10 best hamstring exercises to strengthen your legs and glutes
How many of you include hamstring exercises in your leg workouts? And bum exercises? I’ll hedge my bets a lot more of you answered yes to the latter. While neither are anterior chain muscles (i.e., located at the front of your body and therefore less likely to fall ‘out of sight out of mind’), studies show that our fitness routines are heavily influenced by the people we surround ourselves with; on IG, there are 730k posts tagged #GlutesWorkout, compared to just 273k #HamstringWorkouts, so it’s hardly surprising that most of us punt for a booty sesh over a hammies workout.
What you may not know, is that your hamstrings make up one third of your lower-body muscle mass. Without them, your glutes (and the rest of your leg muscles) would be pretty powerless, and not incorporating hamstring exercises on leg day probably means you’re not maxing out your full squat and deadlift potential, or running as fast as you could.
When it comes to knowing which hamstring exercises could actually benefit you, the lines are blurred. Contrary to popular opinion, studies show that squats will have barely any effect on the development of your hammies, while leg curls are supposedly more effective than stiff-legged deadlifts, and other research showed that leg curls are significantly more useful when performed in a seated position, than lying down. I know, I'm lost too.
There’s a lot to get your head around, so here’s everything you need to know about how your hamstrings work, as well as the best hamstring exercises, how often to do them, and their benefits.
What muscles do hamstring exercises work?
Strength and conditioning coach and Gymshark Athlete Oyinda Okunowo tells me there are three main muscles in your hamstrings, all of which make up part of your posterior chain (at the back of your body). Here’s what each of them are, and their role.
Semitendinosus: ‘This assists your popliteus muscle in rotating your leg internally.’
Semimembranosus: ‘This is the most medial of the three hamstring muscles.’
Bicep femoris: ‘This is closest to the outside of your body, responsible for movement at both your hip and knee joints.’
All three hamstring muscles cross over at both your hip and knee joints, hence why they have two main functions:
Hip extension: Extending your hips in movements, such as good mornings and glute bridges.
Knee flexion: Bending your knees, like in leg curls.
10 best hamstring exercises
1.Dumbbell Romanian deadlift
Begin by standing with your feet hip-width apart and knees slightly bent. Hold one dumbbell in each hand, and place them in front of hips with palms facing thighs.
Keeping your spine in a neutral position and squeezing the shoulder blades, start sending the hips back. 'My favourite cue for nailing this movement is imagining you want to close a draw behind you with your bum,' Van't Hoff says.
Keeping the dumbbells close to your body, lower them down so they are in front of your shins. Once they pass the knees, do not allow the hips to sink further.
Maintain a neutral spine and drive through heels to fully extend hips and knees, squeezing glutes at the top.
2. Lying leg curl
Lie face down on the lying leg curls machine, stretching your legs out fully. The roller pad should rest just above the heels, a few inches over your calves. Hold the support handles on each side of the machine.
Exhale and flex your knees, pulling your ankles as close to your buttocks as possible. Keep your hips firmly on the bench. Hold briefly.
Inhale as you return your feet to the starting position in a slow and controlled movement.
3. Single-leg deadlift
Start with your feet together, with your hands on hips or at your sides. Shift your weight to your left leg, knee slightly bent.
Hinge at your hips to bring your chest down while raising your right leg behind you until your body is in a line from your head to your right foot. Reverse back to the starting position and repeat (8 - 12 reps should do it) then switch sides.
If adding a kettlebell or dumbbell into the mix, begin as above, but with the weight in your right hand. You can keep your left hand on your hip or hold it out to the side - whatever makes it easier for you to balance.
Hinge at your hips to lower your chest down, while raising your right leg straight out behind you. As you hinge, lower the weight down towards the floor. Reverse back to the starting position, and repeat on this side before switching over. Remember: your weight goes in the opposite hand to the planted leg.
4. Staggered-stance kettlebell deadlift
Start with your feet together and shift your weight to your left leg, knee slightly bent. Hold the kettlebell in your right hand. You can keep your left hand on your hip or hold it out to the side – whatever makes it easier for you to balance.
Pop the opposite foot to the arm holding the weight slightly behind the other heel. You can raise the heel of your back leg.
Hinge at your hips to lower your chest down, allowing a slight bend in your back leg. As you hinge, lower the weight down towards the floor. Reverse back to the starting position, and repeat on this side before switching over. (Remember: the weight goes in the opposite hand to the planted leg!)
5. Stiff-legged dumbbell deadlift
Stand up straight with a slight bend in your knees and your feet around hip-width apart, holding a pair of dumbbells in front of your thighs, palms facing backwards.
Keep your back as straight as possible and your knees in place as you hinge at the hips, lowering your dumbbells over the tops of your feet, continuing as far as you can go until you feel a stretch in your hamstrings.
Squeeze your glutes and push your hips forward to bring your torso back up, and your dumbbells back to the starting position.
6. Glute bridge
Lie on your back on a mat, with your knees bent, and feet flat on the floor. Your feet should be hip-width apart.
On an exhale, squeeze your glutes and push your heels into the floor to lift your hips up towards the ceiling. Pause for a moment at the top before slowly lowering back down (first shoulders, then lower back, then bum) to the mat. That’s one rep.
7. Banded good morning
Stand on a band with your feet hip distance apart with the band around your neck.
Grab the band at roughly shoulder level and pull up slightly to reduce tension on your neck.
Begin the movement by unlocking your knees and hinging back into your hips while keeping your spine neutral.
Drive through your whole foot as you extend your hips back to the starting position. Repeat.
8. Nordic hamstring curl
Start on your knees with a pad or cushion underneath for knee support and a workout partner holding your lower legs or ankles in place on the floor.
Your feet and ankles should be in line with your knees. Your shoulders should be directly over your hips with a neutral head and neck position. Your chin should remain tucked throughout the movement.
Slowly lower yourself toward the ground while maintaining a straight line from your knees to your head. Lower as far as you can using only your upper legs, then place your hands in front of your body and use them to catch yourself when you can no longer lower yourself in a controlled manner using only your legs. Your body should maintain a straight line from your head to knees while lowering toward the floor.
Then squeeze your hamstrings to pull your body back to the starting position. If needed, use your hands to help initiate the upward movement, maintaining a straight line from your head to your knees while pulling yourself back to the starting position.
9. Kettlebell swing
Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and squat down to pick up the kettlebell with both hands in an overhand grip.
Look ahead, not down, and keep your spine aligned and your knees slightly bent throughout the movement.
Drive your pelvis forward to swing the kettlebell out and up to shoulder-height.
Allow the weight to drop back down, hingeing at the hips as it swings between your legs.
10. Reverse lunge
Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, hands at side or on your hips.
With your right foot, step back about one and a half times your normal stride length, landing with the ball of that foot on the ground and your heel up. Lower the back leg straight down until it gently grazes the ground or close to, creating a 90-degree angle in the front leg.
Push through the heel and midfoot of the front leg to return to standing, bringing your right foot back in line with your left. That’s one rep.
Why are hamstring exercises important?
They prevent injury. ‘Your hamstrings play a key role in stabilising your knee and hip joints,’ Oyinda explains. ‘If they’re not strong enough, your knees won’t be protected, which could increase the risk of injury.’ Think of your hamstrings as cushioning for your knees; when you run or jump, your hamstrings pick up some of the force that would otherwise be placed entirely on your knees. Similarly, if your hamstrings aren’t strong enough to keep your knees and hips in correct alignment, you could wind up performing compound lifts such as squats and deadlifts incorrectly, thereby injuring your knees.
As with all muscles, ‘weak and/or tight hamstrings mean they will be more susceptible to straining and tearing themselves, too,’ Oyinda adds.
They prevent lower back pain. Your hamstrings are one of the first muscles to suffer if you spend a lot of time sitting at your desk. As they become tighter over time, so too does your lower back, which could cause pain. The key is to strengthen and lengthen your hamstring muscles at the same time, with research showing that hamstring hypertrophy is maximised when exercises are performed at long muscle lengths. Think stiff-legged deadlifts and good mornings (read on for demos and instructions).
They prevent muscular imbalances. Oyinda tells me ‘most people are quad dominant, since we naturally focus on quad dominant exercises such as squats and lunges’. Neglecting hamstring exercises means you could end up with overdeveloped quadriceps and weak hamstrings, but regularly executing hammy exercises will effectively bring about a good balance.
How often should I do hamstring exercises?
As with pretty much everything in life, this very much depends on you and your lifestyle. If you’re someone who has never trained hamstrings before, for example, it wouldn’t be wise for you to go all in and start training them every day, whereas someone who has a lot of experience with hamstring exercises might want to think about incorporating a few sets within every workout.
As a rule of thumb, Oyinda advises, ‘at least twice a week’, while one study looked into the effect of Nordic hamstring curls in particular for hamstring strength, and found that the same muscular changes occurred when performed once a week, as they did twice a week. If you're new to hamstring exercises, start incorporating them once a week and see how you go, then ramp up to twice per week as and when you feel ready.
How many hamstring exercises should I include in a lower-body workout?
‘Aim for at least three hamstring exercises in each lower-body workout,’ Oyinda says. ‘And make sure you have a balance between hip extension and knee flexion exercises, to ensure symmetrical hamstring development.’ For example, you might want to combine a leg curl (knee flexion) with a glute bridge (hip extension).
Are hamstring exercises good for injury?
‘This depends on how severe your injury is and where it is,’ says Oyinda. ‘For example, hamstring strain exercises are important when recovering from hamstring injuries, but you might want to adapt weighted hamstring exercises to make them bodyweight.’ Always consult a physio or GP for personalised advice if you’re recovering from an injury.
Can you exercise with a pulled hamstring?
‘I would recommend avoiding lower-body exercises to ensure you don’t make your injury worse,’ says Oyinda. ‘But you can certainly continue with lower-body exercise.’
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