Hamstring Exercises for Stronger Legs

The 5 Best Hamstring Exercises to Build Muscle

If building leg strength is one of your top fitness goals, the hamstrings should be necessary to exercise. Not only that, strengthening them can lead to improved athletic performance and better injury prevention. These muscles are located in the back of the thighs and play a critical role in various movements such as walking, jumping, running, and lifting. As such, neglecting this important muscle and training it properly can lead to many problems, such as an increased risk of injury in the knees, hips, and lower back and muscle imbalances.

This guide will cover the best hamstring exercises for more muscular legs. Not only will you be able to develop strong hamstrings, but you'll also get plenty of benefits beyond just the regular leg strength. These muscles will also help you extend your hips and flex your knees, which is vital for plenty of exercise activities, including box jumps, sprinting, and even some martial arts where kicking is involved. Let's get started with what you need to know.

The Anatomy and Functions of the Hamstring Muscles

The hamstrings muscle group features three leg muscles at the back of the thigh. These are the semitendinosus, semimembranosus, and bicep femoris muscles. These muscles come from the ischial tuberosity at the bottom of the pelvis and attach to the lower leg bones below the knee joint.

The hamstrings primarily extend the hip joint and flex the knee joint. When walking, running, or climbing stairs, the hamstrings work with the quadriceps or the front thigh muscles to help facilitate a smooth and controlled motion. The hamstrings also decelerate the leg during the swing phase of your gait, preventing excessive forward movement while maintaining overall stability.

In addition to the lower body movements, the hamstrings can contribute to the stability and alignment of your pelvis and lower back. If your hamstrings are weak or tight, it can lead to anterior pelvic lift - which is associated with lower back strain and can also increase injury risk. That's why it is vital to ensure a significant balance between your hamstrings and your quadriceps when it can benefit the health and functions of your knees. A substantial imbalance of these muscles will lead to excessive stress on the knee joint, which can lead to injuries such as ACL tears or patellofemoral pain.

If we at Raw Nutrition know anything, injuries like ACL tears can certainly take you out of commission for quite some time. We have seen it in major sports, where star players will miss a lot of action, even the rest of the season, because of tears like this. That's why it is essential to make sure that you maintain proper form while performing the exercises that we will be listing in this guide.

Guidelines for Safe and Effective Hamstring Training

Before we go into the list of hamstring workouts, we want to discuss the guidelines for safe and practical training. We highly recommend that you perform proper preparation, choose the right exercises, and execute them properly to maximize the benefits while minimizing your risk of injury. Let's take a look now at what we highly suggest: 

Warm-up and Stretching

Like any other workout routine, you want to begin with warm-ups and stretches. This will help increase muscle temperature and blood flow. Since you're doing leg exercises, it's always a good idea to consider warm-up and stretching exercises that pertain to the muscle groups you will be engaging. Examples include but are not limited to, high knees, leg swings, and body weight squats.

After your warm-up, you can follow it up with gentle static stretches targeting the hamstrings, quadriceps, and calves. The goal is to ensure that these muscles are flexible so you can perform the range of motion and prevent injuries related to this group of muscles. Stretching is the best exercise for injury prevention, so don't skip out on it for any reason. The same applies to safe exercise practices as well.

Selecting the Appropriate Weights and Reps

For a beginner, you must start with lighter weights; higher repetitions are essential. For example, your repetition should be 12 to 15 reps per set. The purpose is to build muscular endurance while helping you learn proper form.

As you become more experienced, you can gradually increase the weight while lowering the number of reps. We recommend using 8 to 10 reps per set if you reach an intermediate level. This will allow you to focus on building strength and muscle growth. As you become more experienced, you can become more comfortable with heavier weights and lower reps—which can range from 4 to 6 reps per set, especially when you're looking to gain maximum strength.

Proper Form and Technique

Maintaining proper form and technique will be critical when performing any other exercise, especially those focusing on the hamstring. If improperly executed, the effectiveness will be greatly reduced. At the same time, you increase your chance of injury as well. Be mindful of your body's alignment, range of motion, and control throughout the entire movement. Again, you'll want to use lower weights and focus on many quality reps instead of lifting heavier loads while sacrificing proper form.

Rest and Recovery

 For best results, we highly recommend that you allow for rest and recovery for your hamstrings for at least 48 to 72 hours between sessions. If you overtrain your hamstrings, this can lead to issues such as soreness, muscle fatigue, and an increased risk of a hamstring muscle injury. We recommend other exercises between sessions, such as light cardio or stretching, especially on off days. You could focus on different muscle groups, such as your upper body if you so choose. These can be exercises such as rowing or pulldowns, to name a few.

Whether on an exercise day or a rest day, giving your hamstrings and muscles the proper nutrition they need is essential. That's why Raw Nutrition, led by Chris Bumstead, offers various products to help repair the tiny tears in your muscles so they can grow back bigger and stronger than ever. Our Isolate Protein whey powder is a testament to being one of the best on the market for those who want to build muscle and increase strength.

Top Hamstring Exercises

Now that you have an idea of how to perform these hamstring exercises effectively, I will look at the list of the top exercises we highly recommend. Let's dive right in and show you the following:

Deadlifts

There are several variations of the deadlift, including the conventional, sumo, and Romanian deadlift. Regardless of which variation you choose, the concept is still the same. This exercise will focus on the hamstrings, glutes, lower back, and core muscles. Since we've mentioned variations at the outset, we'll discuss the differences between them in terms of the position and motion:

• Conventional deadlift: First, stand with your feet hip-width apart. Place the barbell on the floor and grip it with an overhand or mixed grip—whichever is comfortable for you. Next, hinge at the hips and push them back while keeping your back flat and your core engaged. Then dip down until you feel your hamstrings stretch. Drive through your heels and return to the starting position. That's one rep.

• Sumo deadlift: For this deadlift, the stance should be more comprehensive. Make sure that your toes are pointed in an outward direction. This will ensure that your torso position will be more upright while providing you more focus on the quadriceps and adductors. The motion is the same as the conventional deadlift. The difference, of course, is the standing position.

• Romanian deadlifts: This deadlift, in particular, will be hamstring-focused. You start from a standing position with the barbell situated at hip level. To begin, hinge forward and lower the weight towards the floor, making sure that your legs remain straight.

Regardless of which variation you choose, please use the proper deadlift form. Make your exercises more effective as opposed to risking injury with improper execution. Another variation of this includes single-arm/single-leg Romanian deadlifts.

Hamstring Curls

The hamstring curl is an isolation exercise that will emphasize, well, you guessed it, the hamstrings. You can perform this with the help of numerous equipment like machines, free weights, or cables. Choose whichever will help you best in terms of motion or personal preference. If you choose the machine-based hamstring curls, you may need to lie on your stomach and curl your heels towards your glutes so you can go against the resistance. Specific exercises on the machine include seated and lying leg curl variations, which are very effective for your hamstrings.

If you choose the free-weight version, use a dumbbell or exercise band for this exercise. Lay down on your back with your heels on a bench or a Swiss ball. Next, curl your hips, lift them off the ground, and keep your legs straight. To maximize these curls, focus on the full range of motion so the hamstrings contract at the movement's top. We should also caution you to avoid swinging.

Over time, you can incorporate single-leg variations if you want something a bit more challenging. This can also be useful if you need to address any muscle imbalances. If you are a beginner, stay with the basics for now. Nonetheless, hamstring curls will be an excellent leg day routine exercise you do not want to skip out on.

Glute-Ham Raises

Glute ham is more challenging for the beginner. However, if you're looking for something that will target the hamstrings and glutes, this could be the exercise you can try. You'll need to raise your body from a kneeling position and use the strength of your hamstrings and glutes to lift your torso and legs into a straight line. You have to be parallel to the floor when performing this.

This exercise will require you to use a raised bench or a machine, which will help you to perform the movement safely while preventing your knees from being overstressed. If you are a beginner, we suggest using assisted versions of the glute ham raises using a band or a spotter.

Good Mornings

Good mornings might be a good option if you're looking for an excellent compound exercise focusing on the hamstring and other lower body muscles. This involves a hinge-forward movement at the hips while you need to keep your legs straight during the entire motion. Specifically, this motion is similar to bending over and picking something up. When performing these good mornings, ensure your feet are shoulder-width apart while holding a dumbbell across the back of your shoulders.

Be sure to engage your core and keep your back flat during this exercise. You need to hinge forward at the hips and lower your torso until you feel a stretch in the hamstrings. After a brief pause, drive through your heels and return to your starting position—you've just finished the first rep.

Bulgarian Split Squats

Bulgarian split squats are the final exercise on our best hamstring exercises list. This unilateral exercise targets the hamstrings, quadriceps, and glutes. You perform a split squat stance with the rear foot elevated using a box or bench. You stand facing away from the bench or box with the top of your rear foot resting on the surface.

Throughout the motion, ensure your torso is upright, lower your body by bending the front knee, and allow the rear knee to drop towards the ground. The front knee should be aligned with your ankle so you do not put excessive strain on both. What makes the Bulgarian split squat one of the best hamstring exercises is that it will challenge your balance, flexibility, and stability while focusing on your hamstrings and quad steps using deep ranges of motion.

Even better, you're also using your body weight and holding dumbbells for resistance. Be sure to hold dumbbells or barbells across your shoulders. Maintain proper form and clean forward appropriately. In addition, make sure that your front knee does not extend past your toes.

Recovery and Injury Prevention Considerations

After your exercise, let us remind you that rest and recovery will be necessary. As mentioned, allow 48 to 72 hours of rest between hamstring sessions. Remember to engage in light cardio, stretching, or low-impact exercises, all of which can improve blood flow and help strengthen recovery. After your workout, we suggest that you perform cooldown exercises and stretches. Not only will this lower your heart rate, but your work muscles should get the blood flow they need to ensure that it's less sore while improving flexibility - both of which will be essential to prevent injury.

Please note that several different hamstring injuries may exist. These can include mild muscle poles to severe tears. We remind you to perform the proper warm-up techniques to prevent these injuries. If you're comfortable with increasing the intensity and volume of your training, be sure to do it gradually. We also remind you to avoid excessive stretching before exercise, so at least a few minutes will do.

If you are experiencing any pain or discomfort, you'll need to stop immediately. You may need to seek a medical professional if the pain is sharp or severe. Activity during exercise should not resume until you get an all-clear from a sports med specialist. 

 

Final Thoughts

We hope you found this guide for the top hamstring exercises an excellent idea for building strength in your legs. You'll enjoy the benefits of well-developed hamstrings in many ways. After some time, try to test your leg power and strength by doing box jumps. You may or may not be surprised that you may be jumping higher than before. 

Whether it's strengthening your legs, conquering your personal best, or focusing on fitness goals that you want to achieve sooner rather than later, raw nutrition has the supplements and products you need to stay on top of the nutrition end of your fitness goals. Check us out today to see what we have to offer.