How To Get A Strong Set Of Hamstrings
One great question I get a lot is : “Strong hamstrings? Howwww?” One of the reasons why I like that question is because it has troubled me in the past!
I have met a lot of female athletes who tell me something along the lines of “I can feel my quads work more than my glutes” or “my glutes aren’t activating at all” while they are training. This can happen if we don’t execute the exercises with proper form and thus place some unwanted emphasis on the quads and not as much on the hamstrings and glutes due to either a mistaken training plan or a lack of one (i.e., when we hit the gym and just do whatever we want!)
Weak hamstrings can lead to an overall weakness in the lower body and to muscular imbalances that may threaten the much coveted hypertrophy in our glutes!
Whenever we discover such an important weakness, the best course of action is always to correct it first. This will get us one step closer to our goals whether we are trying to increase our deadlift numbers, improve our explosiveness in sprints or create stronger and well-shaped glutes and hamstrings!
“So how will I get a strong set of hamstrings?”, you may be thinking right now…
There are 4 hamstring strengthening exercise types:
- Exercises performed with almost completely straight legs, like good mornings and romanian deadlifts.
- Exercises which involve hip extension in an either prone or supine position like back extensions, glute bridges or reverse hyperextensions. Take note that these exercises can be executed on either one or both feet.
- Exercises which involve knee flexion like those that target the biceps femoris in gym machines(leg curl) in a standing or prone position
- Exercises in which there is simultaneous hip extension and knee flexion like stability ball curl-ins (one of my personal favorites)!
My own piece of advice is to integrate a variety of exercises from all categories into your workouts in order to strengthen the muscles that make up our hamstrings in a more complete manner. Our daily needs may vary according to our activities, so you may have to consult with your trainer for the type and frequency of the exercises you should be performing or just send me an e-mail!
With the new fitness trend being the “squat booty” i.e., a strong, well-shaped lower body with trained and defined glutes, most of us have realized that by strengthening our muscles we simultaneously sculpt our bodies and eradicate the problematic regions on our bodies!
Strong is the new sexy after all!
That is all,
Katia