Hamstring Curls

Setting here typing on my key board, I am trying to come up with a good analogy for my current hamstring experience. In all honesty, there doesn't seem to be a single parity that looks just right to me. So when nothing fits, sometimes the best approach is to just move forward without one.

With any injury the muscle is weakened and my hamstring injury is no exception to this rule.

What I didn't know was how much the injury had weakened it.

That is, not until last Friday when I went by the Y.

I crawled on to the hamstring weight machine lying in the prone position and tried doing some very simple hamstring curls. I put 30 pounds on it and first attempted it with my left leg. No issues, I was able to do it. Then, I tried it with my right leg. I couldn't budge the weights. I then lowered the weight to 20 pounds and still no luck. Finally I removed all of the weight from it and still nothing.

Certainly I was feeling a little dejected at this point. I am right handed and thus right leg should be the dominate leg. Under normal conditions, my right leg would have been able to curl more weight than my left leg.

Clearly, this little exercise illustrated how much strength that I had lost and why my recovery/running has been such a struggle. This little test also showed me how much work that I needed to do.

As I laid there wallowing in my own despair, I resolved to spend at least 2 days per week in the weight room working my hamstrings.

Strength is not given but is earned.

Now, my road is clear in front of me. Hamstring curls will be part of my weekly routine going forward for the foreseeable future.

 

 

Sharing one thought at a time,

 

The Cool Down Runner