Strong Hamstrings are essential for Crossfitters. As a large two-joint muscle (hamstrings attach to both the hip and the knee) they have a lot of influence on how you move. If they’re not functioning correctly due to inflexibility, the slack will be picked up by your quads and pelvis, which ultimately leads to lower scores or even injury.
The posterior chain is simply the backside of your body and its primary muscles include the lower back, gluteus maximus, hamstrings, and calves. This area is often ignored and misunderstood. Many people sit for 8-10 hours per day. Because of the seated position the quadriceps become short and tight and even impeed the glutes.
Strong Hamstrings – Make Sure to Stretch
The most important part of well developed Hamstrings is to stretch them.
PNF (Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation) stretching is a very effective method. It works on the stretch reflex by contracting and relaxing muscles throughout the stretch to increase range of motion. Lay down so it will help to eliminate the pelvic tilt without much effort required.
Start by lying on your back and loop a towel, resistance band, rope, your hands etc. around one leg, extend it as straight as possible, as close to 90 degrees as you can before your hips begin to tuck.
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Push your leg away from the band at around 25% effort, as if trying to lower it back down, engaging your hamstrings and some quad strength for around 5-10 seconds.
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Relax your leg quickly.
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Using this relaxation as a stretching aid, stretch the straight leg up further towards your body as you relax using your leg muscles and assistance from the band.
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Build Strong Hamstrings with the Romanian Deadlift
- Hold a bar at hip level with a pronated (palms facing down) grip. Your shoulders should be back, your back arched, and your knees slightly bent. This will be your starting position.
- Lower the bar by moving your butt back as far as you can. Keep the bar close to your body, your head looking forward, and your shoulders back. Done correctly, you should reach the maximum range of your hamstring flexibility just below the knee. Any further movement will be compensation and should be avoided for this movement.
- At the bottom of your range of motion, return the starting position by driving the hips forward to stand up tall.
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Good Morning
- Begin with a bar on a rack at shoulder height. Rack the bar across the rear of your shoulders as you would a power squat, not on top of your shoulders. Keep your back tight, shoulder blades pinched together, and your knees slightly bent. Step back from the rack.
- Begin by bending at the hips, moving them back as you bend over to near parallel. Keep your back arched and your cervical spine in proper alignment.
- Reverse the motion by extending through the hips with your glutes and hamstrings. Continue until you have returned to the starting position.
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Build Strong Hamstrings – Hip Bridge
- Lie face up on the floor, with your knees bent and feet flat on the ground. Keep your arms at your side with your palms down.
- Lift your hips off the ground until your knees, hips and shoulders form a straight line. Squeeze those glutes hard and keep your abs drawn in so you don’t overextend your back during the exercise.
- Hold your bridged position for a couple of seconds before easing back down.
- Make it more and more challening by putting your feet wider and wider apart. The hardest way is to put your feet on a movable platform, like a ball or a soft floor mat. Pull your legs slowly into your direction.
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Nordic Ham Curl
This one is a killer.
Be careful as this is not a Beginner exercise.
- Setup with your hips extended and torso upright. Your feet have to be stable by either weight or a Training partner.
- Keep your hips extended, begin to lower yourself as slowly as possible until you can no longer control the descent.
- At this point, allow yourself to fall to the floor in a controlled fashion and “catch” yourself with your arms.
- Give yourself just enough of a push off the floor to get back into a position where you can pull yourself back to the start using your hamstrings.
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GHD
Surprise Surprise. To develop the Glutes and build strong hamstrings you can use the Glute Ham Developer — GHD.
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Weak Hamstrings – Single Leg Deadlift
The Single Leg Deadlift is a powerful exercise which isolates out one leg in the deadlift process. It requires balance and focuses work on the hamstrings, glutes and lower back. This is a great core exercise that will also help to strengthen the posterior chain.
