The deadlift both builds and tests the strength of your back. The deadlift also requires strong legs, including strong hamstrings. If the muscles on the back of your legs do not have enough strength, they will hold back your deadlift progress. Assistance exercises -- exercises that train these specific muscles -- will strengthen your hamstrings and help you pull a bigger deadlift. Consult a health care professional before beginning any strength training program.
Hamstrings
Before selecting exercises to train your hamstrings, know how they function for optimal performance. Your hamstrings consist of three muscles -- semitendinosus, the semimembranosus and the biceps femoris. These muscles on the back of your leg serve different purposes. Your semitendinosus and your semimembranosus straighten out your torso from a forward leaning position, and these muscles are more active in the deadlift. Your biceps femoris flexes your knee, or brings your calf up to the back of your thigh. This muscle provides stability to your knee joint during the deadlift.
Stiff-Legged Deadlift
The stiff-legged deadlift works your hamstrings more and your quadriceps -- the muscles on the front of your thigh -- less than a conventional deadlift. With your arms straight down and holding a barbell in front of you, grip the bar with your hands slightly wider than your legs. Bend your knees slightly, then hold them in this position. Lean forward while lowering the bar, but keep the bar in close to your body at all times. Lower the bar until either the bar hits the ground or your lower back starts to round, then straighten back up. Do not perform this exercise for fewer than 6 repetitions per set. Never allow your back to round during the exercise.
Good Morning
The good morning works your hamstrings in a manner similar to the stiff-legged deadlift. Hold a bar on your upper back like you were going to squat, and set your feet in the same stance as your deadlift stance. Bend your knees slightly and lean forward until either your torso is parallel to the ground or your back is in danger of rounding, then stand back up. You can perform this exercise for low repetitions, such as 5 per set, but never do so outside of a power rack.
Glute Hamstring Raise or Razor Curl
The glute-hamstring raise, or razor curl, requires a special bench to perform the exercise on, but thoroughly works your biceps femoris, according to a 2009 study in the "Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research." Lie down with your thighs on the thigh pad and your feet against the toe plate. Hook your ankles under the supports to maintain your position, and stretch yourself out fully while facing the ground, which you should be elevated above. Lean forward until your torso is nearly perpendicular to the ground, then straighten back up. Once your torso is parallel to the ground, curl yourself up by bending at the knee joint while keeping your torso rigid and not bending any more at the hip. This exercise can be performed for 5 to 20 repetitions per set.
References
- "Strength Training Anatomy -- Third Edition"; Frederic Delavier; 2010
- "Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research"; "Electromyographic Activity of the Hamstrings During Performance of the Leg Curl, Stiff-Leg Deadlift, and Back Squat Movements"; Glenn A. Wright et. al.; May 1999
- "Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research"; Comparison of Hamstring and Gluteus Muscles Electromyographic Activity While Performing the Razor Curl Vs. the Traditional Prone Hamstring Curl; G.D. Oliver, et al.; November 2009
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