One of the areas that I have never seen anyone be too big in is the hamstrings. Hamstrings are great muscle to focus on because:
- They will make your glutes appear smaller and help in creating that classic bodybuilding look.
- They will enhance your strength in exercises like the squat and leg press.
- There is less chance of injury because there is a better strength balance between the quads and hams.
However, hamstrings are often the poor cousins to the quadriceps because they are usually trained after the quads. Splitting them up and giving them the main focus is the best way to bring up weak/small hamstrings. I typically train hamstrings with calves and forearms. My current workout looks like this:
Exercise Weight Sets Rep total Techniques used
Hypers* (hip ext) 5-10kg 2 20 rest pause
Leg curls** 20-40kg 2 20 x’s, hold
Stiff deadlift*** 90kg 2 20 rest pause
Seated calf raise 70kg 2 30 rest pause
Leg press raise 170kg 2 20 x’s, static hold
BB forearm curl 40kg 2 20 rest pause
Hypers*: This is my mid range exercise. It is basically a back extension with your knees bent with the emphasis on lifting up with your hamstrings. It works the other main function of the hamstring and that is to extend the leg at the hip.
Leg curls**: This is my contracted exercise and my goal is to get as many full reps (I try to think of the hamstrings as a leg bicep that I squeeze in the contracted position like a bicep curl) once I can do no more I like to extend the set with x-reps. On my second set I try to complete as many full reps as possible, then I double the weight and complete a static hold in the stretch position for around 10-30s. This works the other main function of the hamstrings which is flexing the knee joint.
Semi-Stiff legged dead-lift***: My stretch position exercise. I like to use 10 kg plates for this to a greater range of motion. I focus on keeping the weight close to my legs. I also try to keep a very slight bend in the knees and drive my heels into the ground on the way up.
Other ideas:
(Another mid range exercise that I incorporate every so often for variety is the Leg press with my feet high on the foot plate.) I always get muscle soreness from this- it does hit the glutes though.
- I sometimes use dumbbells or a cable (leg pull through) for stiff legged dead-lifts.
- I prefer to do stiff legged dead-lifts in bare feet (allows me to drive with my heels easier).
- I sometimes use tri-sets, different rep ranges, or complete exercises in a different order.
- DXO’s work well with leg curls.
The workout takes around 20 minutes and never fails to hammer my hamstrings –If your hamstrings workout has been going nowhere lately, give this a go, hopefully it hammers yours too!