Hi there! When I left off last week, I was pretty bummed about my left hamstring. It was incredibly achy, my chiropractor seemed baffled, and I was starting to feel like I was banging my head against a brick wall. But, I guess it’s true that time (and hard work) heals all wounds. I had some hopeful signs this week! Thanks as always to Kim and Deborah for hosting the Weekly Rundown. Let’s get into it…
Sunday
Leg Day at the gym! Avoiding anything that might irritate my hamstring, I focused on squats and the glute press machine, then ended with 30 minutes on the Stairmaster.
Monday
It’s come to my attention that the muscles around my left hip (the side with the achy hamstring) are MUCH weaker than the right ones. To correct that I’ve been doing side planks with leg lifts. When I started I could barely do them on the left side- but it’s improving little by little. I also added Runner’s Touch (which works the hamstring, but gently- it’s just bodyweight) and I rounded out this shorter workout with core.
Tuesday
In the morning I did the Caroline Girvan deadbug workout, and some negatives on the pull up bar. In the afternoon I had a 3 mile walk on the schedule. It was 95 degrees, YIKES. It was hard to convince myself to get out there, so I brought a bottle of ice water in my vest.
Wednesday
I started the day with Runners Touch and side planks with the leg lift, then got out for a 3 mile run.
GUESS WHAT? My hamstring felt MUCH better!!! The extreme achiness was gone. I still felt it, but not nearly as much. Wow, this run put me in a really good mood!
Thursday
In the morning I did a Caroline Girvan abs workout, and then after work I went to the gym with my daughter. It was an upper body day, but my lats were so sore from the negatives on Tuesday. I was able to do reverse flys, but other than that it was a push day.
Friday
Another 3 mile run! For some reason I was imagining that my hamstring would be all better, and was disappointed that I could still feel it a little (patience- not my strong point). I had to remind myself that it feels about 80% better than it did a week ago, and that’s a lot. I’m still doing run/walk intervals, by the way, but increasing the running time.
Saturday
My daughter and I had plans to go to the gym in the afternoon, but she has a cold so we decided to stay home. I did my usual Runner’s Touch, side planks with leg lifts, and hip stability exercises. And then I did Bulgarian split squats. I don’t usually do those, so when I do it absolutely trashes my legs.
So… it was a good week! I have to admit I was starting to worry this hamstring thing would ruin my summer of running (like the calf issue last summer) but now I’m hopeful that it’s going to be fine.
How was your week? Was it 95 degrees where you were? (Ha! Probably not unless you live in Florida or Arizona).
Top photo by Cole Keister on Unsplash
4 Responses
Your gym looks so lively—love seeing it that full! YAY for a happy hamstring, Jenny!
It’s great to hear you’re seeing real progress. Sounds like you’re on the right track, and fingers crossed this is the summer where everything doesn’t fall apart. 😅
glad to hear hamstring is healing. strength training and stretch has been helpful to my hip soreness too. consistency is the key.
i’ve had 50-60s weather for two weeks. it has been great.
So glad to hear that your hamstring is starting to improve, Jenny. So many of our aches, pains, and injuries stem from muscle imbalances. It’s great that you noticed that and are working to make improvements! Here’s to continued success and healing!
Glad to hear that the hamstring is feeling better. Be kind to it! I suppose that heat will give you no choice. We could use some of your heat…