By Elizabeth Towe
Objective:
We continue this month with the theme of eccentric training. We want to give the attention to this aspect of training while we are moving into half-marathon, marathon and ultra-distance training for fall races. High hamstring injuries are common in the endurance athlete population. It is important to build hamstring and tendon strength for the deceleration phase of gait (straight leg in front of the body to foot strike) because tendon stress loads are high when hamstrings have to switch quickly from lengthening (eccentric) to shortening (concentric) mode, especially as weekly mileage increases.
Exercise:
- Start in a kneeling position and either have a partner hold your feet or prop your feet under a bench.
- While keeping your body in a straight line from your knees through the top of your head, squeeze your glutes and SLOWLY lower your body toward the ground as if you are “falling” into a pushup. (Keep squeezing glutes and do NOT bend in the hip at any phase of the “falling.”)
- Catch yourself with your hands without letting your body touch the ground and walk your hands back toward your knees to go back to your start position.
- Repeat this 10 to 15 times for two to three sets, two times per week, preferably not on your long run days.
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Elizabeth Towe is a runner and a cyclist and the owner of Balanced Movement Studio in Carrboro. She graduated from East Carolina with a degree in exercise and sports science and has been personal training for over 20 years. Her ultimate goal for all of her clients is to help them realize and achieve the optimal quality in their life – and to remember to have fun doing it.
