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Hamstring training

Gym (men) / Popular

Romanian deadlifts, curls and hamstring accessories.

What coaches agree on

  • Train the hamstrings directly with both a hip-hinge movement (like a Romanian deadlift) and a knee-flexion movement (like a leg curl) - the hamstrings perform both jobs, and no single exercise trains both completely.
  • Control the lowering (eccentric) part of every hamstring rep, slowing it down over a couple of seconds instead of dropping into it, since that is where most of the growth stimulus and injury protection comes from.
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  • Actively squeeze and engage the glutes throughout hip-extension exercises like the glute-ham raise, RDL, and hyperextension - the hamstrings and glutes work as a team on these lifts, not the hamstrings alone.

Common mistakes

  • Assuming squats or the leg press are training your hamstrings is a common misconception; because the hamstring shortens at the knee while it lengthens at the hip during a squat, its overall length barely changes, so it gets very little real stimulus and still needs direct hip-hinge and knee-flexion work.
Hamstrings and The Squat
Advanced

Hamstrings and The Squat

Coach's take: One of the best explanations of hamstring involvement in squatting you'll find -- dense but worth it.

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