For the quads, squats are a given.
But what are the best exercises to hit the hammies?
Read on for a breakdown of how to work this muscle and my picks for the best moves.
The muscles attached to those tendons are the hamstrings well talk about today.
Meanwhile, butchers usually hang hams from their hocks.
Getting back to human anatomy, the hamstrings are a muscle group, not a single muscle.
Thesemitendinosus, a thick muscle that runs down the inner side of the back of the thigh.
Thesemimembranosus, a thinner muscle that runs alongside the semitendinosus.
But the hamstring doesnt just help us move our feet around in the air.
Imagine that your body can only bend at the hips; thats your hinge.
This brings us to the best barbell exercise for hamstrings: the Romanian deadlift, or RDL.
In an RDL, unlike a regular deadlift, you want to keep your knees relatively straight.
(A soft bend is okay.)
Bend at the hips until you feel a stretch in your hamstrings, and then stand back up.
Keep the bar close, andbrace your core.
RDLs can be tough on your grip, so dont be afraid touse straps.
Keep your knees soft and your core braced, as above.
The best bodyweight hamstring exercise: slider curls
No barbell?
Try a bodyweight hamstring curl.
Use sliderseither fitness-specific ones, or just get a set of furniture sliders.
Lie on your back and put the sliders under your heels.
Now, pull your heels toward you, while lifting your butt off the ground.
What about Nordic curls?
I can hear you guys shouting.
Look, Nordic curls arehard.
But theyre definitely a good exercise, so theyre still on the listbut as the bestadvancedhamstring exercise.
(Look, its my list.)
Then you bend your knees to rise to the starting position.
There are several ways to make this movement easier.
(Ive been known to tease a certain gym buddy who does these by calling them banded faceplants.)
There are other options, which you might see in the video above.
If you make your way to doing full Nordics, you have stronger hamstrings than I do.
Congratulations, and enjoy.
