Hamstrings exercises
Your hamstrings bend the knee and extend the hip. They power hinges and protect the knee.
By equipment:Barbell (3)
Compound lifts
Several muscles at once. Do these first, while you're fresh.
- DeadliftBarbellPush the floor away
- Power cleanBarbellPush the floor away until the bar passes the knees
- Romanian deadliftBarbellPush the hips back
- Dumbbell Romanian deadliftDumbbellsHips back
- Kettlebell swingKettlebellsHike it back between the legs
- Single-leg Romanian deadliftNo equipmentHinge with the back leg reaching behind
Isolation exercises
One muscle, one joint. Good for adding sets without much extra fatigue.
How much to train your hamstrings
About 8 to 12 hard sets a week to start, up to 12 to 20 as you get more experienced, split over two or more sessions, each set ending 1 to 3 reps short of failure. More in how many sets per week and reps in reserve.
A hamstrings plan that adapts to you
Liftsmith picks hamstrings exercises your gym can do, sets the weight for every set, and only trains them again once they've recovered.
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