These strikes are designed to forge energy from the bottom up and scale back the chance of damage.
In case you’re like most metallic movers, muscle teams like biceps, again, and chest get all of the love, leaving your legs a tad uncared for. We’re not suggesting you blow ‚em as much as the scale of tree trunks—or perhaps we’re—however both means, you will profit from hitting your legs with the very best hamstring workouts of all time.
„Hamstrings are usually a weak space for strains and tears, particularly in coaching, operating, and sport efficiency,“ says Matthew Ibrahim, C.S.C.S., a professor, energy coach, and founding father of Athletic Efficiency College. Simply because the quads comprise the rectus femoris, vastus lateralis, vastus medialis, and vastus intermedius, the hamstrings are made up of 4 muscle tissue: lengthy head of the biceps femoris, brief head of the biceps femoris, semitendinosus, and semimembranosus.
„Constructing a sturdy bottom reduces the chance of damage and boosts total efficiency—although it takes time, consistency, and lots of repetition,“ Ibrahim says. As such, you wish to program lower-body workouts that strengthen every hamstring and hip flexor unilaterally. They’re arguably an important teams of muscle tissue, as a result of they guarantee mobility and stability, in addition to safeguard the knees, hips, and low again.
The next hamstring workouts are designed to forge energy from the bottom up, not solely thickening your thighs however boosting your main lifts and bulletproofing your physique.
From kettlebell swings to Romanian deadlifts to leg curls, add these killer hamstring workouts into your subsequent legs-day routine and watch your hamstrings develop. Then give our different physique part-specific workouts a go.
Greatest Hamstring Workout routines of All Time

1. Glute Bridge
Tips on how to do it:
- Lie down together with your again, palms, and toes flat on the ground, knees bent.
- Press each toes into the bottom as you elevate each hips up towards the ceiling.
- “On the prime of the motion, squeeze your glutes collectively to make sure you don’t arch or drop your decrease again,” Ibrahim says.
- Maintain on the prime for a 2-second depend, then decrease and repeat.

2. Single-leg Glute Bridge
Tips on how to do it:
- Lie down together with your again, palms, and toes flat on the ground, knees bent.
- Convey one leg off the ground. Hold the knee bent and flex your toes towards your head.
- Maintain this place as you press your working leg’s foot into the bottom as you elevate your hips, evenly, towards the ceiling.
- Hold your again straight, and interact your glutes on the prime of the motion to forestall your decrease again from sagging.
- Maintain on the prime for a 2-second depend, then decrease and repeat.
- Full all reps for one aspect, then repeat on the opposite.

3. Bench Hip Thrust
Tips on how to do it:
- Prop your higher again and shoulders on a bench, and hug your arms throughout your chest, Ibrahim says.
- Place your toes flat on the ground, sitting your hips low.
- Drive each toes into the bottom as you press each hips up towards the ceiling.
- On the prime of the motion, squeeze your glutes and maintain for 2 seconds. Decrease, and repeat.
- Use simply your body weight, or add weight for a higher problem.

4. Single-leg Bench Hip Thrust
Tips on how to do it:
- Prop your higher again and shoulders on a bench, and hug your arms throughout your chest.
- Place your toes flat on the ground, sitting your hips low.
- Elevate one leg, bending your knee and flexing your toes towards your head.
- Drive your anchor foot into the bottom as you press each hips up towards the ceiling.
- On the prime of the motion, squeeze your glutes and maintain for 2 seconds.
- Decrease, and repeat all reps on one aspect, then change.
- Use simply your body weight, or add weight for a higher problem.

5. Swiss Ball Hamstring Curl
Tips on how to do it:
- Place a Swiss ball in entrance of your toes.
- Lie down together with your again and palms flat on the ground.
- Place your heels on prime of the ball, then press your hips and glutes off the ground.
- Hold your again straight and abs engaged.
- Dig your heels into the ball as you curl it towards your glutes.
- Reverse the movement, and press the Swiss ball away out of your glutes to the beginning place.

6. Single-leg Swiss Ball Hamstring Curl
Tips on how to do it:
- Place a Swiss ball in entrance of your toes.
- Lie down together with your again and palms flat on the ground.
- Place your heels on prime of the ball, then elevate one leg straight within the air (or bent with toes flexed towards your head).
- Press your hips and glutes off the ground.
- Hold your again straight and abs engaged.
- Dig your working heel into the ball as you curl it towards your glutes.
- Reverse the movement, and press the Swiss ball away out of your glutes to the beginning place.

7. Cable or Band Pull-through
Tips on how to do it:
- Arrange a resistance band or cable pulley at ankle top.
- Straddle the cable/band between your legs, and face away from the column.
- Seize the tip and stroll away from the anchor level till you’re feeling some resistance.
- Whereas protecting your arms straight and core engaged, bend over on the hips and permit the pulley system to drive the rope and your hips again towards the column.
- Pause on the backside, and squeeze your glutes collectively for a powerful lockout, Ibrahim says.
- Hinge, then drive your self again to the highest place.

8. Kettlebell Deadlift
Tips on how to do it:
- Place a heavy kettlebell straight beneath you, between your toes.
- Place your legs hip-width aside with toes going through ahead.
- „If you should go barely wider than hip-width aside and/or level your toes barely out to the perimeters, that’s alright,“ Ibrahim says.
- „Whereas protecting your core engaged to keep away from arching at your decrease again, drive your hips again right into a hip hinge.“
- Seize either side of the kettlebell’s deal with.
- Rise up tall, and squeeze your glutes on the prime.
- Slowly decrease the kettlebell right down to your shins, then repeat.

9. Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift
Tips on how to do it:
- Rise up tall with one dumbbell in every hand, palms going through you.
- Have interaction your abs, and hinge your hips again as you slowly decrease the dumbbells towards the center of your shins.
- Stand again up, then squeeze your glutes on the prime.

10. Barbell Romanian Deadlift
Tips on how to do it:
- Grip a barbell at shoulder-width.
- Have interaction your abs to brace your decrease again as you elevate the bar.
- Now, whereas standing, hinge your hips again.
- Slowly decrease the barbell down towards the center of your shins.
- Stand tall to return to the beginning place.

11. Hamstring Curl with Sliders
Tips on how to do it:
- Lie on the bottom together with your knees bent, and again and palms flat.
- Set your toes on sliders.
- Press your heels into the sliders, and lift your hips off the bottom.
- Keep this place all through all the train.
- Curl your heels towards your glutes, then spend three seconds urgent each heels away out of your physique, again to the beginning place.

12. Nordic Hamstring Curl
Tips on how to do it:
- Place each knees roughly hip-width aside, and place each knees on a mat or pad for consolation.
- Drive your toes into the bottom, and hold your heels in a safe place (ask a fitness center associate or place them beneath a cushty and safe anchor level).
- For all the period of the train, hold your core engaged and preserve a tall place out of your knees by means of your hips and up towards your shoulders to keep away from arching at your decrease again.
- Slowly decrease your self down towards the bottom in entrance of you in a gradual and managed vogue for 3 seconds.
- As soon as three seconds have elapsed, press your fingers down into the bottom to get your self again as much as the beginning place.

13. Single-leg Romanian Deadlift
Tips on how to do it:
- Rise up tall together with your left hand holding a dumbbell or kettlebell.
- Elevate your left foot off the ground, and bend your knee.
- Your proper foot will stay planted.
- Have interaction your core, then drive each hips again right into a hip hinge whereas concurrently decreasing the load down your shin.
- Reverse the movement and stand again up, squeezing your glutes on the prime of the movement.
- Full all reps for the suitable aspect, then repeat on the left (maintain the load in your proper hand and lift your proper foot off the ground).

14. Strolling Lunges
Tips on how to do it:
- Stand upright together with your toes shoulder-width aside and your fingers in your hips.
- Step ahead together with your proper leg, inserting your foot down as when you have been organising a static lunge, flexing your knees (90°), and dropping your hips.
- Decrease your left knee towards the bottom.
- Simply earlier than it makes contact with the ground, drive up and ahead by means of your proper leg, stepping right into a lunge in your different aspect.

15. Rear-Foot Elevated Lunge
Tips on how to do it:
- Place your proper foot on a bench or step, protecting your toes pointed, your foot flexed, and stress penetrating the ball of your left foot [and the top of your right foot].
- As soon as in place, descend beneath management till your proper knee nearly touches the ground and drive again up by means of your left leg to the beginning place.
- Ensure your again knee doesn’t collapse towards your physique, and that your ahead knee doesn’t slide previous your toes.

16. Squat to Hamstring Stretch
Tips on how to do it:
- Stand with toes shoulder-width aside.
- Bend on the waist and seize your toes together with your fingers.
- Drop right into a deep squat whereas protecting your arms straight, elbows inside your knees, again flat, and chest up.
- Whereas holding your toes, elevate your hips again and straighten your knees till you’re feeling a stretch behind your legs.
- Maintain for two seconds.

17. Single-leg Banded Hip Thrust
Tips on how to do it:
- Loop a heavy resistance band twice round waist.
- Sit on the bottom, again to the bench, toes flat on the ground.
- Hook one loop beneath proper heel. (The opposite loop will tighten round hips.)
- With shoulder blades hitting simply above the sting of the bench, activate glutes and core, and elevate left foot to start out (A).
- Urgent by means of proper heel, elevate hips towards ceiling (B), then decrease slowly to start out. Do 15 reps, then change sides.

18. Kettlebell Swing
Tips on how to do it:
- Stand holding a kettlebell with each fingers in entrance of you with straight arms.
- Squat as you decrease the kettlebell alongside an arc beneath and between your legs.
- Begin the motion with the hips, driving your hips and swinging the kettlebell up till your arms are parallel to the ground.
- With out pausing, full the set.

19. Reverse Inchworm
Tips on how to do it:
- Bend on the waist and stroll your toes out right into a pushup place.
- Maintaining your knees straight, stroll your fingers towards your toes.
- As soon as you’re feeling a stretch, stroll your toes again out to a pushup place.

20. Banded Deadlift
Tips on how to do it:
- Place a band round thighs, simply above knees, and stand with toes simply wider than shoulder-width aside, holding a average (30–40 pound) kettlebell in each fingers.
- Hinge at hips and push butt again as you decrease your torso and KB towards the ground, sustaining stress in your hamstrings and glutes.
- Push by means of heels to face.
- After 2 units of 8 to 10 reps, you may take away the band and cargo up a barbell.
- Doing this warmup constantly will enhance your deadlifts.

21. Inverted Hamstring
Tips on how to do it:
- Stand, toes hip-width aside, to start out.
- Shift weight left, inhale, elevate proper knee to chest, elbows down at sides, palms going through up close to chest.
- Exhale, soften left knee, hinge ahead, and lengthen arms, and proper leg again.
- Reverse to start out, then repeat on the suitable aspect for 1 rep.

22. Good Morning
Tips on how to do it:
- From a standing place, maintain two dumbbells or loop a band round your shoulders and beneath your toes.
- Slowly bend ahead from the hips till your higher physique is parallel to the ground and hamstrings are absolutely stretched.
- Maintain for 2 seconds and return to beginning place.

23. Kettlebell Ski Swing
Tips on how to do it:
- Seize two kettlebells which can be half the load you’d usually use for an everyday kettlebell swing—or a few kilos beneath to verify type is down pat.
- Stand tall with toes hip-width aside, shoulders retracted and core tight.
- With a impartial backbone, hip hinge again, letting chest decrease towards the ground, and hold arms locked out alongside the torso (A).
- Then use glutes and hamstrings to press hips ahead and swing kettlebells to shoulder top (B).
- Have interaction shoulder and chest muscle tissue to regulate the weights on the prime of the motion, then hip hinge once more for one rep.

24. Single-leg Wall Squat
Tips on how to do it:
- Stand with the ball between your decrease again and a wall.
- Straighten left leg and flex foot to start out.
- With core tight and shoulders engaged for stability, decrease hips, permitting the ball to journey up again, till the left leg is parallel to the ground.
- Reverse to start out for one rep. Do all reps with left leg raised, then change legs.

25. Reverse Airborne Lunge
Tips on how to do it:
- Maintain a 10- to 20-pound kettlebell at face top (it acts as a counterbalance).
- Stand on one foot, elevate the opposite leg behind you, shin parallel to the ground.
- Shift hips again and slowly decrease,till shin meets flooring.
- Press by means of standing heel to reverse. Ensure to hit either side equally.

26. Plyo Donkey Kick
Tips on how to do it:
- Begin in a excessive plank, core tight, fingers beneath shoulders.
- Draw left knee in direction of the chest, as if doing a mountain climber.
- In an explosive motion, kick left leg out and bend knee so foot factors towards ceiling, and permit proper foot to come back off flooring momentarily.
- Hold the air time low to make it lowest influence, as proven right here, or kick greater and land evenly if it feels OK.
- When touchdown, straighten your proper leg, then straighten and decrease your left leg to return to start out.
- Do all reps on the left aspect, and change to the suitable for the subsequent set.
- To focus on the hamstrings extra straight, carry out conventional donkey kicks.

27. Lateral Lunge
Tips on how to do it:
- Stand holding dumbbells in every hand by your sides.
- Step to at least one aspect and decrease your hips by squatting with the stepping leg, protecting the opposite leg straight.
- Return to the beginning place by pushing up together with your bent leg.

28. Glute Hamstring Raises With Gradual Eccentrics
Tips on how to do it:
- Lock your self right into a hyperextension or glute-ham machine, toes anchored, hips over pad.
- Hug a weight plate at chest and bend at hips to decrease and elevate slowly for counts of two, squeezing glutes to guard low again at prime.

29. Hex Bar Deadlift
Tips on how to do it:
- Stand with toes hip width.
- Bend your hips again and grasp the handles.
- Maintaining your decrease again in its pure arch, drive by means of your heels to face up straight and lengthen your hips and knees.
- Stroll 20 yards.

30. Glute Bridge Walkout
Tips on how to do it:
- Lie in your again on the ground and bend your knees so your toes relaxation on the ground near your butt.
- Brace your abs and drive your heels into the ground to lift your hips into the air.
- From there, stroll your toes out in a V form, taking small steps together with your heels ahead and away from the midline of your physique. Hold your hips up.
- Proceed till your legs are prolonged after which stroll them again in.
- That’s one rep.