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- Hamstrings hypertrophy is specific to the…
Hamstrings hypertrophy is specific to the training exercise: Nordic hamstring versus lengthened state eccentric training
Key Points
- Despite our best efforts, hamstring injuries are on the rise and account for up to 20% of all injuries in soccer and American football.
BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVE
The hamstrings play a major role during sprinting (1). Sprint performance has been shown to be associated with hamstring muscle size and architecture (2,3). Hamstring strain injuries (HSIs) account for up to 20% of all injuries in American football and international football/soccer (4). HSIs are a common occurrence in sports that require near maximal velocity sprinting (5).
The majority of sprint-related HSIs take place in late swing phase, where peak force production occurs as the hamstring is concurrently lengthened at the hip and knee joint (6). The Nordic Hamstring Exercise (NHE) is a popular, well researched, and easy to implement exercise, however, its dynamic correspondence to sprinting may be limited due to the extended hip position and short fiber length of the proximal biceps femoris long head (BFLH) (7). Moreover, the bodyweight version of the NHE is difficult and exceeds many athletes’ capabilities to perform with sound technique (8).
A growing body of evidence has demonstrated an increased muscle hypertrophy response when training at longer muscle lengths (9). The authors of this paper sought out to compare the functional and morphological adaptations of the NHE to a lengthened state seated hamstring curl machine (SHC).
Seated hamstring curl machine exercise induced a 1.7x greater increase in muscle volume of the entire hamstring group compared to the Nordic Hamstring Exercise.
METHODS
42 healthy young males were assigned to one of three groups: NHE, SHC, or control (CON). Exercise groups completed 34 sessions over 12 weeks. Exercise progression was linear, beginning at 2x6 x 2 days/week and gradually working up to 4x10