no i dont. i usually do both hip extension and knee flexor in the same workout.
the glutes still play a major roll in the movement.
The best alternative for this would be RDL’s as Duxx says IMO. Anybody else?
gh over rdl. why not use both?
throughout high school i used the lat pull down machine for GHR
but when i went to university the exercise was totally diff on an actual GHR machine,
seemed to hit the hamstrings totally diff…ill never go back to the natural version unless i have no choice.
Agreed James! One difference that stands out with doing them on the Lat machine is simply having no foot plate to push the toes into and hence the overwhelming feeling that flexion is the main action in this particular version.
i may not be getting this aross to those of you who havent done both excercises. they are two completly different excercises. are the same muscles involved yes but as athlets we shouldnt strive to train muscles but to train the neurological component of athletic ablity. so the neurological programming will be different for each excercise they both are important and useful but you must know when to use them. and its not as simple as saying its becasue there is a foot plate. the ghr bench was designed by some very smart people wilth a strong background in biomechanics and kinesiology. its made very very specifically to be used in a very specific manner to produce a very specific result.
Hi James,
For the most part I agree with you here, but I guess I was referring to Davan’s question about feeling the flexion more with the lat machine version. That is why I mentioned the footplate. And I utilize the G/H/R quite a bit for myself and the athletes I work with. However, since you mentioned the bench being designed in a specific manner to produce a specific result, I would refer back and highlight your point about neurological programming. Would it be fair to say that it is not the exercise per say, but rather all of the other variables that make up the programming that achieve the result? G/H/R’s or G/H/R benches are simply one of many exercises or tools to achieve whatever result you are after. Speed of movement, technique, reps, sets, iso-versions, reactive versions, different types of resistance like bands, med balls etc. etc. cannot be underestimated (not saying that you underestimate, just pointing it out).
Like you said, know when to use them.
aside from GHR and RDLs, how usefull would coventional leg curls, good mornings, and single legged hypers be?
they all could play a role, in the summer and early fall i use negative leg curls.
yes they are all tools to be used and depending on how you perform them they can become more specific to your goals in training.l i find it funny that almost every training program you se reccomends a number of sets and reps, but nothing considers speed of movement, acceleration, an isometric-dynamic method, alititude drop. there are so many mehtods out there and yet people argue about how to organize the sets and reps for a russian squat program. its pretty funny its like platos republic with the alegory of the cave, people live in a cave and all they know is the shadows reflected on the wall from the light at the cave entrance. they dont know that there is a source to those sahdows and a whole big world outside of the cave. and then when someone leaves the cave sees the world and comes back to tell them its heresy and they kill him. there is so much availble in training than sets reps and % of 1rm.
if your straped for equipment natural ghr are always availible and good mornings and single legged hypers are good way to train hip extension., if you dont have a ghr bench. id stay away from leg curls if possible. the neurological programming can be negative if used chronically.
Im sorry, i said that wrong - i meant flexor of the knee.
The majority of the exercise as posted in that gif is just knee flexion with a bit of a hyper at the end. Way too much emphasis on knee flexion for my liking. Add that to the fact that benchs are rare and expensive then i’ll be leaving the ghr go.
When do you think you are ready to do an exercise like this? I would have thought a 110kg clean would’ve had me ready for it? It seems like an exercise that requires such prep work before you can even begin it isnt worth it.
Or maybe is it that im weak at knee flexion of the hams? Interesting.
Anyway i’ll stick to bulgarians and OL pulls with some leg curls for a while and maybe try ghr again later in the year
Oh and its bad form to laugh at people.
The main objective for the hamstrings is that they should be worked while keeping a straight leg. In a GHR, the most force is generated while the leg is straight therefore the exercise should be fairly useful.
the ghr on a proper bench is probably the best excercise for hamstring glute recruitment in the sprint. perform a natural ghr and you will see the difference and what knee flexion really is. performing compound olympic lifts may not recruit your hamstrings properly simply because its a movement which allows for a lot of motor control plasticity. so maybe thats the reason that you hamstrings couldnt handel the load. and you dont have to do prep work to do them you just need to know how much you can do. if you want to run fast jump high squat big then the ghr on a PROPER bench (i cant stress that enough) is porbably one of the best if not the best excercise to perform. if i had an athlete and could only have them do one excercise it would be the ghr raise on a proper bench, not a squat, not a olympic lift, not a deadlift.
u r going to far now, i wouldnt put it over squats and ol.
wut do squat train, what do ol train? what movement is the main propellent in the sprint? saying that the squat may not be the best thing to train the legs is heresy. but all to often heresy breaks old and out dated tradtions.
Didnt wanna highjack the thread so I started something kinda talking about movement and squat in the advanced sprint training if you guys could contribute and help out
There’s lots of different forms of squat of course but my preferred squat is the half squat where i try to recruit my hamstrings as much as possible (ie sit back - or box squat).
And the movement that generates most speed in the sprint is hip/ham extension.
For me that type of squat above mirrors fairly closely the movement done in a sprint. Do you not agree? I dont do squats just because its tradition. I do them because they work for me and im progressing. If i wasnt progressing then id relook at my program and see.
Another favourite of charlies is the reverse leg press. Well this is another hard to find piece of equipment so i do bulgarian squats instead. Again im finding that this helps me improve also.
Saying that i do recognise that the ghr is a great exercise and id use it for a period if i could. I wouldnt put it above squats though.
Note - I find that unless i keep up my plyo’s & bounding & jumps & med ball work & especially sprints and tempo, the extra strength gained from squats is useless to me. I become tight and “heavy” feeling.
Whether its true or not, i believe that strength is turned into power / speed by plyo’s and medball work.
you believe that a squat mirrors hip extension as it occurs in the sprint!!! lol most people dont properly recruit their hamstrings in the squat if you do good for you but … ok i reccomend that some of you guys pick up a book on kinesiology.