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A bodybuilders physique can be measured by its muscular tie-ins and insertions. The competitors that stand out in a line up of muscular physiques usually have clear delineation in each individual bodypart as they insert into the next body part. For example, deltoids tie into the biceps and triceps, quadriceps flow into the knees, and the glutes tie into the top of the hamstrings. This creates an illusion of round muscle bellies that jump out at you onstage.

Quads Vs Hamstrings

Hamstring and glute insertion may be the most overlooked and under developed group of the bunch, possibly due to the fact that its more difficult to see that area in the mirror. Its also possible that when training legs we tend to emphasize quads over hamstrings and many gym enthusiasts train hamstrings after they are exhausted from training heavy on exercises that emphasize quads over hamstrings. If you want your legs to look as impressive from the rear and sides as they do from the front, then these tips should help revamp your overall leg development.

Importance Of Hamstring Training

The importance of hamstring training in overall physical health and activities are normally understated. Underdeveloped hamstrings can cause the physical load of normal activity to fall squarely on your quadriceps and your lower back. One of the most common injuries for athletes in all sports are pulled hamstrings. With proper training not only will your hamstrings look great, but you may prolong the overall functionality of your body even as you get older.

Low Reps, High Weight

The hamstrings are a fast twitch muscle that normally respond to low repetition, higher weight ranges, however, form is very important which means using moderate weight with perfect form is most beneficial. With each hamstring/glute exercise it is important to establish a mind-muscle connection. This means that with each repetition you have to feel the hamstrings stretching and contracting in order to fully overload the muscle. If you don’t allow your mind to be in tuned with feeling the muscles, it will be very easy for other muscles to get involved and take over which will not allow for maximum hamstring development.

List of the most effective hamstring/glute exercises:

Leg Curls

This is the most basic of all hamstring exercises, but probably the most effective of them all due to the ease of the exercise for targeting the hammies. Ensure that the machine fits your body length so that your knees are located by the machines hinges and, most importantly, the pads touch between your ankles and your calves. The machine pretty much does the rest, however, it is important to remember the mind muscle connection again. As you begin, squeeze your hamstrings in the same manner as you would your biceps (ironically your hamstrings are made up of 3 main muscles, one of which is your Biceps femoris or leg biceps) by bringing the weight up and holding and squeezing the hamstrings at the top. If you feel the tension released from your hamstrings when you reach the top try not to curl your legs too far back and hold it at the position where the you feel the squeeze the most, just like you would when flexing and squeezing biceps when doing Biceps curls.

Both the Standing and Lying Leg Curl machines are very effective.

As with many machines it is easy to plateau with your muscle growth. To avoid that with Leg Curls, try the incorporating a high repetition day where you crank out 3 sets of 50 reps. Your hamstrings should be on fire and your heart will definitely beat a little faster.

Also try “21’s” in the same manner as you would do with biceps curls.

For example, the first 7 repetitions would be from the starting position to about 1/3 of the way up and back to the starting position. The next 7 reps (done without resting in between) will start from the finishing point of set one (1/3 of the way up) and go up to the top where you have full hamstring contraction, and finish at the 1/3 of the way down position. The last 7 reps will start from the very bottom and go to the very top (basically a normal full leg curl).

Squats

The king of all leg exercises can be a major player in developing your hamstrings and glutes if done correctly.

Too many times in the gym there are egotistical weightlifters trying to squat tremendous poundages, yet they only move about ¼ of the way down! These same lifters wonder why they can squat so much weight but their legs are still underdeveloped. Without doing full squats you will never get the full benefits of this mass builder. Even more, for developed glutes and sweeping hamstrings nothing beats full, deep squats! For athletes with healthy knees and backs, take a wider than shoulder width stance, keep your feet and heels flat on the floor and squat as low as you can to the point where your hamstrings touch your calves if possible. It may take some time before you can increase the weight, however, form is the key with this. If you can go all the way down with 135lbs. you will develop more overall leg development than someone squatting incorrectly with 315lbs. With each deep squat repetition focus on squeezing your glutes at the top of each rep.

Lunges

This exercise can really stretch the whole glute hamstring area and is very effective in creating shape to the sides of the legs, which can make a bodybuilders side chest and triceps pose very formidable. There are many variations to the lunge: static lunges on the Smith Machine/Rack using the same leg for reps before switching, static lunges with a barbell stepping forward while alternating legs, walking lunges, and step-ups alternating legs up to a high box. All are very effective, and the key for each is to ensure that you keep your torso straight and upright to alleviate any back pain, and ensure that your knee is directly over your heels to take pressure off the knees. With each rep focus on stretching the hamstrings on the way down, then exploding back to the starting position using the force of your hamstrings to power you up as if you were jumping or sprinting.

Straight Leg Deadlifts

The ultimate glute/hamstring stretch exercise! While maintaining an arch in your lower back and keeping your head and neck aligned with your spine, bend down from the hips and allow the weight (barbell or dumbbell) to lower as low as you can go. Keep your hamstrings taut and avoid relaxing them, as that will take the tension away from the muscle. Keep a very slight bend at the knees at the bottom, always keeping the mind muscle connection to your hamstrings, and return to the top while tightening the glutes at the top of the movement. If you don’t feel the tension in your hamstrings, adjust your position and try to bring your hips back as you lower the weight. Moderate weight is most effective and this movement is great at the end of the workout to really stretch and tighten the glute/hamstrings and finish them off.

Glute/Hamstring Rasie

A seldom used and difficult exercise that should be a staple for anyone that wants to strengthen and develop the rear of their legs. Keep your hips tight as you pull yourself down and slowly lower yourself down to the floor while your legs remained locked in position. Make sure to have your hands in front of you, especially for first those doing this exercise for the first time. When you reach the bottom, pull yourself back up using your hamstrings using your hans to assist you if needed. Try static holds incrementally as you lower yourself until you can not hold yourself up anymore and fall to the ground. A few sets of these will definitely tighten your hamstrings and flex the glutes.

Conclusion

These exercises done on Leg day will be sure to make your hamstrings pumped and tight for days. Once again, the key is keeping the mind muscle connection, always ensuring you concentrate on the hamstrings for full recruitment of the muscle group. For those who really want to kick-start your hamstring growth, train hamstrings on separate days than quadriceps and calves to give them full attention.

Author: By Philip Ricardo Jr.

Website: http://www.philipricardojr.com/

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