How To Set Up Nordic Hamstring Curl

Being a beginner with skinny legs is more than the muscles located at the front of the legs. Sure, big quads will make up most of your leg size. Still, seeing your legs from the side or behind will reveal how little attention your hamstrings take been given.

So, if you're looking to build large hamstrings every bit a beginner, use the vii exercises I've listed below to get started. Only earlier you get in that location, it's essential to understand some basic hamstring anatomy.

Table of Contents

Hamstring Beefcake
7 Best Hamstring Exercises For Beginners
- Dowel Good Morning
- Romanian Deadlift
- Aptitude Leg Isometric Hamstring Bridge
- Lying Leg Curl
- Swiss Brawl Leg Curl
- Seated Leg Curl
- Assisted Nordic Hamstring Exercise
Hamstring Workout For Beginners
- Solar day 1
- Day 2
Summary

Hamstring Beefcake

The hamstrings are made up of three different muscles and four muscle heads. We will focus on these main muscles consisting of:

Semitendinosus
Semimembranosus
Biceps femoris

Hamstring Anatomy

The hamstrings are unique muscles every bit they cross two joints, making them biarticular. That ways they serve two main move functions knee flexion and hip extension. Human knee flexion exercises preferentially target the inner hamstrings, while hip extension exercises target the outer hamstrings ^[1].

This is why information technology'southward so important to encompass leg scroll and deadlift movements for the consummate evolution of the hamstrings. However, we want to pick the movement regressions for beginners training the hamstrings to blast a neat mind-musculus connection with the hamstrings.

7 Best Hamstring Exercises For Beginners

As a beginner, you've likely never directly trained your hamstrings, even though you may have been to the gym many times. They are often highly neglected because they aren't "sexy" to train and can be hard.

And so, these hamstring exercises will be the initial exercises to first with before progressing to more advanced exercises.

Dowel Proficient Forenoon

This is where I get-go anyone I work with to learn proper hip hinging. Learning to hip swivel properly volition ensure you lot tin target your hamstrings during hip hinging exercises. You'll be able to practice exercises similar the deadlift safely.

While this may wait piece of cake, it certainly isn't. And while it won't stress your hamstrings to a keen degree, information technology will prepare you upwards to hitting them hard when yous start loading. Hither'southward how to do it:

With a wooden dowel, place it behind your back, then the dorsum of your head, thoracic spine, and tailbone are touching the towel.
Go along the knees soft (slightly bent) as you button your hips back. Maintain all three points of contact against the dowel during the movement.
Once your hips stop moving dorsum, thrust your hips forward and squeeze your bum.

Romanian Deadlift

You tin progress to the Romanian deadlift in one case y'all've learned the dowel good forenoon, and load the hip hinge. For a beginner, I prefer the Romanaian deadlift over the expert morning as it's easier on the lower back and much easier as a progression. Here's how to do information technology:

Selection the barbell up from the flooring as you would when deadlifting. Keep the knees soft and maintain a big breast with tension in the lats.
Push the hips dorsum while keeping the knees in the same position.
The bar should rails down your leg as you proceed tension in the lats and maintain a big chest. Once your hips stop moving backward, stop and thrust your hips forwards.

The reason to stop once your hips finish moving is to keep the exercise targeted to your hamstrings and glutes. This will result in the barbell just getting to your knee or slightly below. If you get further, your lower back continues the motility, not the hips, so avoid doing this.

Aptitude Leg Isometric Hamstring Bridge

The bent leg isometric hamstring bridge will crusade your hamstrings to cramp if you haven't trained them earlier. It'southward tough! But hands scalable to your current level of forcefulness. Isometric exercises are the forgotten stepchild among muscle building.

But there's excellent research showing isometrics, especially at long muscle lengths, are potent muscle builders ^[2]. Hither's how to do information technology:

Lie flat on your dorsum on the floor. Bend your legs and dig your heels into the ground to elevator your hips off the floor.
Hold this position for 10-20 seconds.

Remember, you tin curve your legs further to make the practise easier. As you become stronger, work your way to almost straight legs.

Lying Leg Curl

The lying leg whorl is a bodybuilding staple. It'south one of the few leg whorl movements y'all tin can load heavy and for high reps. Because yous are stable and locked into the motorcar, it's easy to focus on the hamstrings doing the work. Here's how to practise it:

Set the leg curl, and so the pad is at the lesser of your calves when fully extended.
Gyre the pad, then information technology touches your bum.
Slowly lower the pad until your legs are direct.

Swiss Brawl Leg Curl

The Swiss brawl leg curl is an excellent choice for when you are training hamstrings at domicile. You lot tin can even do it in your living room while watching TV to go those hamstrings popping. Here'due south how to do information technology:

Prevarication on the floor with your heels on the Swiss ball. Bridge then your hips are off the flooring, and there's a straight line from your head to your feet. Proceed your hands on the floor for support.
Maintaining this high hip position, ringlet your heels towards your bum. Slowly straighten your legs back to the starting position.

Seated Leg Ringlet

I adopt the seated leg gyre over the lying leg curl if you have the option of choosing one or the other. Information technology allows you to identify the hamstrings in a more extended stretched position resulting in a stronger musculus-building stimulus. Hither'southward how to do it:

Set the machine up, so your legs are direct at the top. Lean forrad to stretch your hamstrings further.
Roll your feet under your set and slowly return to the starting position.

Assisted Nordic Hamstring Exercise

The Nordic Hamstring Do is a super intense eccentric hamstring exercise. And so intense that doing this as a beginner without help won't provide the do benefits and volition crusade you lot to balk about instantly.

With assistance, it turns into a no equipment leg curl. Information technology works by reducing the bodyweight load as the exercise gets more challenging. Here's how to do it:

Tie a resistance band to a sturdy structure above you. Loop the ring under your armpits. Kneel with your knees on a pad.
Have a partner hold your feet down past pushing on the Achilles tendon.
Lower your chest to the flooring as slowly equally possible while keeping a straight line from your knees to your head.
Push yourself dorsum to the starting position in one case y'all reach the floor.

Hamstring Workout For Beginners

Twenty-four hours one

Do	Set/Rep	Load
A1) Dowel Practiced Morning time	iv x 10	Dowel
B1) Aptitude Leg Isometric Hamstring Bridge	3 x ten sec	Bodyweight
C1) Lying Leg Curl	3 x 12	7 RPE

Day ii

Practise	Set/Rep	Load
A1) Swiss Ball Leg Gyre	4 x 10	Bodyweight
B1) Romanian Deadlift	3 x viii	7 RPE

Summary

Start with the dowel skilful forenoon and automobile leg curl variations as a beginner. Every bit you build some base strength in the hamstrings, yous tin progress to the other exercises on this best hamstring exercises for beginners list.

References

1. Bourne, M. N., Timmins, R. Thousand., Opar, D. A., Pizzari, T., Crimson, J. D., Sims, C., ... & Shield, A. J. (2018). An bear witness-based framework for strengthening exercises to forbid hamstring injury. Sports Medicine, 48(2), 251-267.

2. Oranchuk, D. J., Storey, A. G., Nelson, A. R., & Cronin, J. B. (2019). Isometric grooming and long‐term adaptations: Effects of musculus length, intensity, and intent: A systematic review. Scandinavian journal of medicine & science in sports, 29(4), 484-503.