5 Cardio Exercises You Can Do With a Pulled Hamstring
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Cardio Exercises With a Pulled Hamstring

Cardio Exercises With a Pulled Hamstring
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Updated on July 31, 2025
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A hamstring injury is not only painful, it can also keep you from doing your regular cardio training routine, whether it's long-distance running, sprint intervals, or Zumba. According to a review, hamstring injuries are the most common noncontact injury in sports, accounting for 37 percent of all muscle traumas in professional sports.

 They most often occur when a person is running or sprinting.

However, a pulled hamstring doesn't mean that it's necessary to stop doing cardio training entirely, as there are alternative ways to train cardio that either don't involve the legs or minimize the use of the hamstrings enough to prevent reinjury and avoid discomfort.

Swimming

Swimming is a low-impact aerobic activity, which means it places less pressure on the hips, knees, and spine than higher-impact activities.

 You can modify a swimming routine to relieve the strain on a pulled hamstring and maintain your cardiovascular conditioning.
The freestyle stroke and backstroke will keep you from using your legs too much. You can also take the hamstrings completely out of the movement with a pull buoy held between the legs, making it possible to do other swim strokes.

However, around four to eight weeks after injury, you may feel comfortable swimming with both your arms and legs.

Rowing Ergometer

The rowing ergometer is a whole-body exercise but can be modified to only use the upper body. This is known as an upper-body ergometer (UBE). You can incorporate this early into recovery, as it doesn’t use the legs unless you want it to.

A rowing ergometer is another name for a rowing machine or rower. However, rather than sliding back and forth, the upper-body modification keeps the legs in the same position, making it a suitable exercise for those with a pulled hamstring.

However, if moving your lower body doesn't cause pain, the movement can benefit your leg by increasing blood flow to the area. This can promote muscle healing.

 It’s a highly aerobic exercise that leads to little impact on your legs even when they’re involved in the workout, as you’re seated throughout.

3. Stationary Bike

Stationary biking is an efficient, safe way to improve cardiovascular health while keeping your legs moving through a steady range of motion.

 Depending on recovery, you may start to feel comfortable with adding indoor biking around two to four weeks into your program.

This type of workout provides aerobic benefits while minimizing terrain or situations that can irritate the pulled hamstring. You can also gradually add or reduce resistance, allowing for more control over the workout's intensity.

Using a stationary bike also allows a steady pace without the unexpected situations you might experience while cycling outdoors. A quick sprint to get away from traffic or an obstacle could irritate an injured hamstring. This won't happen on an indoor bike.

4. Elliptical

Also known as a cross trainer, elliptical machines allow you to move both legs in a constant, gliding motion that reduces impact. Some rehab programs allow for the use of an elliptical once pain and swelling have reduced, and if you’re able to tolerate it.

Despite this reduced stress on the limbs, walking on an elliptical uses about the same amount of energy as running on a treadmill with zero incline.

5. Walking

Walking is a low-impact cardio training activity that can help with maintaining fitness with a hamstring injury by increasing blood flow to the injured muscle.

Find a pace that's comfortable and doesn't cause pain in the injured leg. Walking raises the heart rate and provides cardio training benefits. Once you feel comfortable walking briskly, this qualifies as a moderately intense workout without putting extra stress on the hips, knees, or ankles.

Some rehabilitation programs include walking on a flat surface that gradually speeds up, known as progressive walking.

What Treatment Do You Need for a Pulled Hamstring?

You likely want to return to exercise as soon as possible after a hamstring injury, and it can be frustrating. However, giving the hamstring time to heal is crucial for a full recovery, even if that means temporarily switching up your workout routine.

The rest, ice, compression, and elevation (RICE) protocol is an effective treatment to rehabilitate an injured hamstring:

  • Resting the damaged muscle
  • Icing the area for at least 10 minutes every hour
  • Compressing the hamstring
  • Elevating the hurt leg above heart level
You may need to wear a knee brace to keep your leg in a neutral position or receive a course of physical therapy to restore strength and flexibility. People with severe hamstring injuries, in which the tendon has completely pulled away from the bone, may require surgery.

The suggested cardio methods above can help you boost your heart rate while keeping weight off the injured leg if you have a hamstring strain. However, listen to your doctor’s advice and be sure to return to physical activity or sports only after they’ve confirmed it’s safe to do so. This reduces the risk of permanent hamstring damage.

The Takeaway

  • With a healthcare professional’s approval, specific cardio exercises may be safe and well tolerated for some people while recovering from a hamstring injury. These include low-impact exercises like walking, swimming, stationary cycling, elliptical training, and rowing ergometer workouts.
  • Using specific tools like a modified upper-body ergo machine or a pull buoy during swimming may help you isolate the upper body in a workout and reduce pressure on the legs.
  • Be sure to follow all other recommendations and steps for treatment, and scale up your exercise gradually to ensure you’re healing at the correct rate and not risking further injury.
EDITORIAL SOURCES
Everyday Health follows strict sourcing guidelines to ensure the accuracy of its content, outlined in our editorial policy. We use only trustworthy sources, including peer-reviewed studies, board-certified medical experts, patients with lived experience, and information from top institutions.
Resources
  1. Oleksy Ł et al. Why Is Hamstring Strain Injury so Common in Sport Despite Numerous Prevention Methods? Are There Any Missing Pieces to This Puzzle? Frontiers in Physiology. May 13, 2021.
  2. Poudel B et al. Hamstring Injury. StatPearls. August 8, 2023.
  3. Paulsen E. Is swimming cardio? Why it's the ultimate, low-impact workout. Mission Health. June 3, 2024.
  4. Barbosa TM et al. Arm-pull thrust in human swimming and the effect of post-activation potentiation. Scientific Reports. May 21, 2020.
  5. Rehabilitation Protocol for Hamstring Injury Non-op. Mass General Brigham.
  6. It's all about blood flow! University of Rochester Medicine.
  7. Catch, Drive, Finish and Recover! The Top 7 Benefits of Rowing Machines. Cleveland Clinic. June 27, 2024.
  8. Liao S. The Benefits of Stationary Biking. Arthritis Foundation.
  9. Hamstring Strain Rehabilitation Guideline. Sanford Orthopedics Sports Medicine.
  10. Rath L. Elliptical Machines Go Easy on Your Joints. Arthritis Foundation. April 25, 2023.
  11. Walking for Exercise. Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health. April 2023.
  12. Hamstring Muscle Injuries. American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. May 2025.
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    Kara Andrew, RDN, LDN

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    Kara Andrew, RDN, LDN, is the director of health promotion for Memorial Hospital in Carthage, Illinois. She is also licensed as an exercise physiologist and certified in lifestyle medicine by the American College of Lifestyle Medicine. Her experience includes corporate wellness, teaching for the American College of Sports Medicine, sports nutrition, weight management, integrative medicine, oncology support, and dialysis.

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