Hamstring Exercises
The hamstrings are three muscles on the back of your thigh. Most of them run from the sit bone of your pelvis to just below the knee, so they cross two joints. They bend the knee and extend the hip, and they slow your lower leg down when you sprint. Because they have two jobs, two patterns train them. Hinges, such as the Romanian deadlift, the deadlift, the good morning and the kettlebell swing, load them at the hip while they lengthen. Leg curls, on a machine or a stability ball, train them at the knee. A good hamstring plan uses one hinge and one curl.
7 exercises with male and female illustrations.
Start here
Beginner picks: easy to learn and easy to load.
Hip hinge
Leg isolation
Questions
Is the seated or the lying leg curl better?
The seated curl may give more growth. In a 12-week study, each person trained one leg with seated curls and the other with lying curls, and the seated leg gained more hamstring muscle. Sitting bends the hip, which puts the hamstrings in a longer position during the curl.
How can I train my hamstrings at home?
Use the single-leg Romanian deadlift, the bodyweight good morning and the glute bridge. If you have a stability ball, the ball leg curl trains the knee-bending job that the hinges do not.
Why do I feel the Romanian deadlift in my lower back and not my hamstrings?
Usually your back rounds, or you bend at the waist instead of pushing your hips back. Keep the bar close to your legs, push your hips back with soft knees and stop when your back starts to round. If your back hurts, stop the set.