Survival of the Fittest

In search of snow, I set off to the Poconos after work Wednesday night. It was Ladies’ Night at Blue Mountain Ski Area, and with the weather warming up in Philly, it seemed high time to seek altitude.

Now, I grew up by Fun Valley Ski Area (which I just found out has discontinued its winter activities; I’m nearly inconsolable, though I haven’t been there in 15 years), and until I hit high school, I had a season pass most winters.

But fond as I am of the place, I have to admit the runs were pretty consistent with the gently rolling plains of Iowa. Plus, they were short! Just a straight, 20-second shot to the bottom of the hill. You could wear yourself out if you tried very, very hard, but it took all day.

Which means I wasn’t fully prepared for the sheer length of the trails the other night (or during a college vacation to Breckenridge, but that’s another story). My legs were already feeling a little thrashed from the leg-intensive workout program I’ve been following, and in no way, shape or form were my quadriceps up for the challenge.

But that was the thing: As I skied, only my quads became fatigued. No other muscle groups seemed fazed, but my thighs burned with the intensity of a thousand suns. Were they the only muscles doing anything?

THAT GOT ME THINKING ABOUT some stuff I read about what the strength ratio between quadriceps and hamstrings should be, and how many of us — especially women — are quad dominant.

I picture my own quads as ultra-chivalrous gents, gallantly shooing off the right muscles for the job at hand: “No, no, allow me to get the door for you,” or “Need help across that puddle? Please, take my arm.” Or maybe they’re more like martyrs, hissing, “Do I have to do everything by myself? Fine, why don’t you just rest.”

In any case, if your quads are significantly stronger than your hamstrings, you’re essentially playing ratio roulette, because you’re far more susceptible to knee or hamstrings injuries.

In fact, one of the neuromuscular factors leading to the higher incidence of ACL injury in women and girls is likely this particular muscle imbalance. From Experience Life’s September 2006 article “Weak in the Knees” (which I’ve referenced before):

Women tend to have stronger quadriceps relative to their hamstrings, which may decrease the hamstrings’ ability to stabilize the knees. The general recommendation for a healthy hamstrings-to-quadriceps strength ratio is for the hamstrings to be at least 60 percent — and ideally closer to 80 percent — as strong as the quads.

My friend Sara Wiley, CSCS, associate director of strength and conditioning for athletics at the University of Minnesota–Twin Cities (who is also, might I add, a fine rugby inside center), takes it a step further, saying she likes to see hamstring strength at 80 to 90 percent of quad strength.

Here, a little Q and A with her on the topic.

Me: Why are women more likely to have a quadriceps-to-hamstrings strength imbalance?

Wiley: There’s some debate about whether this is genetic or due to activity choices. As girls mature, it appears they develop quad strength more quickly than hamstrings strength. My thought is that it’s not really that we develop all that differently physiologically, but that we engage in activities that don’t require us to engage the posterior chain in the same way as males of the same age.

I say this because we know that after training, females can exhibit quad/hamstrings strength ratios similar to males, and retrain motor patterns so that the hamstrings fire with strength and in coordination with the quads.

I say this also because I grew up in the Midwest on and near farms, and the farm girls I train now seem far sturdier with respect to the posterior chain. I think they grew up playing and working outside, where the boys and girls played the same games and did similar chores. Maybe they should market a “Posterior-Chain Barbie” … just kidding [see bottom of post for contest]. Obviously, it’s difficult to make sweeping generalizations, but there is something to be said for modeling behaviors (think the little boy watching Favre and emulating his throwing style) and motor patterns set as a young child.

Me: How can you tell if you’re quad dominant?

Wiley: I don’t know of a standard method of self-assessment, but one idea is the hamstring hip lift, which can be performed as follows:

1. Lie on your back with your feet hip-width apart, the soles of your feet on an 18-inch bench or step.
2. Push down into the bench with your feet, lifting your hips up high. You’ll feel your hamstrings working. Do not lift your shoulders or neck off the floor, and keep your upper back down flat.
3. Lower the hips back down until your butt is just off the floor, and then push down into the bench and raise your hips again.
4. Continue for 15 repetitions, rest for 45 seconds, and then complete two more sets.

It’s just a hamstring exercise, but a person with decent hamstrings strength should be able to handle it. If, on the other hand, you struggle, you should work on those hammies.

Do this exercise once or twice a week. When you can do three sets of 20 reps, try doing one-legged hamstring hip lifts. Start with three sets of ten, and build to three sets of 20. For further challenge, you can try these on a stability ball; first double-legged, then single-legged.

It’s a great exercise for runners.

Me: How do the pros measure quads-to-hamstrings strength?

Wiley: You can measure quads-to-hamstrings strength isokinetically using a specialized machine called the Cybex Test, which is set to move at speed versus resistance. This allows you to compare peak torque at extension (quads) versus flexion (hamstrings) at similar speeds. The problem is, it’s not real-world applicable or related to actual function.

That said, it’s still the best way to compare the two while eliminating uncontrolled factors (technique, for instance), and it’s still a standard and accepted test/measurement system, though many are trying to improve it.

Me: Are having quads that are much stronger than hamstrings more common than vice versa? Do you ever see vice versa?

Wiley: Quad dominance is much more common. Can’t say that I’ve really seen the opposite. That’s not to say it couldn’t or doesn’t happen, just haven’t seen it myself.

Me: Why you think this type of imbalance is so prevalent?

Wiley: Most people engage in quad-dominant activities for one reason or another — they like them more, or they’re directed to do certain exercises by their trainer. Or maybe because you can’t see your hamstrings in the mirror? Sometimes I think people just don’t consider whether they are doing balanced activities in workouts, or they don’t know if they are or aren’t.

I rarely train athletes based on muscle groups (i.e., we don’t do “hamstring workouts” or “quad workouts”). But, I do evaluate my programs to make sure that lower body pushing exercises [which activate the quads] are balanced with lower body pulling exercises [which activate the hamstrings], either within that workout or within the week.

Lastly, form and technique play a role. For instance, when doing a squat, if you don’t dip below 90 degrees, you aren’t engaging your hamstrings.

Me: Any other factors that might come into play?

Wiley: Muscles don’t operate in a vacuum, and there are other factors that can have implications for injury. For example, while it’s important to have hamstrings that are strong, they must also be able to coordinate their efforts with the quads or the risk of injury still exists. An example would be a soccer player planting a leg to decelerate — there is a powerful quad contraction, and the hamstring must also fire at the right time to counteract this force, or the ACL is at risk.

This is why jumping/plyometric exercises are a significant part of ACL-injury-prevention programs.

It’s also why compound movements that require movement at multiple joints and coordination of muscle groups are superior to isolated movements. Poor eccentric hamstring strength compared with concentric quad strength can manifest itself as hamstrings strains in runners, because the leg comes through into a foot strike out in front of the body.

Excessive tightness in other areas may also affect the hamstrings. Tight hip flexors may lead to inhibition of the glutes, and if the glutes aren’t doing their job, the synergistic muscles (hamstrings and low-back muscles) have to take over to perform hip extension. The most common result of this is usually low-back pain.

Me: What exercises should people should do if they’re quad dominant?

Wiley: Pulling exercises, such as deadlifts. They are for everyone! Learn to do them right! Deadlifts with a wide grip put further emphasis on the posterior chain. Try also Romanian deadlifts and good-mornings. (Generally, think BENDING EXERCISES.)

I think people are sometimes scared of this category of exercises because they work the posterior chain, which involves the low back. But when you learn to do these correctly (flat back, wide chest, tight core) they might also (GASP!) prevent back pain.

As I mentioned, you can also do hip lifts on a stability ball. Obviously, machine leg curls work the hamstrings, but they don’t work them where they cross the hip, only at the knee. It’s important to work both — so do machine leg curls and stability-ball leg curls.

CONTEST: Five bucks to the reader who submits the best illustration of what Posterior-Chain Barbie would look like. Email entries to jsinkler@experiencelifemag.com. I’ll post the winner at the end of next week.

This entry was posted on Friday, March 7th, 2008 at 2:54 pm and is filed under Interviews, Outdoor Training, Sports Injuries, Strength Training. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.