8 Finest Hamstring Workouts for Decrease Physique Dimension & Power

To construct hamstring dimension and energy, use a mixture of workout routines that practice each hip extension and knee flexion, allow you to elevate heavy by way of a full vary of movement, and make it straightforward to get stronger over time.

There’s a number of dangerous recommendation on the market about tips on how to strengthen your hamstrings.

Some say you don’t want direct hamstring workout routines—squats are all you want. Others push fluff workout routines like glute bridge marches, donkey kicks, or rowing sprints.

None of this can show you how to develop huge, robust hamstrings.

This information exhibits you tips on how to practice them correctly, why focused hamstring workout routines matter, and tips on how to construct science-backed exercises that ship actual outcomes.

Need to know precisely how it is best to practice to succeed in your health targets? Take our free 60-second coaching quiz and discover out now.

Key Takeaways

• To construct huge, robust hamstrings, it is advisable practice each of their major features—hip extension and knee flexion—with a mixture of compound and isolation workout routines.
• The best hamstring workout routines are deadlifts, Romanian deadlifts, single-leg deadlifts, good mornings, hip thrusts, leg curls, and Nordic curls.
• Prepare your hamstrings with 10–20 weekly units cut up throughout two exercises to maximise progress whereas avoiding extreme fatigue.
• Give attention to getting stronger in each exercise and take units near failure to make sure you’re coaching with sufficient depth to spur progress.
• To hurry up your outcomes, use a high-quality protein powder to hit your each day protein goal, creatine to spice up restoration and progress, and a pre-workout to reinforce power, focus, and efficiency.

Hamstrings Anatomy

Advantages of Hamstring Workouts

Focused Coaching

Whereas many individuals suppose squatting alone is sufficient to develop all-around leg dimension, analysis exhibits that it doesn’t practice your hamstrings sufficient to acquire important mass. And that’s why if you wish to develop your hamstrings, it’s important to embrace hamstring workout routines in your routine. 

READ MORE: Do Squats Work Your Hamstrings? What Science Says

Fewer Hamstring Accidents

Workouts that strengthen the hamstrings in these stretched positions, corresponding to seated leg curls and Nordic curls, improve fascicle size (the size of muscle fibers) and eccentric energy, each of which are linked to decrease harm danger. 

Stronger, Extra Balanced Legs

The 7 Finest Hamstring Workouts for Leg Dimension and Power

1. Deadlift

READ MORE: Deadlift with Correct Approach

2. Romanian Deadlift

READ MORE: Do the Romanian Deadlift: Type, Advantages, and Variations

3. Single-Leg Romanian Deadlift

Why: The one-leg Romanian deadlift is a implausible dumbbell hamstring train for constructing balanced energy and muscle. By working one leg at a time, you create a stronger “mind-muscle connection” together with your hamstrings, which can enhance muscle progress.

:

1. Stand upright holding a dumbbell in your proper hand in entrance of your proper thigh.
2. Flatten your again and push your hips backward whereas decreasing the load towards the ground in a straight line, letting your left leg lengthen behind you as a counterbalance.
3. Cease if you really feel a deep stretch in your proper hamstring or simply earlier than your decrease again begins to spherical.
4. Reverse the motion and return to the beginning place.
5. Full all reps on one leg, then swap sides.

Units, Reps, and Relaxation: 3 units | 6–8 reps | 2–3 minutes relaxation

4. Good Morning

Why: The nice morning is one other stable barbell hamstring train as a result of it permits you to coach your hamstrings with heavy weights whereas stretched, which is a dependable strategy to stimulate hamstrings progress.  

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1. Place a barbell throughout your mid traps and rear delts and your toes about shoulder-width aside. 
2. With barely bent knees, hinge on the hips and transfer your butt backward to decrease the bar in a straight line towards the bottom. 
3. Cease as soon as you are feeling a robust stretch in your hamstrings or simply earlier than your again begins to spherical.
4. Reverse the motion and return to the beginning place.

Units, Reps, and Relaxation: 3 units | 6–8 reps | 2–3 minutes relaxation

READ MORE: do the Barbell Good Morning: Type, Advantages, and Alternate options

5. Hip Thrust

Why: The hip thrust is a wonderful barbell hamstring train that additionally closely targets the glutes. What makes it distinctive is that it retains your hamstrings lively by way of your complete vary of movement, particularly on the high the place many different hip extension actions lose stress.

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1. Sit on the ground together with your higher again resting towards a bench positioned perpendicular to your physique.
2. Roll a barbell over your thighs so it sits in your hip crease.
3. Plant your toes shoulder-width aside and 12–18 inches out of your butt.
4. Drive by way of your heels to elevate the bar by extending your hips till your torso is parallel to the ground and your shins are vertical.
5. Reverse the motion and return to the beginning place.

Units, Reps, and Relaxation: 3 units | 6–8 reps | 2–3 minutes relaxation

READ MORE: Do the Barbell Hip Thrust: Type, Errors & Alternate options

6. Leg Curl

Why: Not like most hamstring workout routines, the seated leg curl trains your hamstrings by way of a full vary of movement and whereas stretched, making it extremely efficient for gaining dimension and energy. It’s additionally straightforward to load, protected for rookies, and a terrific complement to extra taxing workout routines like deadlifts and RDLs.

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1. Sit on the leg curl machine together with your knees simply off the sting of the thigh pad.
2. Regulate the heel pad so it rests simply above your heels, throughout your Achilles tendons.
3. Press your heels towards your butt till your shins are roughly perpendicular to your thighs .
4. Reverse the motion and return to the beginning place.

Units, Reps, and Relaxation: 3 units | 6–8 reps | 2–3 minutes relaxation

READ MORE: Do the Leg Curl: Muscle tissues Labored, Type & Alternate options

7. Nordic Leg Curl

Why: The Nordic leg curl is a extremely efficient body weight hamstring train, but it’s typically missed. Analysis exhibits it considerably strengthens the hamstrings—notably of their lengthened place—and should scale back the chance of hamstring accidents.

It additionally requires no tools, so it’s a superb selection for dwelling hamstring exercises or for these coaching with out machines or weights.

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1. Kneel on a padded floor dealing with away out of your coaching associate or anchor level.
2. Have your associate maintain your ankles firmly, or safe your toes below one thing sturdy.
3. Cross your arms over your chest, interact your core, glutes, and hamstrings, and preserve a straight line out of your head to your knees.
4. Slowly lean ahead, utilizing your hamstrings to withstand the motion for so long as potential.
5. Catch your self together with your fingers simply earlier than reaching the ground.
6. Push off together with your fingers if wanted and use your hamstrings to drag your self again to the beginning place.

Units, Reps, and Relaxation: 3 units | 5–15 reps | 2–3 minutes relaxation

READ MORE: Do the Nordic Hamstring Curl: Alternate options, Advantages, and Muscle tissues Labored

Program Hamstrings Workouts for Muscle Acquire

Train Choice

To totally develop your hamstrings, it is advisable practice each of their most important features: knee flexion and hip extension. That’s as a result of completely different muscle tissues within the group deal with every motion.

The semitendinosus, semimembranosus, and lengthy head of the biceps femoris join at each your pelvis and close to the knee, so they assist lengthen your hips and bend your knees. The quick head of the biceps femoris, alternatively, solely connects close to the knee, so it solely helps bend the knee.

If you happen to skip workout routines that contain bending your knees, one among your hamstring muscle tissues will keep underdeveloped. Conversely, for those who skip workout routines that contain hinging on the hips, you miss out on the heavy lifting that drives common progress and muscle progress.

Put merely, if you wish to develop your hamstrings evenly and successfully, it is advisable embrace each kinds of workout routines in your hamstring exercises.

Coaching Quantity

To maximise hamstring dimension and energy, practice them with 10–20 units per week.

It’s not a good suggestion to do that multi functional exercise, although. A muscle can solely tolerate round 6–10 units in a single exercise earlier than its efficiency dips. When that occurs, you elevate much less weight, for fewer reps, with worse type—all of which hinders your features.

A greater strategy is to unfold your weekly units throughout two exercises. For instance, do one hamstring-focused leg day containing 9–10 direct units (from each compound and isolation workout routines), then embrace 6–8 extra units later within the week throughout one other lower-body or full-body exercise.

Let’s have a look at how that may work in observe.

The Finest Hamstring Exercise Routine for Dimension and Power

Keep in mind, it is a hamstring-focused leg day exercise, not a balanced leg routine. You shouldn’t use it as your solely lower-body exercise every week indefinitely.

As a substitute, use it as one among two lower-body exercises in your weekly cut up. On the opposite day, do a extra balanced leg day that trains each your quads and hamstrings evenly.

Right here’s how that may look:

• Squat: 3 units | 4–6 reps | 3–5 min relaxation
• Romanian Deadlift: 3–4 units | 4–6 reps | 3–5 min relaxation
• Leg Press: 3 units | 6–8 reps | 2–3 min relaxation
• Nordic Leg Curl: 3–4 units | 5–15 reps | 2–3 min relaxation

3 Tricks to Optimize Your Hamstring Exercise Routines

1. Prepare Near Failure

As I clarify in my health books for males and ladies, to maximise your outcomes, you should take most units of hamstring workout routines to inside a rep or two of failure.

Ask your self on the finish of every set, “If I needed to, what number of extra reps might I’ve gotten with good type?” If the reply is greater than two, improve the load or reps to make your subsequent set more difficult.

2. Progress Each Week

Comply with this sample of making an attempt so as to add reps or weight to each train in each exercise.

3. Use confirmed dietary supplements.

• Protein powder: Protein powder, corresponding to Whey+ (Legion’s whey isolate) or Casein+(Legion’s micellar casein), gives your physique with the vitamins wanted to construct muscle tissue and get well out of your hamstring exercises. 
• Creatine: Creatine boosts muscle and energy acquire, improves anaerobic endurance, and reduces muscle injury and soreness out of your exercises. For a pure supply of creatine, attempt Legion’s creatine monohydrate, creatine gummies, or post-workout Recharge.
• Pre-workout: A high-quality pre-workout enhances power, temper, and focus, will increase energy and endurance, and reduces fatigue. For a top-tier pre-workout containing clinically efficient doses of 6 science-backed substances, attempt Legion’s Pulse with caffeine or with out.

Undecided what dietary supplements to take? In lower than a minute, the Legion Complement Finder Quiz will inform you precisely what you want.

FAQ #1: What’s the greatest train on your hamstrings?

That mentioned, most individuals regard the deadlift because the greatest hamstring train as a result of it permits you to elevate heavy weights safely and progress frequently, making it perfect for constructing mass and energy.

FAQ #2: Can I do dwelling hamstring exercises?

FAQ #3: What number of hamstring workout routines do I must do?

Doing 3–6 hamstring workout routines every week is sufficient for most individuals. If you happen to’re new to weightlifting or not seeking to deal with hamstring improvement, doing 3 workout routines is normally adequate. For these seeking to prioritize hamstring progress, doing 4–6 hamstring workout routines will yield higher outcomes.