The two mini-workouts below work well as end-of-workout hamstring finishers that you can do after a full-body workout, cardio session, or an upper-body day. But they also involve the hamstrings to a strong degree (mostly via hip extension), so they’re worthy additions to any hamstring-focused workout.Stand lunge length in front of a bench, step, or box that’s six to 12 inches high. Now squeeze your glutes and hamstrings and extend your hips to raise your torso up until your body forms a straight line from your head to your feet.If bodyweight alone is too easy for you, add resistance by holding a dumbbell (as shown above). Bend your knees as in a machine leg curl, rolling the ball toward you. Draw your shoulder blades together and downward (think: “proud chest”). Pause, squeeze your glutes, and reverse the direction to return to the starting position. Onnit is not liable or responsible for any advice, course of treatment, diagnosis or any other information or services you chose to follow without consulting a qualified medical professional. Another trick when using a dumbbell is to tap your trailing leg’s foot against the floor periodically to help you stay balanced.If you don’t have a Swiss ball at home, a rolling desk chair can work as well.See the directions above. Lucky for you, hamstrings are a low-maintenance muscle group and a little goes a long way. Allow your right leg to roll inward as it follows you and turn the hip into the ground as much as you can. We use industry-standard, 256bit SSL encryption to protect your personal information online, and we also take several steps to protect your personal information in our facilities. Extend your Tuck your tailbone under slightly so that your pelvis is perpendicular to the floor and your lower back flattens into the floor. Bend your knees, sliding your feet back close to your butt. The semitendinosus inserts on the superior part of the medial tibia. They are innervated by the sciatic nerve. Brace your core. Step back and plant your feet hip-width apart. We incorporate physical, electronic, and administrative procedures to safeguard the confidentiality of your personal information, including Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) for the encryption of all financial transactions through the website. After a transaction, your credit card information is not stored on our servers. Interlace your fingers behind your head, spread your elbows wide, and keep them there throughout the movement. Overdevelopment of the quadriceps needs to be balanced with exercising the hamstrings. Perform it once or twice a week (do not do any other leg training).Alternate sets of the paired exercises (marked A and B). Once your lower body is locked in place, release the handles and extend your hips until your torso is perpendicular to the floor and your knees are bent 90 degrees. Begin pushing your hips back, bending your torso toward the floor while you allow your left leg to extend behind you as a counterbalance. Despite its large size and importance, this muscle is often under exercised and ignored during workouts because it’s a muscle that we don’t really see.   Tight hamstrings may also be felt as limited motion when straightening the knee or a cramp at the back of the knee.

Tighten the muscles on the back of your bent leg (hamstring) by pressing your heel into the floor.
This can be important cross-training for people whose primary exercise is bicycling, which targets the quadriceps. “I would limit training hamstrings to no more than two times per week,” Saltos says. Repeat this 5 to 10 times. Lock out your left leg and twist your torso to the left. Verywell Fit uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Be sure to keep your core braced to prevent hyperextending your lower back. Brace your abs. Allow the kettlebell to swing back between your legs, folding at the hips and bending your knees slightly as the kettlebell swings down and back to begin the next rep.Do not lift the kettlebell with your upper body, as if performing a front raise shoulder exercise. Throughout the movement, keep the toes of your back foot pointing toward the floor (do not let your foot turn outward). Hold the contracted position, squeezing your glutes and hamstrings as hard as possible for a two-count.