Weight Training Advice
Hamstring Weight Training Exercises and Workouts
on deadlifts. The hamstrings do get some work while assisting in these weight training lifts, they still need to be targeted with exercises that use them as the primary muscle that lifts the weight.
You must do weight training exercises that target the hamstrings directly so you don't have an imbalance between them and your quadriceps. Any imbalance between the quads and hamstring may put you at risk of an injury while weight training your legs.
One great weight training exercise that targets your hamstrings is the stiff-legged deadlift. Stiff-legged deadlifts are different from regular deadlifts in that you keep your feet close together with your legs straight and a slight bend in your knees to prevent hyper-extending the hamstrings. Once you get the weight off the floor at the beginning of your first rep, you shouldn't lower the weight all the way to the floor on any of your proceeding reps. Arch your lower back and lower the weight to about knee level to get a stretch in the hamstrings, then lift the weight back up to waist level using your hamstrings. If you lower the weight all the way to the floor while performing stiff legged deadlifts in your hamstring weight training routine, you'll be forced to bend your lower back. If you have your lower arched properly you won't need to go lower than your knees to get the little hamstring stretch you want. Although stiff legged deadlifts are done with much less weight than regular deadlifts you should still use a grip with one hand over the bar and one hand under the bar because you will be holding the weight for the entire set. Use chalk on the palms of your hands to help your grip even more.
To finish off a hamstring weight training workout you should do a few sets of leg curls. Leg curl machines come in a few different forms. To do lying leg curls you lie on the bench of a lying leg curl machine facing down and use your hamstrings to curl the weight up. It's a good idea to keep a slight bend in the knees at all times while performing lying leg curls to prevent hamstring hyperextension.
To do seated leg curls you sit on a seated leg curl machine and curl the weight downward using your hamstring muscles. While you have the option of doing lying or seated leg curls with one leg or both legs, standing leg curls force you to use one leg at a time.
To do standing leg curls in your hamstring weight training routine, you put one leg in front of the pad and raise the weight using your hamstrings. On all leg curl exercises you must be sure to contract your hamstrings at the end of the rep to get the most out your hamstring weight training.
If you target the hamstrings without overtraining, you'll help prevent injuries that may occur from strength imbalances betweens the quadriceps and hamstrings. You'll also be stronger on major compound exercises like squats and deadlifts.
The hamstrings are the muscles on the back of the upper thighs. They assist on many quadricep weight training exercises like squats, hack squats, leg presses, and lunges and also assist
