Reduce Cramps, Improve Your Up-Kick, Build Your Hamstrings!

By Dr. G. John Mullen, Swimming World Contributor

Cramping is a common issue with swimmers. Foot cramps, calf cramps, and hamstring cramps…oh my! Building strength in the hamstrings may reduce cramping, as cramping is a multi-factorial issue, not simply a nutrient deficiency. The hamstring muscle group plays a huge role in swimming, helping balance the body and provide the upward motion during most forms of kicking.

There are three main muscles of the hamstrings, see below:

Muscle	Origin	Insertion	Action	Innervation
Biceps Femoris (Long Head)	Ischial tuberosity	Head of fibula	Ext hip Flex knee ER tibia	Tibial nerve
Biceps Femoris (Short head)	Linea aspera	Head of fibula	Flex knee ER tibia	Common fibular nerve
Semimembranosus	Ischial tuberosity	Med tibial condyle	Ext hip Flex knee IR tibia	Tibial nerve
Semitendinosus	Ischial tuberosity	Med to the Tibial Tuberosity via Pes Anserinus	Ext hip Flex knee IR tibia	Tibial nerve

Often, dryland programs have difficulties finding challenging bodyweight exercises for the hamstrings. I recently presented at the Midwestern swim coaches clinic and discussed the importance of simple exercise progressions and regressions. These progressions and regressions provide systematic progressions and appropriate difficulty for swimmers in a large group.

The below infographic demonstrates the activation of two hamstrings muscles during common bodyweight exercises. This simple progression of this muscle group can help teams build systematic dryland programs.

Photo Courtesy: YLMSportScience

During any of the below exercises, ensure your abdominals and glutes are braced, keeping the spine straight and protected.

Single Leg Towel Curl Directions:

On a sliding board or a hardwood surface, place one towel under one foot. Next, raise your hips and your opposite foot in the air. While maintaining high hips, slide the towel back and forth to the glutes.

Fitball Flexion Directions:

Lie on your stomach and have your partner place a Fitball (or Swiss Ball) on your glutes. Next, bend your knees, one at a time, and press into the ball. Make sure you don’t sporadically kick the ball, but bend the knee and push hard into the ball.

You may alternate legs or use both legs at once, if desired.

NHC Directions:

Find a partner to secure your legs or tuck your feet under under a low bar. Brace your abdominals and tighten your glutes, then lower your body slowly down to the ground. Catch yourself with your arms, then push yourself off the ground, while keeping your spine in a straight line. Do not break from the hips or stick your butt in the air on the return to the starting position.

At COR, we call this exercise the “cramper.” It puts high stress on the calves and hamstrings, often resulting in a cramp. Read more about the cause of cramps here and if you get a cramp, stand-up, walk around, and loosen up the legs.

Towel Hamstrings Curl Directions:

Lie on your back with your knees bent on a slippery surface. You can put your feet on a towel, or on a sliding board. Next, raise your hips by hinging from the hips, not arching your back. Extend the legs slowly, not letting the hips drop. Bend the knees, returning to the starting position. If pain occurs in the lower back, tighten your abdominals and try again.

If this is too easy, consider using only one leg, especially if you are a freestyle or backstroke swimmer.

SB Hamstrings Curl Directions:

Place your heels on top of a Swiss ball. Next, raise your hips, then bend your knees, bringing the ball back and forth to the glutes. Keep the hips high for the entire exercise.

Finding the appropriate exercise difficulty is important, as cramping of these muscles can cause damage and even injury.

Strength coach Greg Potter suggests the following volume, for easing into the NHC, a similar volume could be done at any of the aforementioned exercises.

The Original Nordic Program

Week	Training Frequency (Sessions/Week)	Sets	Reps
1	1	2	5
2	2	2	6
3	3	3	6 - 8
4	3	3	8 - 10
5 - 10	3	3	12, 10, 8

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Reference:

Tsaklis P, Malliaropoulos N, Mendiguchia J, Korakakis V, Tsapralis K, Pyne D, Malliaras P. Muscle and intensity based hamstring exercise classification in elite female track and field athletes: implications for exercise selection during rehabilitation. Open Access J Sports Med. 2015 Jun 26;6:209-17. doi: 10.2147/OAJSM.S79189. eCollection 2015.

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