3 STEPS TO BUILD YOUR HAMSTRING STRENGTH

Of all the muscles in the body, I think the hamstrings might be the most under-developed muscle group of the lower body (along with the abdominals and upper back/lats), yet it might be the most important muscle group for preserving knee health.  On top of being important for general health, the hamstrings are extremely valuable in athletics (ex. Running, jumping).  Some of the most common injuries in sports include hamstring strains and ACL injuries, both of which could potentially be avoided (in many cases) with improved hamstring strength.

If this has you motivated to build unbelievably strong hamstrings, here are three steps to accomplish that:

1. Higher intensity, lower repetition sets for more sets, with adequate rest periods.

2. Eccentric training.

3. Varying your foot positions.

For you to understand why I’ve recommended these three steps, let’s take a brief dive into the anatomy of the hamstrings.

Hamstring Anatomy

We always talk about the hamstring as if it was a single muscle, while in fact it is a GROUP of muscles (similar to the quadriceps).  There are three muscles that make up the hamstring:

               Semimembranosus

               Semitendinosus

               Bicep Femoris

The muscles of the hamstring cross two joints, the hip and knee, thus acting as both knee flexors (ex. Leg Curl) and as hip extensors (ex. Glute Bridge).  One very interesting aspect of the hamstring muscles is that they actually insert on the tibia (lower leg), and the calf muscle (gastrocnemius) attaches to the femur (upper leg).  If you look at the diagram, what you can see is that the muscles crossover each other to provide stability to the knee (this why training your calves is also important for knee health, not just aesthetics).  The level at which the gastrocnemius helps with stability of the knee depends on the foot position.  Finally, the hamstring is also primarily made of higher threshold Type 2 fibers (Fast Twitch), which is an important factor when determining how to load the hamstrings to build strength.

Higher Intensity Training

As I just mentioned, the hamstrings have a great proportion of Fast Twitch muscle fibers and this determines the type of loading hamstrings respond better to.  Fast twitch fibers differentiate themselves from Slow Twitch fibers in the following way:

Fast Twitch – Fatigue easily, higher threshold activation (require greater tension and load for activation), produce large amounts of force.

Slow Twitch – Fatigue resistance, lower threshold activation, postural rather than force producing function.

With the properties of Fast Twitch fibers in mind, hamstrings respond better to higher intensity/loading and being placed under a great degree of mechanical tension.  Because of this, I recommend training the hamstrings with lower repetitions and with an eccentric component (will cover this next).  In order to get an adequate amount of volume (total repetitions), perform many sets.  Finally, since they are not resistant to fatigue, allow an adequate amount of rest between sets for the hamstrings to recover.  This will ensure that each set is done with a high load, therefore creating a strong stimulus for the hamstrings to build from.

This being said, I am NOT against higher repetition sets.  As I said earlier, the hamstrings are a knee flexor AND a hip extensor.  Training the hamstrings as a hip extensor is also very important.  However, because other muscles, such as the glutes and lower back, also contribute to hip extension and respond better to higher repetition sets (in my opinion), I typically recommend training hip extension with more repetitions. 

If we were to look at total volume distribution of hamstring work, I would say roughly 2/3 of the work is done on knee flexion and 1/3 done on hip extension.  Performing a deadlift variation already takes care of some hip extension volume so there is no need to include more some more in the accessories.

In a weekly plan, it may look like the following:

Eccentric Training

Eccentric training is one of the most under-rated training methods currently used.  The vast majority of athletes lack eccentric strength and could benefit from training it, especially when it comes to the hamstrings.  The reason being is the same as why hamstrings respond better to lower repetition sets on knee flexor exercises – Eccentric training preferentially recruits the Fast Twitch fibers through greater tension on the muscle fibers.

Contrary to what many believe (as did I for a long time), eccentric training does NOT increase motor unit activation.  In fact, there is a DECREASE in activation.  However, because the load is the same on the eccentric portion, this means there is a GREATER LOAD placed on the recruited fibers.  Let me explain this more clearly with an example because it’s an extremely important bit of information and demonstrates the effectiveness of eccentric training.

Imagine we are performing a Leg Curl with 100lbs and on the concentric, we activate 100 motor units.  That equates to 1lb per motor unit.  Now, on the eccentric portion, only 50 motor units are recruited (I chose 50 just for simplicity’s sake).  Don’t forget though, the weight is still 100lbs.  This equates to 2lbs placed on each motor unit and its respective muscle fibers.  By slowing down the tempo on the eccentric portion, the muscle fibers are subjected to a great deal of tension and overload, creating a great stimulus for building strength (and muscle).

Here is an example of a progression I may use with an athlete to build their eccentric hamstring strength.

               Lying Leg Curl – Plantarflexed

               Lying Leg Curl – 2:1

               Glute Ham Raise – Accentuated Eccentric

               Nordic Hamstring Curl – Eccentric Only

               Nordic Hamstring Curl – Band Assisted

Varying Foot Positions

The little details matter when it comes to planning a training program.  Simply by changing your foot position, the angle of the bench, the height of the cable, you are altering how the exercise loads the muscles you are training.

As mentioned earlier, the hamstrings are made up of three different muscles.  A lack in strength of either one of them can make someone prone to injury so we must think about strengthening all three muscles.  Although they are all active during hamstring exercises, changing your foot position can bias a specific muscle more so than the others. The following foot positions and their bias towards a specific hamstring muscle are listed below:

*Tip – To determine which position you should use, film yourself from the back while doing heavy Lying Leg Curls.  You will most likely notice your feet naturally turn to a position they are strongest to in order to lift the weight.  Take note, then spend some time training the other positions to make sure there is more of a strength balance between the three muscles.

The final foot alteration that can affect how the hamstrings are trained is whether they are plantarflexed (toes pointed forwards – as if on the tips of your toes) or dorsiflexed (toes pointed up – as if on your heels).  These two positions change the magnitude at which the gastrocnemius (calf) helps stabilize the knee.  With plantarflexion, you are essentially taking the gastrocnemius out, placing a much greater demand on the hamstrings than had the foot been in dorsiflexion.

               Plantarflexed (toes pointed forward) – Less calf, more hamstring.

               Dorsiflexed (toes pointed up) – More calf, less hamstring.

With all of this in mind, there are TONS of ways to train your hamstrings, with different rep schemes, foot positions, tempos, etc.  The key principles to remember when trying to develop strong hamstrings are:

1. More sets for lower repetition with longer rest periods.

2. Train the hamstrings eccentrically.

3. Vary your foot positions.

Train hard folks.

Coach Max