I’ve helped plenty of clients rehabilitate strained muscles over the last 20  years and finally have a simple strategy that helps improve compliance and outcomes in nearly all cases.

I messed up plenty of times in the last 20 years so you don’t have to!

I’ve been fortunate enough to work with pretty much every type of client you can imagine:

  • Professional athletes
  • Collegiate athletes
  • High school athletes
  • Individuals that have been recently discharged from physical therapy
  • ACL return to play
  • General population

Muscle strains and pulls are going to happen to people in each of these groups of people.

In the past, I would put together elaborate rehab plans designed to rehabilitate strained muscles and fix all of the problems. 

Spoiler alert: It didn’t work.

I may have sounded smart, but my results were rubbish.

The plans were too complicated, too lengthy and compliance was very low. (Now I see why!)

I needed to figure out a strategy I could implement with my clients that would be incredibly effective and that they would also do on their own.

That’s how 100 reps a day was born.

Let’s say someone is sprinting and feels their hamstring pull or tighten up… or really any other sensation besides muscle fatigue…

The first step is to STOP SPRINTING!

The next step is to KEEP MOVING!

Movement facilitates blood flow. Blood flow encourages healing. Healing is good.

So here’s the game plan for you next time something like this happens and you want to expedite the healing process.

You are going to give the athlete a specific hamstring strengthening drill that is:

  • Easy to perform 
  • Easy to count
  • Something the athlete can “feel” when doing the exercise

Additional 100 reps a day guidelines:

  • The goal is to complete 100 reps a day for 5 days.
  • Start off with multiple sets of 10 reps until that becomes too easy. Then, change sets and reps to increase the difficulty.

It could look something like this:

  • Day #1 10×10
  • Day #2 4×15, then 4×10
  • Day #3 6×15, then 1×10
  • Day #4 5×20
  • Day #5 4×25

Do you need to use this exact set/rep scheme? 

No. The key is to work that specific muscle and/or group of muscles in a way that is challenging, but doesn’t re-injure the athlete. This is why we use low level, easy drills with a focus on increasing volume before intensity.

Think of this like hypertrophy training. You want to feel the muscles working, you want to increase blood flow (get a pump) and, as a side note, you will probably be a little sore as well.

Muscle strain rehab and hypertrophy work can look VERY similar!

Here are a few ideas to consider when using the 100 reps a day plan to rehabilitate pulled muscles, using a hamstring pull as an example.

The 3 exercises in the video will do the trick. Start with the one you feel is the most appropriate and effective for your clients.

  • Slow butt kicks
  • Skateboarders
  • Hammy grinders 

I know these are silly names, but people remember silly names, not the actual name of the muscle!

This approach is simple and it works. I’ve been doing it for months with my athletes now.

The next time you are helping someone manage a muscle pull, remember this blog and give the 100 reps a day method a shot. Let me know how it goes!