 THE MOVES YOU NEED FOR HAMSTRING MUSCLE

The 12 Essential Moves to Build Hamstring Muscle

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One more reason to not skip leg day: You need to do these exercises to build strength and power.

BY DAVID OTEY, C.S.C.S. OCT 23, 2020

MRBIG_PHOTOGRAPHY / GETTY IMAGES

Do you want to run faster and jump higher? Do you want to squat and lunge more
weight? And do you want to ll out a pair of shorts or swim trunks with meaty,
muscular legs?

Then you want to make sure to train your hamstrings—and spend at least some
time every week doing dedicated, focused hamstring training. Very often, when
most guys think of building strong, powerful legs, they imagine the quads, and the
“teardrop” shaped muscles above the front of your knees are the focus and pursuit
of plenty of bodybuilders.

But while the quads do offer your legs strength, stability, and power, they aren’t the
true engine of your lower body. That responsibility actually belongs to your
hamstrings, which, along with your glutes, propel you forward during sprints and
drive you upward during every leap, whether on the basketball court or simply an
outdoor jump for joy.

The hamstrings are a rare and unique lower-body muscle group

that actually acts at two joints. Flexing your hamstrings will bend
your knee, much as you do during leg curls. Your hamstrings also
act on your hip joint too, driving your hips into “extension,”
essentially pushing your hips forward directly under your spine.

ERIC ROSATI
Both motions are key to your general movement, and they’re even
more important for athleticism. Powerful hip extension, in fact, is
widely acknowledged as a key trait for sprinting, jumping, bounding, and lunging.

All of that is exactly why you want to make sure to attack your hamstrings with
some vigorous training every week. And here’s how you can do that.

Your Quick Anatomy Lesson

SCIEPRO / GETTY IMAGES

Your hamstrings actually consist of three main muscles: the semimembranosus, the
semitendinosus, and the biceps femoris. The biceps femoris includes two separate
heads, a long head and a short head.

Both semis and the long head of the biceps femoris originate at the ischial
tuberosity in the pelvis -- and that’s important. That means they are involved in hip
extension. What’s hip extension? That’s what happens when you stand up straight,
and your thigh and torso straighten out. (The short head of the biceps femoris
originates at the shaft of the femur, or thigh bone.)

This means that hip extension moves like glute bridges, and even the nal act of
standing up fully straight and pushing your pelvis forward during a squat, will
recruit a lot of hamstring muscle (although these moves won’t recruit the short
head of the biceps femoris). Don’t discount such moves when training hamstrings.

Meanwhile, all your hamstring muscles are active during knee exion, the bending
of your knee. Semimembranosus and semitendinosus insert at the tibia, while the
biceps femoris insert at the head of the bula. That placement means your lower
leg internally rotates because of the semis, while it externally rotates because of
the biceps femoris. This means you can create focus on different muscles by
thinking about tibial rotation.

Your Hamstrings’ Opposing Muscle Group

The hamstrings are commonly known as the opposing muscle group to the
quadriceps, but that doesn’t mean that when one of these muscles is working, the
other group is relaxed. Hamstrings and quads work together; in order to stand, you
must exhibit both hip extension and knee extension.

BOJANSTORY / GETTY IMAGES

This collaborative effort happens more often than you would think with all lower-
body exercises. That means you can isolate your hamstrings, but it’s not the lone
way to train them; when you’re doing squats and lunges, your hammies are getting
plenty of work, too.

Your Hamstring Exercise Library

If you want to develop your hamstrings into the powerhouses their supposed to be,
you need to use a variety of exercises. Here are 12 moves you can mix into your leg
day training.

Deadlift

This may be the most well-known lower-body exercise out there, and it’s your
hamstrings’ greatest tool for growth. The combination of heavy weight, multi-joint
action, and hip extension is a recipe for quality muscular development.

How to: With feet shoulder-width apart and arms just outside of the legs, push the
hips back as far as possible then bend the knee far enough to reach the bar.
Keeping your core tight and your spine as tall as possible, pull the bar from the
ground by standing tall and pulling the hips back to your standing position. Slowly
lower the bar back to the ground, pushing your hips back as you do. Do 3 sets of 6
to 8 reps.

Romanian Deadlift
Romanian Deadlift is a great hip-hinging pattern that involves the hip extension of
the deadlift while eliminating any extra knee action or focus. You maintain a soft
bend in the knee, which places the emphasis of the move entirely on your posterior
chain.

How to: Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, holding a loaded barbell at your
hips with an overhand grip. Your knees should be slightly bent. Slowly push your
hips all the way back with the weight gliding close to the front of your leg. Lower
until you feel slight tension in your hamstrings, or until your torso is parallel to the
ground, whichever comes rst. Pull your hips forward and stand to return to the
start. That’s 1 rep; do 3 sets of 6 to 8 reps.

Single-Leg Deadlift
The single-leg deadlift has all the advantages of the Romanian deadlift, except it
recruits more posterior chain muscles to maintain stability. The gluteus medius
jumps into the action to stabilize your femur at the hip joint while you focus your
body to remain parallel to the ground.

How to: Stand with feet together and hold the weight in front of your thigh, arm
extended and hands pronated. Bend left knee slightly as you bend forward from
your hips, extending right leg to hip height behind you as you lower bar toward
the oor. Rise up to the starting position and repeat. Switch sides to complete one
full repetition. Do 3 sets of 6 to 8 reps.

Hex-Bar Deadlift

The most translatable lower body move to everyday life that we have. The hex bar
relieves the stress on the upper body by placing the hands in a neutral grip by your
sides. This allows you to pack on more weight on, challenging your legs that much
more.

How to: Lower your body down to grab the high handles of the hex bar with feet
shoulder-width apart. Keeping your core tight and your shoulders above your hips,
extend your knees and hips to stand up. Your upper body should remain as relaxed
as possible while maintaining a rm grip on the bar. Squeeze your glutes at the
top. Slowly lower the bar to the ground, pushing your butt back as you do. That’s 1
rep; do 3 sets of 6 to 8.

Glute Bridge
This is the move we’ve all seen in some tness video at some point. It’s both simple
enough that anyone can do it, and useful enough to pack muscle on anyone of any
level.

How to: Lie at on your back with feet at on the ground and shoulder-width
apart, legs bent to 90 degrees. Drive your heels into the ground, and lift your torso
and upper legs into the air, extending your hips until your thighs and torso are in
line with each other. Squeeze your glutes. Hold for a 2-second count. Return to the
start. That’s 1 rep; do 3 sets of 10.

Barbell Hip Thrust

The barbell hip thrust is similar to the glute bridge, but it challenges hip extension
by adding increased load. This will also attack your glutes.

How to: Sit on the ground, with your shoulder blades against a bench, feet at on
the oor, shoulder-width apart, knees bent. A barbell should be across the front of
your hips. Hold the bar with your hands, stabilizing it. Squeeze your glutes to raise
your hips off the ground and raise the bar off the oor. (Keep your chin tucked to
maintain proper ribcage positioning. Pause when your thighs and torso are in line
with each other, then return to the start. That’s 1 rep; do 3 sets of 8 to 10.

Slider/Swiss Ball Leg Curl

This is your traditional weight room machine leg curl, married to glute- and
hamstring-challenging instability. The best part: It’ll rock your lower body with
only bodyweight and gravity.

How to: Lie at on your back with your feet at on the ground and shoulder-width
apart. Place the backs of your heels either on two sliders or a Swiss ball (if you use
a Swiss ball, you’ll have to lift your thighs and lower back off the ground to get
into position). This is the start. Tighten your core. Now pull your heels back as far
as possible, bending at the knees primarily to do this. Pause, then push them back
out so your legs are now straight. That’s 1 rep; do 3 sets of 10 to 12.

Kettlebell Swing

The basic kettlebell swing is one of the best ballistic moves you can add into a
routine. It’s a movement that’s actually similar to a bodyweight broad jump,
loading your hips and hamstrings, then forcing you to explode your pelvis and hips
forward into extension. It’s a power-packed move that your hamstrings will feel for
days, and it has multiple uses: It’ll get your metabolism up, and it trains your
upper and mid-back more than you may think, too.

How to: Stand with an athletic stance, a kettlebell just in front of you. Grasp the
kettlebell with both hands, then lift your hips enough to swing the bell back
between your legs. Keep your core tight and aim to keep your back at as you do
this; don’t round your back. From that loaded position, explode your hips forward,
squeezing your glutes and propelling your arms straight out in front of you,
“swinging” the kettlebell to about eye level. Your torso should stay rigid once the
kettlebell is at eye level. Let the kettlebell’s momentum take it back downward,
then, as it descends toward you, push your hips back for another swing. That’s 1
rep; do 3 sets of 12 to 15.

Glute Ham Raise

The glute-ham raise machine is a go-to posterior chain move, somewhat mimicking
the feel of a Romanian deadlift.

How to: Fix yourself into the glute-ham raise machine with the largest pad just
above the knee. From the tall kneeling position, slowly lean forward with a
controlled tall posture as far down as possible. From the end point, pull your body
back up to the tall kneeling position using the hamstrings to curl you up. That is
one rep.

Reverse Sled Pulls

In the same way driving a sled forward will hammer the quadriceps, dragging it
backwards will call on the hamstrings. You’re also training the hamstrings in a real
way, placing them in the same position they wind up in when they’re decelerating
your lower body.

How to: Attach a TRX or strap to the sled and grab the TRX handles with both
hands, chest facing the sled. Lean back, creating full tension in the strap while
sitting back into an athletic stance. With arms extended in front, slowly drag the
sled while walking backwards maintaining that athletic starting position. Do this
move for distance; hit 3 sets of 25 to 30 feet.

Machine Leg Curl

The hamstring’s main job is to ex the knee. This machine places you in ideal
position to do this.

How to: Set up in a leg curl machine and select a moderate amount of weight.
Your calves should be against the leg piece of the machine. Flex at the knees to curl
the leg piece back to your hamstrings; pause when it touches your hamstrings.
Slowly return to the start. That’s 1 rep; do 3 sets of 12 to 15.

Cardio Row

The venerable cardio row does more than get your heart rate up; it’ll re up your
glutes and hamstrings, too. In fact, if you row with explosive power, there’s a good
chance you’ll get off the rower with your hamstrings and glutes on re. The
movement of the cardio row, when done correctly, somewhat mimics a deadlift and
barbell row, with both moves simply on a different plane.

How to: Set up on a cardio rower, and secure your feet. Bend at the knees and hips
and hinge your torso forward slightly to grasp the handle. Holding it tightly with
an overhand grip, straighten your knees and hips, hinge backward slightly, and pull
the handle to your lower chest. Repeat the motion until you’ve covered the time or
distance you want. A good starting point: Do 3 two-minute intervals of rowing,
resting two minutes between each set.

DAVID OTEY, C.S.C.S.

David Otey, C.S.C.S.

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