A Simple Method for Improving Hamstrings
by Jimmy Smith

Hamstrings are one of those muscle groups that you always hear people
complain about. For one reason or another, most serious physique
athletes and enthusiasts find it almost impossible to increase their
hamstring size. After all, hamstrings often complete a body
and add the "wow" factor when viewed from behind, especially on stage
or at the beach. Before you even consider using any of the information
in this article, I first have to explain what proper hamstring training
is. The
hamstrings work in both hip extension and knee flexion, so think of a
stiff leg deadlift and a seated hamstring curl. Hamstring training has
taken a black eye in recent times due to all the talk of glute
dysfunction. In fact, most people have totally given up on isolated
hamstring training. Isolated hamstring training is a must, though.We can only rely on compound movements for so long, so we need to make sure that we're training our hamstrings in both hip extension and knee flexion
through various deadlifting and squatting variations, as well as
isolated hamstring movements like glute-ham raises and numerous leg
curls. A surefire way to increase your hamstring size and strength is to consider foot position
in leg curls. Very little attention is paid to the calves during knee
flexion training and in my opinion that's a mistake. The first thing I
do when I consult with a physique client with underdeveloped hamstrings
is to ask them one simple question. "Which way do your toes point during a leg curl?" I've
yet to have one client tell me they pay attention to this. We have to
consider calf function during knee flexion. The gastrocnemius is a
two-joint muscle as it crosses both the ankle and the knee. Its fiber
length doesn't allow it to be active during both knee flexion and
plantarflexion (pointing the foot away from the body). As a result, the
gastroc can help the hamstring flex the knee only if the ankle is
dorsiflexed (foot facing the body). Now
try to curl your leg and plantarflex your ankle (point the toe away
from your body) at the same time. You should feel an extremely
effective contraction in your hamstrings. So now we can see
why our foot position really matters. When we have a plantarflexed
foot, we increase the tension solely on the hamstrings since our
gastroc has been, in effect, inactivated. This leads to two interesting
hamstring training options. First, we can alternate sets of leg curls with our ankle dorisflexed, with sets of leg curls with our ankle plantarflexed. This
will have a wave loading heavier and lighter set effect. The first set
of dorisflexion work will allow you to use greater total poundage,
which is a big issue with underdeveloped hamstrings since they're just
too weak in comparison to antagonistic quadriceps, which limits their
development. It'll potentiate our central nervous system to
allow our plantarflexed weaker set to maximally recruit all possible
hamstring muscle fibers with a heavier than normal load. Our
second option is to perform concentric leg curls (bringing the lower
legs towards the body) with our ankles dorsiflexed and a heavier than
normal load. Since we're stronger eccentrically, we then drop our
ankles into plantarflexion and lower the heavier weight with a slow
eccentric tempo. This is a guaranteed hamstring plateau
buster since we'll maximally stimulate the fast twitch fibers with the
eccentric overload. So what are you waiting for? Get to the gym and get those hamstrings growing.


Jimmy Smith, CSCS, is a fitness coach who trains athletes and injured
individuals as well as fitness competitors and enthusiasts in Stamford,
Connecticut. In addition, Jimmy is currently advancing his education as
a master's degree student in Human Movement. Visit Jimmy's website www.jimmysmithtraining.com to sign up for his free newsletter.



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