the end.)
1. Protective tension.
This is when the brain is telling the hamstrings to remain "on," for one reason or another, and it creates a sensation of tightness when the hamstrings are stretched. Why does this happen? I'm actually a good example of this. I have congenital laxity (meaning my joints are loose and I'm fairly flexible) but for a period of about 3 years, my hamstrings were constantly tight and I could feel them being tugged on every time I would put them in a stretched position, and because of my laxity (and a lifetime of NEVER feeling tight) this was as odd as Hagrid's love for horribly frightening beasts.
Yep. That weird.
Here's what was happening: my pelvis tilted, wildly I might add, anteriorly (forward).
The hamstrings attach to the (posterior) bottom of the pelvis (your "sit" bones) and my brain sensed the pelvic tilt I was constantly in and was desperately trying to prevent me tilting forward anymore by causing my hamstrings to fire constantly to pull me back into a neutral position. Thus, this unceasing firing of my hamstring was causing a sense of "tightness" in my hamstrings despite the fact that the actual muscles were not tight. Once my pelvic tilt (through lots of KB swings and anterior core work) was in a more neutral position... voilaThe tightness was gone. So, if your hamstrings feel tight, check our your pelvic alignment. Stretching the hamstrings will NOT improve your flexibility in this case.
2. Neural tension.
I know this sounds similar to the above reason, but this tension generally results from an injury. The most likely answer is an injury to a lower back disc. (since the nerve for the hamstrings runs through that region.) If there's damage to a disc in the L1-S1 region, there's probably compression on the nerve for the hamstrings which could be causing mishaps in the neural messages causing hamstring tightness. Usually this type of tension is accompanied by other symptoms such as tingling, shooting pain, electric pain or numbness. Two common tests to check for spinal issues are the slump test and the heel drop test (which consists of standing on your toes then dropping to you heels. If pain occurs, congratulations! You might have a compression issue.)
3 and 4. Nasty fibrotic tissue or tendonosis in the hamstring.
Sometimes muscle fibers get junky and gunky, either from poor movements, overuse, or prior injury, which changes the length and function of the muscle. Instead of the muscle fibers running parallel and working harmoniously, they're twisted up like spaghetti noodles (and work as well together and a plate of spaghetti). Soft tissue work such as SMR or possibly work by a professional is in order to help restore the tissue quality.
Not the way muscle fibers should be...
5. The hamstring muscles are truly short.
Yep, you're one of those people who either because of your genes (not your jeans. Ha!) or a surgery where the hamstring was immobilized in a shortened position (though this is not common), your hamstrings are actually shorter than they should be. This can happen in folks who sit down a lot during the day because the pelvis is tilted posteriorly (tucking your butt under) which does shorten the hamstrings a bit. However, this probably isn't the main source of tightness since they are only short at the very end range of motion.
So what have we learned? If your hamstring is tight, it's not necessarily it's fault nor will endless hamstring stretches change anything (even if you're drew the genetic short stick. Stretching won't do that much. Sorry.). Soft tissue work in the hamstrings, adductors, and glutes as well as some dedicated anterior core work and glute training (*cough* swings *cough*) can help to solve some tight hamstring issues.
Hamstring issues, begone!
Check back in tomorrow for some hamstring injury causes and care.
My Experience with ART: Part I
For years I’ve been interested in restorative and rehabilitative techniques. Whether it be something in the “do it yourself” category such as foam rolling, or something a bit more invasive like dry needling (a technique used by doctors of physical therapy to release tight muscles in spasm), I'm always interested in finding out what seems to “work” and what seems to be an expensive waste of time.
One of the rehab techniques that really sparked my curiousity was ART, or Active Release Technique. Was it a fancy style of massage? Was it chiropractic manipulation? I came to find that it was a style of treatment that involved locating scar tissue in the body that is suspected of causing soft tissue restriction or dysfunction, and using a combination of manual pressure and the patient’s own movement to break up the gunk in the body and restore the tissue to proper function.
As I read more about it and talked to several patients that have had ART before, the general consensus was overwhelmingly positive. I couldn’t resist anymore and got myself an appointment with Grove Spine & Sports Care.
The Assessment/Evaluation
I came in with no urgent concerns or problems, but I knew that I had some movement dysfunction of my own. My hips are fairly tight and I will get some lower back soreness from a long day of sitting, and my left hip will bother me if I over-do it with squatting movements. I was very curious to see what kind of condition the soft tissue in my lower back and hips were in.
Just as I suspected, there was something up with my left hip. My hip flexors are both super tight, but even more so on the left side. I’ve always felt that this is pulling my spine into a less-than-optimal hyperlordodic position.
My hip external rotators on my right side were also locked up, causing me to turn my right foot out more when I stand or sit relaxed.
But the fun didn’t end there. There was junky tissue in my adductors, spinal erectors, QL, and some scarred up ligamentous tissue in my lower back.
So I proceeded to have much of this knotted up nonsense “released” by the good Doctor. The “releasing” consisted of having deep pressure applied to the restricted area, and then moving my own body in a way that would stretch the tissue against the pressure. For example, for my hip flexors, I started in a side-lying position and deep manual pressure was applied to my psoas right next to my belly button. While the pressure was maintained I had to extend my hips by throwing my top leg back and reaching up toward my head with my top hand.
I was warned that it may cause some deep burning and even a painful sensation, but I thought it just felt awesome. I was still smiling throughout the session, so I guess that puts me at a 0-1 according to this fullproof scale.
After getting my left hip flexor, right external rotator, and left adductor magnus released I got up off the table to walk around and feel out my freshly ironed out hips. I must say I was very impressed. I did a few bodyweight squats and could definitely feel the increased ease at which I dropped down to depth.
The initial evaluation and first ART session was enough to convince me that there is something magical happening here. Of course it would be naïve to assume that my experience will be the same as others, but for those of you who have some nagging soft tissue aches and pains I definitely recommend you try it out! Stay tuned for further experiences with my future ART sessions.
SAPT Exercise of the Week: Single-leg RDL From a Deadstop
Who wants strong glutes and hamstrings? (Everyone should be raising their hands and jumping up enthusiastically. You'll jump even higher with strong glutes....)
How else do you think Mario jumps so high?
Enter the single-leg RDL (that's Romanian deadlift. Don't ask me why the Romanian's get their own deadlift variation. Apparently they jumped on the posterior chain training first.). Now, the SL RDL is a fabulous exercise to train all those posterior muscles, and never ceases to amaze me with it's ability to produce soreness, however, sometimes balance is a bit of an issue. Many times folks aren't ready for a full SL RDL, so a progression I like is adding in the deadstop portion.
The deadstop helps a) give a definite start/end point to the movement which I've found helps people focus a bit more if they know where they're going. And b) requires the glutes to really fire to initiate the movement (no stretch-shortening cycle going on up in here!) and I like that it teaches the sometimes-lazy glutes to turn on first. A lot of people, myself included, can have lack luster glute firing abilities and tend to rely on the hamstrings and adductor magnus (poor little guy, that's why he gets strained so much, he's doing the glutes' work!) to achieve hip extension. The deadstop slows the athlete down and allows one to really think about using those wonderful cheeks instead of just blowing through the exercise any ol' way.
"Turn on," Grock says. Grunt.
Take a look:
Coaching cues:
1. Fire your glutes! How? Start squeezing your cheeks (yup, both of 'em.) before beginning to stand up. Shove the heel deep into the ground as you stand.
2. Brace your midsection. If you don't, you're going to be all over the place, wobbling and wiggling in a manner most unbecoming to a serious trainee. In addition to preventing the wobbles, a tight midsection will prevent the non-working side's hip from rising up. So this exercise doubles as a core exercise (training the anti-rotation function). Fabulous no?
I can't get enough of this song; there may or may not be spontaneous wobbling going on in SAPT. But never during the SL RDL...
3. Move from the hip. Pretend it's a two-legged deadlift. HINGE baby!
4. Drive the non-working heel to the ceiling. This will ensure the the other glute stays tight and doesn't take a coffee break.
5. Keep the shoulders down and back, think about pulling your chest up towards the ceiling, to maintain a tight arch in the lower back and prevent slumping of the shoulders. We do enough of that slumpy-slump the rest of the day. We want a strong upper back so keep them blades tight!
6. Accept that you will be sore the following day. Sorry.
Grip, Dip, and RIP!
Obviously, we’re talking about DEADLIFTS! If you haven’t heard it before, “grip, dip and rip” typically refers to the set-up and execution of picking up heavy barbells off the ground. Grip- Grab the bar and squeeze it tight. Dip- Dip your hips down, get your back flat. RIP!- RIP that bar off the floor!
I’m a big fan of the phrase. It takes an extremely technical lift like the deadlift and boils it down to three simple words that happen to rhyme. Awesome. Of course, when teaching someone how to properly pick up heavy things, more effective cueing is going to be necessary. However, if you’ve been deadlifting for a while and your technique is in check, sometimes you need to stop obsessing over the MILLIONS of details involved in the technique and just RIP that bar off the ground and into lockout.
The Dip
Although each cue deserves a blog post of its own, what I want to talk about specifically is that crucial point between the grip and the rip. That moment immediately before you pull when you set your position can make or break your lift. So what really goes on in that short duration in your deadlift set-up?
Bracing and Setting Your Lower Back
The moment you set your hips into position is also the moment when you should be bracing as hard as you can through your abs. With your hips in place and your abs as tight as possible, you set your lower back into a neutral position to protect your spine from the high sheer and compressive forces you’re about to hit it with.
Applying Tension in the Hamstrings
Pulling your hips down into position while simultaneously flattening out your lower back will place a significant amount of tension on your hamstrings, which is a great thing to have happen right before your deadlift. By creating this pre-stretch, you will be able to take advantage of the stretch reflex that we humans so thoroughly enjoy. When the muscle spindles in your hamstrings are stimulated by the stretch they will freak out and wake up all the contractile units, who will all jump on-board the deadlifting train and say “alright boss, LET’S DO THIS!”
One thing to keep in mind regarding the pre-stretch on your hamstrings is that the longer you hold that stretched position the more the reflex potential will be diminished. Think about it in terms of another lift: what’s easier, a touch-and-go bench press or a bench press with a 3 second pause on your chest? So when you dip down into position on your deadlift and feel tight, PULL! Don’t hang out at the bottom for too long.
Setting Your Upper Back
Another key component in preparing for a nice deadlift is setting your upper back. This means shoulders down and back, sufficient t-spine extension, neck packed, and using your lats. During my “dip” on the deadlift, I also like to roll my shoulders from a shrugged position into a packed position while doing my best to extend through the t-spine. I also like to apply some external rotation torque on the bar with my hands because I feel like it helps me “turn on” my lats.
All of THAT in the Dip?!?
Yep, all of that happens in the dip. It’s a lot of detail, but as I mentioned earlier, don’t get caught up in trying to go down a HUGE technique checklist before every pull. Trust me, you’ll drive yourself crazy because you will always be able to find an aspect of the lift you didn’t do with absolute perfection. Just work on fixing a couple form issues at a time and keep on grippin’ dippin’ and rippin’!
Set/Rep Schemes: Is 3x10 King?
We received a question recently about set/rep schemes (for SAPT-ers, those first two columns on your program sheet) and I thought it would be a fabulous blog post. "What's the right formula for number of sets and number of reps for an exercise? I'm so used to hearing '3 sets of 10,' is that right or wrong?"
Excellent question, especially since the coaches at SAPT don't really program 3 sets of 10 on a regular basis. Hasn't this been a burning question on your mind? Of course it has, so let us dive in.
First, a brief history lesson. The famous "3 sets of 10" actually came out of the brains of two fellows named Dr. Thomas Delorme and Dr. Arthur Watkins. They were the first ones to develop a structured weight training protocol based on progressive overload. They wrote a paper (1948), and later a book (1950-ish), detailing their research findings. One quote I thought was rather lovely:
“The number of contractions per bout is arbitrarily set at ten. If fewer repetitive lifts were required, the resistance could be increased. Whether ten is the optimum number for rapid increase in strength has never been established in terms of criteria other than the empirical practice of weight-lifters. It is probable that the number closely approaches the optimum.”
See? 3 sets of 10 reps is not set in stone; it's just the numbers the good doctors worked with and recorded their results. You can read about it here, if you want.
Now, moving onto why we've expanded upon Drs. Delorme and Watkins' work. Subsequent research as led to insights on how muscles work and grow stronger. In the effort of remaning true to the KISS principle, I'll list a small snippet of the knowledge out there. Keep in mind that this is merely a scratch upon the surface of what goes on physiologically during weight training. (such as, energy systems used, hormonal responses and what types of conditions elicit the various physical responses of the body. It will blow your mind. Mine is continual blown up every time I read more about muscles. )
Ahem,
- As load increases, reps decrease and vice versa.
- As total exercise volume increases, intensity will decrease and vice versa.
- Muscles will adapt to the demands placed upon them (SAID principle).
So how does that help us coaches (and self-trained folks) determine set/reps. Well, as always, it depends.
If your goal is strength (which, by the way, it should be), you'll want to stick to lower rep ranges (1-5) with weights closer to your 1 rep max. I shall NOT be diving into percentages and what percentage matches with what rep scheme as I've found they're wildly different person to person. Generally, the closer you approach your 1 rep max, the less repetitions you can perform. As a coach, the exercises that stay in this range, typically, are the money-makers: squats, deadlifts, chin/pull ups, and presses.
If your goal is strength, which it should be, (no, this is not a typo. Strength is the KING of physical adaptations.) using the 6-8 rep range lends itself well to assistance lifts such as single-leg work, rows, pushups, anything-that's-not-your-main-lift, again, you can lift a heavier load for 6 reps than you can for 10, so... strength means picking up heavy things. This rep range affords a longer time under tension (meaning the muscles are working longer than say a 2 rep deadlift set), therefore building up their strength-endurance a bit instead of, say, a max-effort strength.
Now, this is not to say that you can't get stronger using the 3x10 protocol (assuming you're increasing the load), but it tends to only work for a little while, and it works best with beginners. In order for muscles to adapt to lifting heavy things, you have to impose that demand upon them by lifting heavy things. It would be more effecient to lift a lot of weight a few times than a little weigh a lot of times (this goes back to the energy system and hormonal response thing I mentioned earlier. This will be a future post... but for now, from a physiological standpoint, you'll get stronger faster lifting more weight a few times.)
Comic break.
Another reason, outside of the strength reasons, SAPT coaches use sets less than 10 is technique. We've found that having someone, especially a beginner, perform sets of 10 squats just ends up in fail. Form goes out the window as muscles get tired and attention wanders. There's a lot going on in the big lifts (chest up, butt back, toes up, on your heels, brace... etc) and it's difficult to keep it all in your head when you're first learning for extended sets. Thus, sets of 5, for our beginners, works out nicely. Our more experienced athletes stick with this rep range as they progress, well, because they're lifting heavier things.
Brain overload...
We do program sets of 10, but usually it's a corrective or mobility exercise, such as a facepull or wall slide, or sometimes we'll throw in some reverse crunches so our athlete's can "feel the burn."
In the end, we stick to the lower rep ranges to either practice technique (beginners) or elicit strength adaptations (experienced). As the smart Drs. said, the reptition number was arbitrarily set at 10. Later, research found that strong people lift heavy things a few times. The set/rep combinations are endless; train for strength, keep it simple, and have a fun workout!
Colorado Dreamin’
Last week I had an awesome opportunity to spend a few days snowboarding, relaxing, and getting beat up by trees in Winter Park, Colorado. Having spent most of my time here on the East Coast it was amazing to witness the breathtaking scenery and culture out in Winter Park. If you like snow and want to get away, I definitely recommend visiting! The Mountains are Huge… Like Really Huge
Growing up I’ve frequently visited the local mountains within a few hours of Northern Virginia, and they now seem like mole hills in comparison to the mountains out west. In the handful of days that I was there I did my best to explore as much of the mountain as I could, but despite my efforts the last day of my trip came and I realized I only hit a tiny fraction of the skiable terrain (which turned out to be over 3,000 acres).
Altitude is No Joke
I’m by no means an elite level athlete, but I feel like I’m in decent shape. So when I began walking up a flight of stairs and started breathing heavy I couldn’t help but think… “HUH!?”
The base of Winter Park is about 9,000ft above sea level, with the highest peak being 12,060ft. Compare this to Northern VA’s ~500ish ft above sea level.
I could almost FEEL the decreased oxygen levels in the air, which is a big reason for some endurance athletes using altitude training to improve performance when competing at lower elevations. The idea is that the body will start to acclimatize to the thin air and adaptations will occur, such as naturally increased erythropoietin (leading to increased red blood cells), increased number of blood vessels, and increased buffering capacity. In other words, improving the body’s oxygen delivery system. It is still a controversial training method and I cannot say from dedicated experience that it “works” (I was there for five days and I doubt my mile time improved).
If you’re planning a trip to a location of high altitude I’ll pass along the advice that the locals told me: “Drink a ton of water and don’t overexert yourself.”
Elbow Dislocations are a Rare but Awful Injury
Like other sports and activities, injuries are just an unfortunate slice of the snowboarding pie. A friend of mine took a hard fall while bombing down a hill at probably 45 mph, and didn’t get up as quickly as I’d hoped. During the tumble his shoulder ended up locked into internal rotation with his forearm trapped between his back and the ground, all while skidding across the snow.
This resulted in the bones in his elbow (humerus, radius, and ulna) separating from eachother. Despite the severe pain and gross looking elbow he handled it like a champ and we were able to get him to ski patrol.
According to a veteran in the ski patrol department, an elbow dislocation is one of the highest ranked injuries purely from a pain scale perspective. Apparently it is a very rare injury as well, at least on the slopes. With close to 40 years of ski patrolling under his belt, he has only seen two elbow dislocations during his career.
Pizza and Honey is a Match Made in Heaven
After a hard day of riding we went to get some food and ended up at the resort’s pizza parlor. When I walked inside I noticed something strange: there was a bottle of honey at the tables.
Confused and afraid, I demanded answers. The response was simply “Um… to put on your pizza? Duh.” I drizzled some honey on my pizza and was very pleasantly surprised at how delicious it was. It was even better with honey+sriracha.
My friend’s injury was a bummer, but otherwise I had a great time in Winter Park. The community is extremely friendly (no one locks their doors!), the food is great, the mountain is amazing, and the scenery is really out of this world. I definitely cannot wait to visit again!
