When it comes to working out, we tend to focus the most on what we see the most.

"Out of sight, out of mind" seems to be the order of the day.

If you have any doubts about this, look effectually your gym sometime and count how many people are preparation their chest, biceps, and abs versus anything else.

That's how tragedies like this happen:

best leg exercises

Yikes.

I have to confess though…

I used to skip legs all the time and looked more similar that guy than I would have wanted to admit.

Simply!

I've repented and paid my ante and while my legs are yet a work in progress (and my calves in particular), they're no longer a laughingstock:

best leg exercises for men bodybuilding

Now, as far as leg grooming goes, the quadriceps most always take heart phase because they're bigger and stronger (and more than visible) than the hamstrings.

Well, nether-developed hamstrings aren't ideal for several reasons:

  1. It creates an imbalanced await that is particularly noticeable from the side and back.
  2. It makes achieving proper depth in the squat much more than challenging.
  3. It increases the run a risk of hamstring and human knee injuries.

The bottom line is a leg training that emphasizes the quads and neglects the hamstrings is like an artillery preparation that blasts the biceps just neglects the triceps.

And a proper leg routine requires more than merely squats.

Yes, squats are ane of the best leg exercises you lot can exercise, but if they're all you lot're doing, yous're not getting everything you can out of your time in the gym.

And then, in this commodity, I'k going to share with you what I've learned about building large, strong hamstrings, including…

  • The most effective way to programme your leg training
  • The best hamstring exercises and how to do them
  • My favorite hamstring conditioning that you can put to use correct away
  • And more…

Allow's get started!

    Table of Contents

  • The Anatomy of the Hamstring Muscles
  • The Simple Science of Effective Hamstring Training
  • The Best Hamstring Exercises
  • The Ultimate Hamstring Workout
  • What Nigh Supplements?
  • The Bottom Line on the Best Hamstring Exercises
  • Want More Workouts?

The Anatomy of the Hamstring Muscles hamstring anatomy

The hamstrings are a grouping of three muscles on the back of the leg:

  1. Semitendinosus
  2. Semimembranosus
  3. Biceps femoris

Here'south how they wait:

hamstring anatomy

(And in case you're wondering, the ischial tuberosity is a part of the pelvis.)

Together the hamstring muscles work to bend the knees, extend the hips, and tilt the pelvis (roll it back).

Thus, hamstring exercises bring the hip from a flexed to extended position (straightening the joint) and bring the genu from an extended to a flexed position (bending the joint).

Now, when the hamstrings are well developed, they can add a considerable amount of size and shape to the legs.

Instance in point:

hamstring muscles flexed

Hamstrings aren't only for guys, either.

If you're a woman, whose legs would you adopt:

Hers?

female legs

Or hers?

sexy female legs

If y'all're similar most women I know, you'd choose door number two.

And if you're similar most women, getting there will crave gaining a meaning amount of muscle in your legs, including your hamstrings.

(And in instance you're worried nigh information technology, no, gaining muscle doesn't take to make women "beefy".)

In fact, here's a ameliorate shot of #2's hamstring development:

female hamstring muscle

Impressive, right?

Prefer an infographic? Click the image below to see a larger view.

hamstring exercises infographic

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The Uncomplicated Science of Effective Hamstring Preparation Effective Hamstring Training

There are a lot of theories out there nearly how to best train your hamstrings.

  • Some people say you have to focus on loftier-rep training and really feel the burn.
  • Others say that heavy weights are the key.
  • Some people say you should exercise exercises that isolate the hamstrings.
  • Others say isolation is unnecessary and you should stick with the big chemical compound movements instead.
  • Some people still say that yous should divide your leg workouts into hamstring and quadriceps workouts.
  • Others say this won't benefit y'all or is even detrimental.

Well, I've tried all the above and more, and I've worked with thousands of people, and here's what I've learned:

1. Hamstring-centric exercises help balance your overall leg development.

Your boilerplate leg conditioning is very quad ascendant thanks to exercises similar the half-squat, leg printing, and lunge.

2. Heavy compound movements are best for adding strength and size.

Loftier-rep sets and machine exercises can be included in your hamstring workouts, but they tin can't replace heavy free weight movements.

three. One heavy hamstring conditioning per calendar week is generally plenty.

A crucial part of your hamstring training is volume, or the full amount of reps you do each week.

This is especially important when you're doing a lot of heavy weightlifting because the overarching rule is this:

The heavier you lift, the fewer reps you tin do each calendar week without risking overtraining.

This is especially true of compound movements like the deadlift and squat, because pulling and squatting heavy weights necessitates more recovery time than less stressful (and effective) exercises like biceps curls or breast flyes.

Now, I've tried many different workout splits and frequency schemes and what I've found works all-time is in line two extensive reviews on the subject.

When your training emphasizes heavy weights (80 to 85%+ of 1RM), optimal book seems to be nearly 60 to 70 reps performed every v to seven days.

This non only applies to the hamstrings but to every other major musculus group likewise.

Now, in the instance of the hamstrings, we have to accept into business relationship the fact that they're involved in many of the quadriceps exercises y'all're going to do besides.

For case, the showtime portion of the squat is primarily handled by the quads, only as you descend, the hamstrings are heavily recruited.

(This is 1 of the reasons why, when squatting, you should descend to the signal where your thighs are at or or below parallel to the footing.)

The adjustment hither is elementary: nosotros're just going to slightly reduce the book in your hamstring (and quadriceps) workouts to account for this overlap.

Alright, now that we accept bones training theory under our belts, let'south look at the best hamstring exercises for building muscle and strength.

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The Best Hamstring Exercises

The health and fitness space suffers from an embarrassment of riches.

A quick Google search for nutrition or exercise advice throws you head first into a free-for-all melee of opinions and options and somehow you lot're supposed to make sense of it all.

Well, I accept practiced news:

Out of all the hamstring exercises you could do, a modest scattering stand head and shoulders above the remainder.

If you simply focus on progressing on the exercises below, you'll take no trouble building fantastic hamstrings (and legs).

Before nosotros talk exercises, though, let's talk equipment…

Why You Should Stay Off the Smith Machine hamstring workouts

As with bench pressing, research shows that squatting on a Smith Machine produces smaller gains in muscle and strength than gratuitous weight squatting.

The main reason for this is stock-still, vertical path that the Smith Car'due south bar travels on, which requires less body stabilization than squatting a free weight bar (which you lot accept to continue level and balanced).

If y'all've been squatting exclusively on the Smith Car and are going to make the movement to squat rack, go ready for a rude awakening.

Years ago, I did all my squatting on the Smith Automobile and had worked upwardly to a paltry 235 pounds for a few reps. When I moved to the gratis weight squat, I struggled with 185 pounds.

(I've since worked up to something respectable: 365 pounds for 2 to three reps on my back squat and 275 pounds for ii reps on my front end squat.)

Now, one of the reasons Smith Machine squatting is popular is it seems to be safer than complimentary weight squatting.

This isn't exactly true. You lot tin can free weight squat just as safely with the right setup (and without a sentry).

The cardinal slice of equipment is the Power Rack.

How to Safely Squat Solo in the Power Rack

You don't have to get to failure every set, but if you're afraid of failing, yous're not going to exist able to push button yourself as hard every bit you lot should.

(A adept rule of thumb is to end your sets one rep short of failure–that point where you struggle to get the rep and aren't sure if yous tin get another without help.)

This is why a squat stand is fine if you lot have a spotter but is limiting if y'all don't. There are going to exist times where you could have squeezed out some other rep or two if it felt safe but didn't for fright of getting stuck in the hole.

Well, the Ability Rack is the perfect solution. It allows you lot to squat (and bench press) by yourself without worrying about pinning yourself under hundreds of pounds of weight.

Hither'south a fantastic 1 made past Rogue, which I highly recommend:

squat-rack-for-sale

The dazzler is in the safety arms, which you lot set to catch the weight if you fail.

Here's how it works:

Okay, with that out of the way, let'south now get over the best hamstring exercises.

1. Romanian Deadlift

You'd exist hard pressed to find a hamstring practise amend than the Romanian deadlift (RDL).

When performed correctly, it's an incredibly effective way to target and overload the hamstrings.

Here's how to do it:

And if this exercise places too much strain on your lower back, you can do the single-leg variation:

2. Barbell Dorsum Squat

You can't have a serious discussion about leg training without the barbell back squat.

It's the unmarried most constructive practice you tin do for building strong, muscular legs.

It goes further than that, really, because information technology'due south really a whole-trunk exercise that engages most major muscle groups.

Now, if yous've heard that squatting is a quadriceps exercise and shouldn't exist included in hamstring workouts, this is only one-half of the story.

While information technology'due south true that the squat heavily involves the quadriceps, as I mentioned earlier, the deeper you go, the more the hamstrings are recruited.

This is why achieving proper depth is numero uno with squatting. The shallower the squat, the less constructive it is.

Here'south what the bottom of a proper squat looks similar:

proper squat

As you tin can see, the thighs are slightly beneath parallel to the ground and the barrel is slightly below the knees.

Notice, as well…

  • The head is neutral (not straining to look upwards or down).
  • The spine is neutral (not arched or rounded).
  • The chest is up and shoulders are back.
  • The knees are slightly beyond the toes.

This is the position y'all want to reach with every rep.

Here'due south an in-depth discussion on how to squat properly:

At present, before nosotros motion on to the next exercise, allow's take a moment to talk full ("Ass to Grass") squatting.

First, here'south what information technology looks similar:

At that place are benefits to squatting like this.

Namely, the full range of motion makes the legs and barrel work harder.

There are downsides too, though.

  1. This style of squatting requires a high corporeality of lower body mobility–quite a bit more than than most people have.
  2. "ATG" squats crave more technical skill than parallel squats, which makes them harder to execute properly as weights get heavier. (Excessive "buttwinking" is very mutual, for example.)

This is why I don't recommend full squats unless you're an experienced weightlifter that knows proper form and that is flexible enough to do them comfortably.

The reality is yous can do only fine with the parallel squat. You don't demand to full squat to build a swell posterior chain.

And while we're talking lower body flexibility and mobility, let'south chop-chop touch on the most common reasons people can't squat properly:

  • Hip inflexibility
  • Hamstring tightness
  • Calf and ankle tightness

Fortunately, these bug can exist corrected (and prevented) with a simple squat mobility routine, like this one.

3. Bulgarian Split Squat

The Bulgarian split squat is becoming more than and more than popular amongst high-level force and conditioning coaches, and for skilful reason.

Research shows it's fantastic for building leg (and hamstring, in particular) strength while also minimizing strain on the lower back.

Hither'due south how it's done:

iv. Glute-Ham Raise

This practice may look easy but when it's done properly, it'southward a hamstring killer.

(In fact, research shows information technology's ane of the best exercises you tin practise for activating the hamstring muscles.)

Here's how it works:

v. Leg Ringlet

Like the glute-ham heighten, the leg curl is a simple simply constructive way to target the hamstrings.

Research shows that seated and lying curls train the hamstrings differently, so it's smart to alternating betwixt them.

Hither's the lying leg scroll:

And here'southward the seated curl:

6. Kettlebell Swing

The kettlebell swing is one of the most versatile exercises you can do for your cardio workouts.

It's also a fantastic "finisher" for your hamstring preparation.

It's basically an ambitious, dynamic deadlift motion that has become a staple in the preparation of elite fighters and athletes, and it has been scientifically proven to develop forcefulness, explosive power, and endurance.

The blazon of swing I recommend that y'all learn is the "hard style" swing, which is considered the center of the kettlebell grooming universe and a prerequisite for more advanced exercises.

It's adequately easy to learn only takes quite a while to primary, so don't be discouraged if you don't get the hang (or swing) of it in your first go.

Hither's how to exercise information technology:

Remember–Progression is the Key to Muscle Growth build big hamstrings

That'southward it for the best hamstring exercises. Those are all yous need to build astonishing hammies.

Your goal isn't to just practice these exercises, though–information technology's to progress on them.

And when we're talking building muscle, the almost productive type of progression is "progressive overload."

This refers to increasing tension levels in the muscles over time, and the easiest way to practice that is to add together weight to the bar.

This is why your principal goal equally a natural weightlifter is to get stronger.

So…build strength on the exercises above and eat plenty food and y'all will make gains.

The Ultimate Hamstring Workout best hamstring workout

Before nosotros look at an actual hamstring workout, let's talk workout programming.

The first question to address here is why dissever your leg preparation into hamstring and quadriceps workouts? Why non just do all-inclusive "leg workouts" instead?

Well, there are several reasons why you might desire to try a hamstring/quadriceps split:

1. You're an advanced weightlifter that is having trouble calculation size to your legs.

A hamstring/quads split allows you to maximize weekly volume on each muscle group.

2. Your leg muscles are imbalanced (either your quads or hamstrings are under- or over-developed).

A hamstring/quads split allows you to piece of work harder on your lagging musculus grouping while maintaining the other.

3. You like it more than than traditional leg training.

In many ways, the best workout routine is the one yous can stick to, so personal enjoyment matters.

If those criteria don't employ to you–if you lot're new to weightlifting, your legs aren't imbalanced, and you don't particularly like this dissever more–then y'all don't have a reason to do hamstring and quadriceps workouts.

You lot can just stick to traditional leg training and brand tremendous progress. (That'south what I do personally.)

And so, with that in mind, let's accept a closer look at hamstring training.

Kickoff, you need to keep in heed that your hamstring workouts will train your quads as well, and vice versa.

This is why I recommend that yous practice just one hamstring and quadriceps conditioning per week, and that yous put 3 days of rest in between the workouts. This will ensure your legs have enough time to recover before you train them once again.

(Many people like to train one of the two on Mondays and the other on Thursdays.)

Now, my favorite blazon of hamstring conditioning contains at least one large, compound motion and i or two additional exercises to target the muscle group.

Furthermore, the hamstrings tin benefit from higher rep work, simply you have to emphasize the heavy weightlifting if you want to avoid plateaus.

The workout below is a great introduction to this training philosophy and information technology's equally applicable to both men and women.

That said, y'all'll see that I recommend different rep ranges for men and women.

This is mainly considering most women haven't washed whatsoever heavy compound weightlifting earlier and can't comfortably work with weights in the higher ranges of their ane-rep max.

As they get stronger, though, they tin can and should beginning including heavier work in their training. (I talk more virtually this in my bookThinner Leaner Stronger.)

If, however, you're a woman that's well-acquainted with heavy weightlifting, then I recommend that you lot follow the heavier recommendations for men.

And so, practise the following workout once per 7 days for the side by side viii weeks, and I think you'll be very happy with the results.

Barbell Back Squat

Warm upward and 2 sets of…

Men/Experienced Women: 4 to 6 reps (~85% of 1RM)

Inexperienced Women: 8 to 10 reps (70 to 75% of 1RM)

Romanian Deadlift

2 sets of…

Men/Experienced Women: 4 to vi reps (~85% of 1RM)

Inexperienced Women: 8 to 10 reps (seventy to 75% of 1RM)

Bulgarian Split Squat

2 sets of…

All: eight to ten reps

Glute-Ham Raise

All: 2 sets to failure

That's it. And trust me–information technology's harder than it looks.

A few odds and ends:

One time you hit the meridian of your rep range for i set, move upwards in weight.

For instance, if yous go half dozen reps with, permit'due south say, 235 pounds on your back squat, add 5 pounds to each side of the bar for your adjacent fix.

If, on the next ready, you can get at to the lowest degree four reps with 245 pounds, that'southward the new weight you piece of work with until you lot tin squat it for 6 reps, motion up, and then along.

If you lot get iii or fewer reps, reduce the weight added by 5 pounds (240 pounds) and see how the next set goes.

If you notwithstanding become 3 or fewer, reduce the weight to the original six-rep load and work with that until y'all can do two 6-rep sets with it, and and so increase.

Rest 3 minutes in between each 4-to-6-rep set and one minute in between 8-to-10-rep sets.

Yes, this is going to feel similar a lot of standing around, simply resting properly is a hugely of import role of heavy weightlifting.

This is the time where your muscles recoup their strength and then yous can give maximum try each set.

Make certain you're eating enough nutrient.

You probably know that you're supposed to swallow a fair amount of protein to build muscle, but total caloric intake matters too.

Read this article to learn why.

This type of training is the core of my Bigger Bacteria Stronger (men) and Thinner Leaner Stronger (women) programs and I have hundreds of success stories that bear witness its effectiveness.

If you give this workout a get and get proficient results with it, I highly recommend y'all check out BLS/TLS because you're going to dear it.

What Nearly Supplements? shoulder workout routine for mass

I saved this for last because, quite bluntly, information technology's far less important than proper nutrition and training.

You see, supplements don't build nifty physiques–dedication to proper preparation and diet does.

Unfortunately, the workout supplement manufacture is plagued by pseudoscience, ridiculous hype, misleading advertising and endorsements, products full of junk ingredients, underdosing cardinal ingredients, and many other shenanigans.

Most supplement companies produce inexpensive, junk products and effort to dazzle you with ridiculous marketing claims, high-profile (and very expensive) endorsements, pseudo-scientific babble, fancy-sounding proprietary blends, and flashy packaging.

And then, while workout supplements don't play a vital function in edifice muscle and losing fatty, and many are a complete waste of money…the right ones tin assist.

The truth of the matter is there are condom, natural substances that accept been scientifically proven to deliver benefits such as increased strength, muscle endurance and growth, fat loss, and more than.

As a office of my work, it's been my job to know what these substances are, and observe products with them that I can use myself and recommend to others.

Finding high-quality, constructive, and fairly priced products has always been a struggle, though.

That's why I took matters into my own hands and decided to create my own supplements. And not only some other line of "me too" supplements–the exact formulations I myself have always wanted and wished others would create.

I won't go into a whole spiel here, but if you want to acquire more than about my supplement line, bank check this out. (And if you lot'd like to know exactly what supplements to accept to reach your fitness goals, take the Legion Supplement Finder Quiz .)

For the purpose of this article, let'due south but quickly review the supplements that are going to help you lot become the nearly out of your hamstring (and other) workouts.

Creatine

Creatine is a substance found naturally in the trunk and in foods like red meat. Information technology'due south peradventure the virtually researched molecule in the world of sport supplements–the subject area of hundreds of studies–and the consensus is very clear:

Supplementation with creatine helps…

  • Build musculus and improve force,
  • Better anaerobic endurance
  •  Reduce musculus harm and soreness

You may have heard that creatine is bad for your kidneys, but these claims have been categorically and repeatedly disproven. In healthy subjects, creatine has been shown to have no harmful side effects, in both brusk- or long-term usage. People with kidney affliction are not brash to supplement with creatine, however.

If you lot take salubrious kidneys, I highly recommend that you supplement with creatine. It'south prophylactic, cheap, and effective.

In terms of specific products, I use my own, of form, which is called RECHARGE.

creatine-supplement

RECHARGE is 100% naturally sweetened and flavored and each serving contains:

  • five grams of creatine monohydrate
  • 2100 milligrams of L-carnitine Fifty-tartrate
  • 10.eight milligrams of corosolic acrid

This gives you the proven strength, size, and recovery benefits of creatine monohydrate plus the muscle repair and insulin sensitivity benefits of 50-carnitine L-tartrate and corosolic acid.

Protein Pulverisation

Yous don't need poly peptide supplements to proceeds muscle, simply, because how much protein you need to eat every day to maximize muscle growth, getting all your protein from whole food can be impractical.

That'due south the main reason I created (and apply) a whey protein supplement. (At that place's as well testify that whey protein is particularly skillful for your post-workout nutrition.)

whey-protein-supplement

WHEY+ is 100% naturally sweetened and flavored whey isolate that is made from milk sourced from small dairy farms in Ireland, which are known for their exceptionally high-quality dairy.

I tin confidently say that this is the creamiest, tastiest, healthiest all-natural whey protein pulverisation you can notice.

Pre-Conditioning Potable

At that place's no question that a pre-workout supplement can get you fired up to get to work in the gym. There are downsides and potential risks, yet.

Many pre-conditioning drinks are stuffed full of ineffective ingredients and/or minuscule dosages of otherwise good ingredients, making them petty more than a few cheap stimulants with some "pixie dust" sprinkled in to make for a pretty label and disarming advertizing re-create.

Many others don't even have stimulants going for them and are only consummate duds.

Others still are downright unsafe, like USPLabs' popular pre-workout "Jack3d,"which contained a powerful (and now banned) stimulant known as DMAA.

Even worse was the popular pre-workout supplement "Craze," which contained a chemic similar to methamphetamine.

The reality is it's very hard to find a pre-workout supplement that's light on stimulants but heavy on natural, safe, operation-enhancing ingredients similar beta-alanine, betaine, and citrulline.

And that's why I made my own pre-workout supplement. Information technology's called PULSE and it contains 6 of the most constructive performance-enhancing ingredients available:

  • Caffeine. Caffeine is good for more the energy boost. It as well increases muscle endurance and forcefulness.
  • Beta-Alanine.Beta-alanine is a naturally occurring amino acrid that reduces practice-induced fatigue, improves anaerobic exercise capacity, and tin advance musculus growth.
  • Citrulline Malate.Citrulline is an amino acid that improves muscle endurance, relieves muscle soreness, and improves aerobic performance.
  • Betaine. Betaineis a compound found in plants like beets that improves musculus endurance, increases strength, and increases human growth hormone and insulin-like growth factor 1 production in response to acute do.
  • Ornithine.Ornithine is an amino acid institute in loftier amounts in dairy and meat that reduces fatigue in prolonged practise and promotes lipid oxidation (the burning of fatty for energy equally opposed to carbohydrate or glycogen).
  • Theanine.Theanine is an amino acid found primarily in tea that  reduces the effects of mental and concrete stress, increases the product of nitric oxide, which improves blood flow, and improves alertness, focus, attention, memory, mental task performance, and mood.

And what youwon't discover in PULSE is as special:

  • No artificial sweeteners or flavors..
  • No bogus nutrient dyes.
  • No unnecessary fillers, carbohydrate powders, or junk ingredients.

The bottom line is if you want to know what a pre-workout issupposed to feel like…if you lot want to experience the type of energy rush and performance boost that only clinically effective dosages of scientifically validated ingredients tin deliver…then you lot desire to attempt PULSE.

pre-workout-supplement

Again, if yous feel confused about what supplements you should have to reach your goals, take the Legion Supplement Finder Quiz to acquire exactly what supplements are right for you. It'south the best way to ensure you become the almost out of your supplement regimen.

The Lesser Line on the All-time Hamstring Exercises hamstrings exercises with weights

You now take everything you lot need to build strong, muscular hamstrings.

  • Do the right exercises.
  • Focus on getting stronger over time.
  • Don't try to do and then much every calendar week that you wind upwardly overtrained.

That'southward it. Simple but not easy.

Work hard at the advice given in this article and stay patient and you'll be on your fashion.

Want More than Workouts?

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The 6 Absolute Best Quads Exercises You Tin can Do quads-exercises

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The Absolute Best Triceps Workout triceps workout

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+ Scientific References

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