The Best Hamstring Exercise for Runners...

Why you should be doing Nordics.

Did you know that the Glutes and Hamstring have a ⅔ to ⅓ ratio for force production during the push off phase of running? That's why it's important to strengthen both if we want to be able to run faster and reduce our risk of injury.

The Hamstring is a group of three muscles on the back of the thigh. They produce and control a portion of the force needed to run.

When your leg is swinging through the air prior to making contact with the ground, the Hamstring stretches to control the forward motion of the knee, essentially trying to slow your shin from ‘flying off your thigh’. They then pull the leg into the foot-strike position ready for landing. When a foot-strike has been established, the Hamstring then contracts, producing force enabling us to push off from the ground moving us forwards.

The Hamstring also plays an important role helping to stabilise the knee when ground contact is made and controls the amount of knee flexion (bend) occurring underneath the body weight of the runner.

It therefore needs to be strengthened for both eccentric (lengthening) and concentric (shortening) phases when running. One of the best exercises for this are Nordic Curls.

The Nordic hamstring curl involves kneeling on a pad (for knee comfort) and lowering under control while the ankles are held in place by a partner, under a sofa, or any other immovable object. Then extend the hamstring muscles to lean forward, making sure you lean from the knee, not from the hip. The movement should be slow and controlled. You should come as forward or low to the floor as you can without using your hands/arms. Only put your hands out in front of you on the floor when you can no longer rely on your legs. Then push yourself back up to the starting position and repeat. Aim for 3 sessions per week of 12, 10, and 8 reps, or 3 sets of 6-8, or 8-10 reps.