No matter what lifts i do, i don’t seem to get a lot of mass on the hamstrings. How do the top sprinters do it? This question about hams is to the whole forum. How did Ben get his hams. Were his squats powerlift, but right back or Oly style?
Reverse hypers don’t really give a huge amount of hammy stimulas but are still a great exercise cuase they’re working a lot of the posterior chain without room for cheating the rep. Ben sometimes included a reverse leg press but not as much as his other exercises.
Just as I was about to start incorperating either stiff leg deads or romanian deads somebody goes and posts that they cuase to much shearing force on the spine.
So, what is the best way to get as much ham stimulation in my training as quad stimulation?
a combo of full back squats, clean pulls, RDLs, olylifts, reverse hypers, back extensions and some light box squats have packed on some serious size on my hammies!
Although genetics do help here. But I do a high volume of lifts, which is what you need for mass. Also you want to do your squats fast and really push through the heels to maximally recruit the hams
I’m suprised you mentioned a non-“weightlifting/barbell” exercise. But will glute ham raises improve my sprinting speed? They don’t seem very spacific to me as the stress would seem to be more on the lower than the upper hamstring. That exercise seems more about pulling the lower leg than developing great hip extension strength, as the lower parts of the ham would have more weight to contend with. Correct me if I’m wrong David W. Also David, I know you know a hell of a lot about weightlifting. I haven’t done the weights for nearly 6 months, but I’ve created a routine that i’ll get into. It will comprise of; powercleans & jerks, snatch grip deads, romanian deads(once a weak), and various squats + paw downs.
Charlie says that the cross-section needs to be built in the weightroom with BB methods before it can be built on the track. I imagine that 200m sprints would also contribute to increased cross-section even at early stages, together with the weightroom.
Goose2, it’s also about genes, some ppl have well showing hams some does not… But I think the opportunities of getting strong hams are like the same for everybody…
Pete. That isn’t gospel. Individuals vary, but a deficiency should be addressed away from the sprints as well as in them. Hypers and reverse hypers are a great starting point! (Take it easy on the progressions here as it’s hard to rest your back if you overdo it!)
Max tension in a GHR occurs when the joint is extended. The opposite is true during (none compensatory acceleration) standing movements e.g. deads and squats.
BTW. Gleut Ham Raises should be called Gastroc Ham raises (the gleut actually holds isometrically!)
Originally posted by David W Goose you can’t contract just part of a muscle!
Max tension in a GHR occurs when the joint is extended. The opoosite is true during (none compensatory accleration) standing movements e.g. deads and squats.
BTW. Gleut Ham Raises should be called Gastroc Ham raises (the gleut actually holds isometrically!)
I guess you could say the same thing about reverse hypers and hyperback extensions
Originally posted by David W Goose you can’t contract just part of a muscle!
Max tension in a GHR occurs when the joint is extended. The opoosite is true during (none compensatory accleration) standing movements e.g. deads and squats.
BTW. Gleut Ham Raises should be called Gastroc Ham raises (the gleut actually holds isometrically!)
But don’t the hamstrings have many muscles? Some of those ham muscle tendons seem more attached to the hip and thigh bone, some more attached to top of lower leg etc…,
Think I need an anatomical muscle education on the hammy’s. Or an asperin.
Bodybuilders say to do both curling and extension movements for complete developement of hamstring. (Though I won’t be doing a bodybuilding routine!) But they must have said that for a reason.
It would seem to me that perhaps some of those hamy muscles get more work with some exercises than others.
It would be good if somebody could post
a picture ( a physios type anatomical picture) of the entire posterior chain or atleast from top of hips down to heel.
Lets start by going through the muscles of the hamstrings (someone correct me if I’m wrong this is off the top of my head)
Semimembraneosus
Semitendonosus (named as such because of the long tendon)
Biceps femoris (named as such because of the two heads)
All of these muscles are involved in hip extension because they cross the hip joint and the knee joint (they start (originate) on a tuberosity on the lower, back (lateral posterial) sides of the pelvis(ischial tuberosity), and insert on the top of the tibia and fibula (tibial condyle and styloid process of head of fibula), apart from the short head of the biceps femoris.
I’ll get you a link with some diagrams!!
here’s a nice table (comprehensive!), still looking for diagrams.
I do 3 sets of lying leg curl, 3 sets of stiff leg deads, 3 sets of seated leg curl, and 3 sets of good mornings. Keep the loading so as to get 8 reps or less. My legs currently measure 31". I have pretty equal measure between hams and quads.
Originally posted by idealimage
I do 3 sets of lying leg curl, 3 sets of stiff leg deads, 3 sets of seated leg curl, and 3 sets of good mornings. Keep the loading so as to get 8 reps or less. My legs currently measure 31". I have pretty equal measure between hams and quads.
31 inches, that’s huge! Do you do sprint work aswell? How does your thigh size compare to dwain chambers, what do you reckon his thighs measure. How much of your thigh size comes down to training/preperation/nutrition and how much down to genetics?(roughly)
Goose you can’t contract just part of a muscle!