The Glute Ham Raise is Overrated …
Does the glute ham raise place excessive force and demand on the knee flexion of the hamstrings and gastroc rather than on hip extension where it is needed most?
Is it an overhyped exercise in weightlifting and strength training cynically aimed at profiting?
Discuss …
Well, I have never been able to do them without serious cramps and i have seen many people strain thier hamstrings while trying to do them. I prefer reverse hypers and normal hypers.
I have never did nor GHR nor reverse hyper, because no body heard about them in Serbia!!!
I used to do ordinary hypers, but I feel awkward doing them… something bothers me… So instead I do RDLs, and I give a lot of RDLs instead of hypers to the athletes I work with (still small number 
). Back bridges, backbridges on the ball, etc can be also done, but I use them in warm-up…
Anyway, isn’t reverse hyper, GHR and hyper under the class of MACHINES??
I agree. I don’t see where all of this hip extension is coming from that people refer to–it has some, but not nearly as much as the knee flexion. I think it is a good exercise, but not some end all be all of hamstring exercises. If you had to buy the equipment, there are better things you could spend your money on, in my opinion.
Yes, on good bars and power rack and instead do RDLs and back bridges… 
we need to distinguish between a ghr and a ghr bench. a ghr is a great exercise to strengthen the hamstring complex and does train hip extension but statically. if you can do them properly then your hamstrings are like steal cables. ghr on a bench are hands down the best excercise to build a strong hip extension movement. it trains the posterior chain in a manner that is specific to athletics (sprinting jumping ect.) if you are experiencing strains or pains from performing them that should tell you something about your hamstring strength. the contention that is a machine is misplaced. the problem with machines is that they lock the body into a preset pattern of movement and therefor promote incorect neurological patterns.
this is not the case with the ghr bench which simply provides a means to facilitate the desired movement.
James raises a good point.
A ‘natural’ GHR and GHR performed on a machine are actually pretty different.
yes but both valid means of training.
This agreeing with each other has to stop
what is the difference btw GHR and GHR bench? Any pics, links etc…?
BTW, no pains no strains, just I don’t like doing hypers…
I work out in a gym that has a GHR bench. I still don’t see that much more hip extension work. In a static sense, yeah probably, but not that much. The knee flexing is by far the hardest part.
ok did a little leg work here is an animation of a ghr on a bench
and a link to our good friend adam performing a manual ghr (the first excercise on the video)
http://www.arpprogram.com/resources/video/archuleta_freak.html
if its not built properly and it most likly isnt (simply becasue a lot of the ghr benches on the market arent) then you wont be training hip extension like you should. if you perform the excercise properly on the proper bench then you will be training the hamstrings in a biarticular manner. the hip extension component is easlity seen from wher you body goes from perpendicualr to perpendicular.
Aha… thanks!
We did “natural” GHR at faculty… it was paintfull to knee cap…
proper padding in the right place is a must
So strength training of knee flexion is needed for the recovery phase of the stride then? Didn’t know that.
just because hip extension is the prime mover in the sprint it does not negate the importance of knee flexion.
Why’s that, James? How do you mean this, training-wise?
Thanks!
I do not want to speak for James, but although the hamstrings acting as hip extensors is vital to athletics (and functional life for that matter), it is also just as vital to strengthen the hamstrings distally too, via knee flexion work.
This does not mean forget a back extension, reverse hyper, et cetera, but rather the hamstrings should be strengthened through a number of actions, involving both extension of the hip and flexion of the knee.
I realize this post has little to do with the initial thread concerning the glute-ham raise, but I thought I would just chip in…
BTW, if the glute-ham raise is not for you, there are banded leg curls, physioball supine hip extension/leg curl, and so on. So many exercises, so little time.
i believe in traininf movements not muscles the ghr bench allows a person to train athletic applicable movements. getting the most out of your body doesnt stop in the gym or track. most people need to address things as simple as how they stand. but anyway ghr and ghr on a bench CAN be very complete in training the hamstring and hip extension complex.