How To Strengthen Hamstrings Video

The large hamstring muscles at the back of the thigh are important to target when strength and weight training to build overall muscle mass. Learn how to do hamstring exercises in this strength training video.

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Weight unnecessary to strengthen hamstrings
Keep back straight &abs tight
Focus on using hamstrings
Lead with heels

About this Author

Tom Clifford has a degree in physical education, fitness and health from Eastern Michigan University, where he ran track and cross-country. Tom has worked as a personal trainer for two years. He also has a separate business where he coaches runners and triathletes for upcoming events. He currently works at Gold's Gym in Wilmington, North Carolina.

TOM CLIFFORD: And now I'm going to demonstrate to you how to strengthen your hamstrings. I'm going to show a couple different exercises that you don't have to use weights to strengthen your hamstrings. The first one involves getting in your hands and knees, okay, back flexed, your abs tight as always, you want your core to be tight, alright? What I'm going to do is I'm going to lift my knee off the ground; my knee is never going to touch the ground, alright? I'm going to flex my foot down. I don't want my foot pointed; I want my foot flexed down. I'm going to raise my leg straight up, okay, my knee's going to be fixed, that means I'm not moving my knee back and forth, okay? Straight up and down just like this, alright? I'm going to do this about 20 times and then when I get to the top, I'm going to hang--hold it here and just go from the top straight up, okay, and that's really--I'm going to really feel--I'm really feeling it, the burning in my hamstrings, okay? My foot is flexed; I'm leading with my heel, alright? So pointers to remember on it is keep your foot flexed, alright, lead with your heel, keep your knee fixed in place and really focus on your hamstring, always keeping your core tight, alright? The second way you can strengthen your hamstrings are hamstring curls on a stability ball. You're going to lay back, alright, put your heels on the stability ball, okay, hands flat on the ground, you're going to roll the stability ball towards you, on your toes, lifting your hips all the way up and then slowly coming back down, hips up, focusing on using your hamstrings to pull in and back down. So when I'm bringing the ball in, I'm focusing on using my hamstrings, which is the back of my leg, to pull that ball all the way in to my lower back. So one more time, my ankles, calves and heels are on the stability ball and I'm going to use my hamstrings to pull in with my hips way up and then relax all the way down. So those are a few different ways that you can do to strengthen your hamstrings.

How to Strengthen Hamstrings Video

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