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I think there is no other word in bodybuilding and fitness that makes athletes sigh as deeply as leg training (or maybe it should be ‘diet’…). The idea that your legs (or even just your hamstrings) need to be trained again is a reason for many to skip a day. I’ve also struggled with this mindset. I have quite long legs and it takes a lot to make them thicker. It often feels like you’re training for nothing, so why bother? I overcame this by fooling myself that leg day is my favorite day!
Do you think that doesn’t work? Try it! It helped me not to dread the
hamstring exercises anymore, unfortunately, it hasn’t helped my legs much yet but it’s progressing.
Training Hamstrings
For many, leg training consists of some leg presses, leg extensions, and a few leg curls to get it over with. Oh well, throw in some lunges for fun… that’s often where it ends! Even bodybuilders and fitness enthusiasts who are more advanced struggle to treat their legs as full muscle groups. Unfortunately, what you often see is that the quadriceps (the front) are trained fairly well to good, but then they turn around… and they have no legs anymore!
Well-developed legs have good quadriceps, good calves, and large hamstrings. The photo of Tom Platz next to you shows that fully trained hamstrings make your legs much bigger (okay, he also had some of the biggest legs ever, but hopefully you understand what I mean…).
Training your hamstrings is not that difficult. In principle, the hamstrings are the biceps of your legs, so all they can do is bend your legs. There are many different exercises that can effectively train this muscle group, but they all come down to bending your legs.
Why all the different hamstring exercises then?
Training your hamstrings is actually the same as with all your other muscles. Each exercise has a slightly different effect on your muscles, giving your hamstrings a more complete build. Also, you need all those exercises to vary your training so that your muscles don’t have the chance to completely adapt to one exercise, causing them to stop growing.
Variation ensures that your muscles constantly have to adapt to different tension and slightly different movements, keeping them growing.
The hamstrings also help with a whole bunch of other exercises that aren’t actually done to train the hamstrings. For example, when I do heavy squats, I also feel this in my hamstrings. Deadlifts, actually a back exercise, also provide good training for these muscles.
Even leg presses demand a lot from the hamstrings, mainly because they help stop the weight as it comes down. If you want to stress the hamstrings even more, place your feet further forward on the platform.
The grandmother of all hamstring exercises
The oldest hamstring exercise is the Stiff-Leg Deadlift. This is an exercise that you can do without any equipment and it’s immediately one of the heaviest and most effective exercises for your hamstrings!
The stiff-leg deadlift is not much more than a normal deadlift where your legs do not bend. What you really have to watch out for is that your back is not hollow when you go down with the weight. The easiest way to achieve this is as follows:
Stand straight with the barbell – or the dumbbells – in your hands. Now pull your shoulder blades together, rotating your shoulders backward. Look straight ahead. Go down and keep your head so that you’re still looking forward.
You can wear a belt to protect your lower back, but I’m not a big fan of using a belt. When you frequently wear a belt (I see some people put on a belt in the locker room and take it off when they shower, no matter what they’re training…) your lower back doesn’t get stronger and it will remain or become a weak spot.
Wear a belt only when you’re moving really heavy weights or if you have an injury. Otherwise, don’t!
Also, make sure your knees are not locked. Bend your knees slightly to take the tension off them.
A variation on the stiff-leg deadlift with the barbell is to perform it with two dumbbells in your hands.
Lying Leg Curl
The Lying Leg Curl is the most commonly done hamstring exercise in gyms and fitness centers. It may seem like an easy exercise, but when performed properly with fairly heavy weight, it’s a first-class killer!
What should you watch out for with the lying leg curl?
Make sure the pads – the soft rolls against which you press your calves – are properly adjusted. When you lie on the machine with your knees in line with the pivot point of the moving bar, the pads should come slightly above your heels
If the pads are adjusted too high, they roll over your calves, too low and your feet cannot move properly during the execution of the exercise.
Keep your lower body firmly on the machine during the leg curl. If your buttocks come up, a lot of tension will be placed on your lower back instead of on your hamstrings. Use a little less weight and perform the exercise correctly.
By moving your feet to a different position, you can emphasize different parts. Pointing your toes upward mainly targets the top of your hamstrings. Pointing your toes downward emphasizes the bottom.
Try also pointing your toes to the left or right!</p >
A fun variation is to do it with one leg at a time. Some machines even allow you to move only one pad at a time.
Seated Leg Curl
If your gym has a seated leg curl machine, you have a delightful alternative to the lying leg curl! I do both in the same workout because the effect is different anyway. The seated leg curl places a lot of emphasis on the top of the hamstrings, near your buttocks. If you get cramps in your hamstrings from anywhere, it’s on this machine!
Make sure the pads come slightly above your heels. Another important point is your backrest. Make sure it’s positioned correctly backward. When you sit on the machine, your knees should just come over the seat while your lower back is pressed against the backrest. If not, your lower back will certainly feel it!
You can also try working your hamstrings with one leg at a time on the seated leg curl.
Another leg curl variation is the standing leg curl. You always do this with one leg (otherwise it’s quite difficult) and it’s not the easiest way. Try this exercise to see how it feels.
Lunges Or Step-ups
The last exercise I’m discussing here is lunges or step-ups in English. Lunges are actually meant to train your quadriceps, but your hamstrings and buttocks get a good workout too!
Usually, lunges are performed with dumbbells but you can also use a barbell (long bar). You can also do lunges in a Smith Machine, but you won’t get the maximum effect on your hamstrings.
A very painful variation of regular lunges is to perform them on a raised surface. Here you place the foot that steps out on a – sturdy – bench or another raised surface and go deeper than you normally can. You won’t believe how much this hurts!
Example Hamstrings Workout
A good hamstring workout consists of two to three exercises. Since your hamstrings are large muscles, you can do quite a few sets here, aiming for nine to twelve.
An example workout is as follows:
- Lying Leg Curls: 4 sets of 15 to 6 repetitions
- Stiff-leg Deadlift: 3 sets of 15 to 6 repetitions
- Lunges: 3 sets of 12 to 8 repetitions
Increasing the Intensity!
Since you work a lot with machines, you can easily increase the intensity of the training. This mainly applies to the various types of leg curls you do for your hamstrings. Don’t do this kind of thing with stiff-leg deadlifts and lunges! Those can get quite dangerous if you do weird things!
A few ways to increase the intensity of leg curls:
- Do a heavy set and let your training partner help you with some forced reps, followed by negatives where your partner lifts the weight and you slowly lower it down.
- Do a heavy set and have your training partner decrease the weight, then continue with reps. You can do this two or three times. This is called descending sets or drop sets.
- You can also combine them, so forced reps and drop sets. Very painful! Train your hamstrings and let them grow! Good luck!
