Yeah, fine, nobody checks out their hamstrings in the mirror—and that often leads to every lifter’s most glaring weak point. Make sure your hamstrings are the best in the gym with these 10 moves you’ll use forever.
Pulled hamstrings are a common and painful injury that usually can be prevented. The culprit is the relationship between the hip flexors and hamstrings. In an ideal world, they work together to stabilize the pelvis and produce many years of fluid movement.
Unfortunately, our ideal world has become a sedentary one, and long hours of sitting have caused our hip flexors to become short and tight. This causes the hamstrings to elongate, producing all manner of dysfunction that can result in injury. At the very least, you’re moving improperly, which can lead to back issues and other ailments down the road.
That’s why this these hamstring-focused moves for beginners will focus both on strengthening the hamstrings and stabilizing the pelvis for optimal movement, as well as some flexibility and mobility work to keep your lower body working as it should.
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Erica Schultz
Single-leg Romanian Deadlift
Why: Your hamstrings must work properly to execute this move correctly. If they’re too inflexible or too weak, you’ll know it.
How: Balance on your right foot, keeping tummy tight, and shoulders back and down. Bend at the waist with both hands out to the sides, and extend your left leg back as you fire the left glute. Your shoulder and heel should move together, forming a straight line. Return to starting position and switch legs, performing a set of 10 on each leg.
Prescription: 2 sets of 10 reps with 30 sec. rest between sets.
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Hero Images / Getty
Handwalks
Why: This not only lengthens your hamstrings and lower-back muscles, it also builds stability in your shoulders and core.
How: Start with legs straight and hands on the floor. Keeping the legs straight, walk your hands out. Then walk your feet back up to your hands, keeping your legs straight. Take baby steps using only the ankles. Avoid using the hips, knees, and quads.
Prescription: 2 sets of 10 reps with 30 sec. rest between sets.
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Hero Images / Getty
Knee Hug
Why: It stretches the hamstring and glute of your front leg as well as the hip flexor of your back leg.
How: Lift your right knee to your chest, and grab below the knee with your hands. Pull your right knee to your chest while squeezing your left glute. Return to the starting position, and repeat on the left side. Continue alternating sides.
Prescription: 2 sets of 10 reps with 30 sec. rest between sets.
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kupicoo / Getty
Lunge Elbow to Instep
Why: Though it initially feels like you’re following Twister instructions, this effective full-body stretch works your groin, hip flexors, glutes, and especially hamstrings.
How: Step forward into a lunge with your left foot. Place your right forearm to the ground and your left elbow to the inside of your left foot, and hold the stretch for two seconds. Then place your left hand outside of your foot and push your hips up, pointing your front toes up. Return to standing position, and repeat by stepping out with your right foot. Continue alternating sides.
Prescription: 2 sets of 10 reps with 30 sec. rest between sets.
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James Michelfelder
Physio Ball Leg Curl
Why: This improves stability and strength in the hamstrings as well as the glutes and lower back.
How: Lying face-up on the floor, put your hands on a physioball, pulling your toes toward your shins. Squeeze your glutes until your body is in a straight line from ankle to shoulder. Keeping the hips raised, pull your heels in toward your glutes. Let the ball roll back slowly as you strengthen your legs, keeping your hips elevated.
Prescription: 2 sets of 10 reps with 30 sec. rest between sets.
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SrdjanPav / Getty
Physio Ball Bridge
Why: It strengthens and activates the hamstrings as well as your lower-back muscles.
How: Lie face-up on the ground with your feet on a physioball, toes pointed toward your shins. Squeeze your glutes and raise your hips so that only your head, shoulders and arms are on the ground.
Prescription: 2 sets of 10 reps with 30 sec. rest between sets.
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James and Therese Michelfelder
Sumo Squat to Stand
Why: This improves flexibility in your hamstrings, and is a good indicator of how much room you have to improve, which for most of us is a lot.
How: Bend at the waist, grabbing underneath your big toes. Keeping your arms straight inside your knees, pull your hips down until they’re between your ankles and lift your chest up. Tuck your chin and try to straighten your legs, holding on to your toes as you straighten the hips and knees.
Prescription: 2 sets of 10 reps with 30 sec. rest between sets.
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Hero Images / Getty
Romanian Deadlift
Why: Arguably the most popular hamstring move around, this classic assistance lift effectively builds strength in your hamstrings, glutes, lower back, and upper back.
How: Start with a light set of dumbbells. Form is especially key to getting full benefit from the RDL; don’t think of the exercise as bending forward but rather as sitting back with your torso moving forward instead of staying upright.
Prescription: 2 sets of 10 reps with 30 sec. rest between sets.
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Per Bernal / M+F Magazine
Bent-over Single-arm, Single-leg Row
Why: Not only does this challenge you to work each side independently, as with a traditional one-arm row, but you work your hamstrings while inevitably lowering the dumbbell deeper.
How: A variation on the traditional one-arm row, this has you bent over with your nonlifting hand balanced on a dumbbell rack or bench. Extend the corresponding leg of your lifting hand back.
Prescription: 2 sets of 10 reps with 30 sec. rest between sets.
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Eva-Katalin / Getty
Foam-roll Hamstring
Why: Foam rollers work out muscle spasms and provide many of the benefits of massage without the hourly fee. Hamstrings respond especially well to foam rolling.
How: Place a foam roller under one or both hamstrings, and glide your body up and down the roll. Or try to put all of your bodyweight on the roll.
Prescription: 2 sets of 20 seconds with 30 sec. rest between sets.
