HAMSTRINGS

Drop holds This exercise involves the athlete dropping (not jumping) to the ground from a raised platform or box, and trying to decelerate their body as fast as possible into a quarter squat. The drop down gives the stretch to the ham- string muscles that is essential to eccentric loading. The loading in this exercise is gov- erned by the height of the drop which should be in the region of 30-80 cm. Drop holds are a relatively high impact form of eccentric training and would normally be introduced after the athlete has developed an appropriate level of eccentric strength in the hamstrings.

Figure 4: Drop holds – ‘step’, ‘drop’, and ‘landing’ positions

Resisted step-up The resisted step-up is identical in execution to a regular barbell or dumbbell step up. However, the main difference here is that by providing posterior resistance to the athlete in the form of elastic resistance (eg. bungee cord, dynaband, stretch band), the action of forceful hip extension is emphasised as the athlete works to pull their bodyweight over the front foot and up onto the box.

The athlete should position themselves in front of a low box approximately 30-50cm in height, depending on the athlete. It is also best if this exercise is performed in a power rack, so the athlete can hold onto the vertical stands of the rack for support. Some form of elastic resistance should then be applied to the athlete’s waist, with the tension directed in a posterior direction. To begin the exercise the athlete should raise one foot up and place it on top of the box. Importantly the athlete should then sway forwards so that their bodyweight is predominantly over the foot positioned on the box. This will aid in promoting athletes ‘pulling’ themselves up onto the box by contracting the hamstrings, rather than ‘pushing’ up onto the box through plantar flexion of the foot which is still on the floor. When ready, the athlete should contract through the hamstrings, acting against the elastic resistance being applied, and raise the foot on the floor

Reactive drills (“B” Skips) Recognised as running drills, these exercises hold some carry-over to technique, but are primarily strengthening exercises. The “B” series of exercises involves foreleg extension and the clawing back of the limb via hip extension. Though this movement has little relationship to technique, it is a highly effective exercise at strengthening the hamstrings as they work to decelerate the foreleg. The techniques for these drills have been well documented elsewhere and where originated by Gerard Mach. During the B skip, the athlete simply adopts a steady-rhythm skipping action. However instead of performing small ‘ankling’ during the skips, the athlete skips with a high knee lift. At the top of the knee lift the athlete extends the foreleg out, so that the leg straightens. At this point, work- ing from the hip, the athlete aggressively pulls the leg to the

Figure 6: B Skips

ground by contraction of the hamstrings, trying to ‘claw’ the sole of the foot across the floor as forcefully as possible. Athletes should perform this ‘clawing’ action with alternate legs for a set number of repetitions or over a predetermined distance.

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Figure 5: Resisted step ups – ‘start’ and ‘finish’ positions

up into a high knee drive. The knee should finish positioned next to the chest, with the athlete standing with their hip, knee, and ankle all fully extended. The athlete can hold onto the power rack to keep their balance in this position. After a short pause at the top of the movement the athlete should then return the non-standing foot back to the floor ensuring that they do not allow the resistance just to pull them back but instead control the movement and emphasising eccentric loading of the hamstring group.