For those who wish to improve at sports and create impressive legs, training the hamstrings is a necessity. The hamstrings are one of the most important muscles of the lower body and are required during any hip-dominant movement. While many people resort to ineffective hamstring exercises such as the leg curl, movements such as deadlifts, low-bar squats, glute-ham raises, and stiff-leg deadlifts are some of the best exercises for improving the hamstrings.
Conventional Deadlifts
Of all the lower body exercises available, few can compare in effectiveness to the conventional deadlift. The deadlift trains the entire posterior chain very well and is particularly helpful for improving the hamstrings. In fact, EMG studies by strength coach Bret Contreras have found that no single exercise invoked more activation of the biceps femoris than that of the deadlift, making it one of the most useful hamstring exercises available.
Low-Bar/Powerlifting Squats
Another exercise that can be used to train the hamstrings is the low-bar/powerlifting style squat. While high-bar/Olympic style squats typically engage much more of the quadriceps than any other lower body muscles, making a few modifications and performing squats in the style of a powerlifter can engage the hamstrings much more effectively. To do this, first lower the bar on your back as far down as you can, and then train yourself to sit backwards, as if sitting on a chair, instead of going straight down. This will engage the hips and the hamstrings much more. Also, research in the journal "Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise" in 2001 showed that using a very wide stance can also help recruit the hamstrings more.
Glute-Ham Raise
Another very effective exercise for training the hamstrings is the glute-ham raise. According to strength coach Ben Bruno, the glute-ham raise is one of the single most effective hamstring exercises because it is one of the few movements that invoke both knee flexion and hip extension simultaneously. This makes glute-ham raises significantly superior to traditional hamstrings exercises such as leg curls, which only train knee flexion and have no benefit for hip extension movements.
Stiff-Leg Deadlifts
One additional exercise that can be used to train the hamstrings is the stiff-leg deadlift, which is a significantly different variation than the conventional deadlift. According to hypertrophy specialist Chad Waterbury, utilizing single-leg stiff-leg deadlifts is his No. 1 exercise for bringing up lagging hamstrings. In fact, a study in the "Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research" in 1999 found that the stiff-leg deadlift invoked significantly greater hamstring activation than any other exercise tested.
References
- "Testosterone Nation"; Inside the Muscles -- Best Leg, Glute, and Calf Exercises; Bret Contreras; 2010
- "Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise"; A Three-dimensional Biomechanical Analysis of the Squat During Varying Stance Widths; R.F. Escamilla, et al.; June 2001
- "Testosterone Nation"; The Glute-Ham Raise from A to Z; Ben Bruno; 2011
- "Testosterone Nation"; The Eight Best Muscle-Building Exercises; Chad Waterbury; 2009
- "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
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