To Charlie, Clemson and others:
I am looking to add a new piece of strength equipment to my “gym” and am looking at getting either a reverse hyper machine, reverse leg press machine or a glute-ham raise machine. I am on a tight budget so I can only buy 1 piece. Charlie, you had Ben and your other athletes use the reverse leg press, but it also said in the Forum Review that you were big on reverse hypers, which 1 would you recommend? How bout Clemson and others?
I would suggest the GHR. That machine works wonders for hammy strength. I personally find it more useful than the other two (all three are at my gym).
tell us what you have…since in time you may not need the equipment when you have improved that quality.
Squat rack and bench.
Prophet, the GHR is the most versatile of the three. You can perform a variety of lifts on the GHR.
James
bar with up to 200kg of weights and simple straight leg dead lifts
Don’t waste money on a GHR. All you need is a place to lock your feet in and you can perform the exercise. I use the lower padding of a leg extension machine. You could also use a lat pull down machine or lock your feet under a bed.
Check out the link below. Maybe you can use some of the exersices but you will need a partner for some of them.
To take this thread a little further can we discuss the pro’s & cons of each excercise as a training tool for a sprinter specifically.
For instance what makes the GHR such a great posterior chain excercise for a sprinter as the focus of the movement is on knee flexion, it seems to me the reverse hyper would be superior as the focus is then on hip extension using the same main muscle groups but with seemingly more crossover to the sprint action.
I havn’t used either so i have nothing to base my assumptions on apart from observation so i would be interested to know the thoughts/experiences of more experienced members.
Thanks,
Alan.
Good point. I utilize both the GHR and reverse hyper in my training (powerlifting).
What you have failed to state is that the GHR also develops hip extension. The GHR is one of the only training implements that develops the dual function of the hamstrings group-knee flexion/hip extension.
Obviously the reverse hyper is also a tremendous tool for specifically developing hip extension in the truest sense.
Regarding the topic of specificity, what we must first determine is what are the specific weaknesses of the athlete.
Point being, if the given sprinter has never performed a GHR, then you can bet that that particular movement pattern is underdeveloped. Once that sprinter is profficient at perfroming GHR’s than you can bet his times will improve.
The same holds true for the reverse hyper.
From a monetary perspective, the GHR is the most versatile, therefore, the best buy for the buck.
From a sport specific persepective, the topic is debateable, and more specifically, relative to the underdeveloped motor qualities of the athlete.
All this is assuming that the sprint work itself is continuous/systematic/logical/periodized, etc…
James
Thanks guys, what about some opinions from sprinters and sprint coaches…
I would go with the reverse hyper. It’s great on the erectors which is important for core strength and also play a direct part in launching a sprinter out the blocks. Secondly, it builds the hip extensors, and they play the largest role in force production when it comes to sprinting.
"I am on a tight budget so I can only buy 1 piece. "
sure…but is this for you or a team (who’s money and who is it for).
I would reinvest the money into therapy if you are in college.
It is for me and it is with my money. Do you think I should spend it on therapy? I’m not sure that there’s anyone I can regularly access that is worth investing in. I would really like to increase the size and strength of my hamstrings (and glutes) as they appear to be lacking relatively compared to other muscle groups (erector spinae are pretty big!).
I think bands are good value for money as an additional piece of gym equipment. They are admittedly not really aimed at glute/ham development apart from:
But they are very versatile: they are an effective way of using accomodating restistance in a lot max strength excercises, they are handy for aiding stretching routines, and they can be used for conditioning excercises or as a tempo alternative if needed.
Alan.
We have 2 for GHR, 1 for reverse hyper and 1 for therapy… anyone else??
I vote GHR as well 
Prophet…what about current status of city and performance times…thanks.
Reverse hyper. Lumbar erectors and glutes are more important than hamstrings.
Have you got bands?