You walk. You run. You go up the stairs. There’s a lot of movement that you do every day. And there is one muscle that influences how you perform every single one of these movements.
We call these muscles the Hamstring.
The Hamstring muscles are located at the back of your thigh. These muscles support various movements that involve mainly extending the hip joint and bending the knee joint, while don’t forget there is some rotation in the knee.
Image source: learnmuscles.com
Training your Hamstrings helps reduce the risk of injuries and strain during physically demanding activities. It also helps stabilize the rest of our body. And if you are a bodybuilder, well, you don’t need a reason to train your Hamstring. You would want to work them so these muscles grow and simply look bigger!
In this article, I will explain how you can grow your Hamstrings. You will also learn about some exercises that target these muscles and can help them get bigger.
What DOES NOT Grow Your Hamstring
There is a common misconception that any exercise that involves hip and knee extension would help support Hamstring development. This is not true.
Squats [1], hip thrusts, and all exercises that involve simultaneous knee and hip extension are not always helpful for Hamstring growth.
Therefore, instead of spending your precious time and energy on these exercises, it would be best if you could train with moves that support Hamstring growth.
I am outlining some of these exercises below.
Exercises to Help Grow Your Hamstrings
Hamstrings perform two main movements. These are hip extension and knee flexion. This is why, the best exercises to support Hamstring growth are those that are based on these movements.
Hip extension:
Image source: compedgept.com
Knee flexion:
Image Source: researchgate.net
Hip Extension Exercises
Hip extension exercises offer numerous benefits like reduced risk of back pain and enhanced physical performance. However, the exercises I am sharing below focus on your Hamstrings. And therefore, the primary benefit you may get out of them is strengthening and growth of the Hamstring muscles.
Deadlifts
Whether you do a classic deadlift or its Romanian variation, it can help support Hamstring growth.
You can perform a deadlift with a barbell, dumbbell, or even on the smith machine. To do a classic deadlift with a barbell, stand with your foot under the barbell. Bend over and grab the barbell. Make sure your arms and wrists are shoulder-width apart. Lift your chest and straighten your lower back.
Take a deep breath and stand up straighter with the weight. Hold the position for a second and then return the weight to the floor. Make sure your hips and knees are locked while you are holding the weight in a standing position. Continue for as many reps as you want.
If you prefer doing the Romanian Deadlift instead, stand with your feet hip-distance apart. Make sure your knees are slightly bent. Hinge or bend forward at the hips. Pick the barbell up while maintaining a shoulder-distance grip on the barbell. Brace your core, tighten your glutes and hamstrings, and lift the weight around your upper thighs. Repeat the movement by lowering the weight back to your toes while keeping your torso parallel to the ground.
Good Morning Exercise
To perform a good morning, start with your feet shoulder-width apart, knees slightly bent, and carrying a barbell in your hands, just above your shoulders. Slowly bend forward while maintaining a neutral back until your torso is almost parallel to the floor. Then place the barbell on your upper back so it rests near your shoulders.
As far as number of reps are concerned, you can do 1 to 3 reps less than failure.
Using Glute Ham Developer and Roman Chair
Glute Ham Developer and Roman Chair are both excellent equipment to help you train your Harmstrings.
To perform a hip extension using Glute Ham Developer, lie face down on the machine. Secure your ankles under the footplate. Position your upper body so it is perpendicular to the floor. You can cross your hands on your chest or extend them in the front.
Engage your Hamstrings and glutes and lift your torso slowly until it is parallel to the floor and your body forms a straight line. Pause for a second then lower your body back down to repeat. Make sure you maintain control throughout the movement.
For the Roman Chair hip extension, adjust the height of the Roman Chair so it is at 45 degrees. Position yourself on the equipment, facing forward, hips on the edge. Lower your upper body slowly while maintaining a neutral spine. Pause for a moment then slowly raise your upper body back to the starting position. Do as many repetitions as you want.
Straight Leg Bridges
Straight-leg bridges are a great alternative if you want to train your Hamstrings but do not have access to gym equipment.
Lie on the floor. Put your feet up on an exercise ball or a bench. Raise your upper back until your entire body is inclined. Repeat for as many reps as you want.
Now, the question is, do you have to do all these exercises? Or can you focus on one or two of them that work best?
All of these exercises offer similar results, except for the straight leg bridge. Feel free to choose whatever works best for you, even if it is the bridge exercise. It may not allow for complete stretching of the Hamstrings. But it is still better than nothing.
Knee Flexion Exercises
Knee flexion exercises engage your Hamstring muscles and help you strengthen them. The exercises I have shared below all require equipment but may be doable even at home.
Leg Curls
Leg curls help your build your Hamstring muscles. Both seated and prone leg curls tend to work fine but research suggests that seated leg curls put the Hamstring muscle in more of a stretch position. This is why, this variation leads to more muscle growth compared to nordic [2] and prone [3] leg curls.
But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do prone leg curls. You can choose whatever you are most comfortable with.
For a seated leg curl, sit on the machine with your back comfortably against the back rest. Position your lower leg against the pad of the lever. Adjust the lap pad so it is holding your legs in place. Extend your knees outwards while keeping the Hamstrings engaged. This will move the lever up. Flex your knees to lower the lever back down. Continue for as many reps as you can.
For prone leg curls, lie face down on the machine and stretch your legs out fully. Continue flexing your knees as much as you can. Hold for a second. Return to the starting position in a controlled movement.
Nordic Hamstring Curl
Nordic Hamstring curls can be done easily at home. You’ll need a soft surface to kneel on and an anchor to hold your feet in place.
Kneel on the floor with your ankles firmly in place. Gradually lower yourself forward while keeping your knees, hips, and shoulders aligned so they form a straight line. You can make this easier by shortening the range of motion or using a band for assistance.
What Should be Your Training Routine?
Okay, now that you know what exercises you need to do, you might be wondering how many sets and how many times a week should you do them.
Well, you can do these exercises for as many sets as you feel comfortable. However, a good baseline for beginners may be to do one set each of any two of these exercises per week. If you are on an intermediate level, you can do three of these exercises every week. And If you are a pro lifter, well then you can do a total of four of these exercises every week.
Remember to always focus on form and technique. Don’t obsess over reps and sets. With good form, you can gradually increase the number of reps you do.
All of these exercises can be done in a range of 5-20 reps. However, you may be better off keeping the more physically demanding exercises like the deadlift close to the lower end of this range. The less fatiguing exercises like leg curls can be done close to the upper end of this range.
Takeaway
Strengthening your Hamstrings can help enhance your stability and reduce the risk of injuries. You can train your Hamstring muscles with exercises that are based on hip extension and knee flexion.
Among these exercises, seated leg curls have shown to be the most impactful for growing the Hamstring muscle. But other exercises are effective as well. You can choose any of the hip extension and knee flexion exercises I have outlined above. But make sure to perfect your form and technique before adding load and increasing the number of repetitions.
And of course, it is always better to work with a professional trainer to avoid injuries due to improper form and technique.
References
[1] Plotkin et al., Hip thrust and back squat training elicit similar gluteus muscle hypertrophy and transfer similarly to the deadlift. 2023 Oct 9:14:1279170. doi: 10.3389/fphys.2023.1279170. PMID: 37877099. PMCID: PMC10593473
[2] Maeo et al., Hamstrings Hypertrophy Is Specific to the Training Exercise: Nordic Hamstring versus Lengthened State Eccentric Training. 2024 Oct 1;56(10):1893-1905. doi: 10.1249/MSS.0000000000003490. PMID: 38857522 PMCID: PMC11419281
[3] Maeo et al., Greater Hamstrings Muscle Hypertrophy but Similar Damage Protection after Training at Long versus Short Muscle Lengths. 2021 Apr 1;53(4):825-837. doi: 10.1249/MSS.0000000000002523. PMID: 33009197 PMCID: PMC7969179