If you crave the perfect posterior chain then you cannot neglect your hamstrings. The hamstrings are the large muscles in the back of your legs that allow you to pull your ankle up toward your body. The hamstrings play a major role in overall leg strength and fitness. The following are four of the best hamstring exercises you can do from the comfort of your own home with little equipment.
These can be done with minimal space and only require a resistance band to accomplish. Simply wrap the band around your ankle and fasten the other end to a grounded object in your home. Lay on your stomach away from the object you have attached the resistance band to so the band is fully extended but not stretched as yet. Pull your ankle towards your butt and back down again. The tighter the resistance band the harder each repetition will be. Hamstring curls isolate the hamstrings mostly while also working the upper calf muscles. This is a great add-on exercise to the big basic compound exercises like the stiff leg dead lift.
The stiff leg dead lift is a compound exercise that targets the entire posterior chain. It is a must to develop your hamstrings among other muscles.
If you have two dumbbells or a barbell you simply grip or hold shoulder with apart. With your lower back straight and knees slightly bent raise the dumbbells or barbell with weights from the ground and straighten out your frame. Lower the weight back down keeping your back straight throughout the movement. The stiff let dead lift is not only great for your hamstrings but it works the entire back and your glutes. This one is an essential for your workouts at home.
These hamstring poppers are done with or without weights. You simply step forward from a standing position into a lunge with one leg. Go as low as possible without touching your opposite knee to the ground, and come back up to a standing position and repeat with the opposite leg. If you decide to use any free weights to increase resistance you will get faster results.
These can be done virtually anywhere you can lie down with your upper body on the surface and your legs hanging off. You could even put two chairs together and have your legs hang off. Ideally a bench would work perfectly for these. For more resistance you could strap ankle weights on. Lie on your stomach either on a bench or chairs with your legs stooped over the edge at your hips. Hold the bench or chair with your arms for support. Raise your legs up beyond parallel and lower back down. Reverse hyper extensions work the glutes, hamstrings and lower back.
Use these four exercises to compliment your total body workouts at home.
Sign Up For Your FREE Trial Today
RECOMMENDED POSTS: