List Of The Best Bodyweight Hamstring Exercises
The hamstrings are quite a vital muscle group and generally more difficult to target than the quads. Both quads & hamstrings are also known as "anti-gravity muscles," as their primary function is to put force onto the floor.
You are going to need strong hamstrings for vertical & horizontal jumping, but also as a runner & sprinter, the hamstrings are the most important muscle when it comes to pushing your body forward with your legs!
The Exercises:
If you are trying to get big hamstring or want to increase the strength of your hamstrings, you should take a look at this list.
You are going to find all bodyweight exercises to train your hamstrings for all levels & the tools on how to adjust their difficulty individually.
Further down below, you are going to find a hamstring workout, integrating some of the exercises of the list.
Good Morning
Stand on both legs and have them slightly bent. Now lower your upper body down in control, while keeping your legs bent by a little bit. Move up again & repeat the exercise.
"Good Mornings" are quite easy, which makes them an excellent choice for beginners.
Romanian Deadlift
Start by standing on one leg while having it nearly straight. Now slowly move your upper body towards the floor while the other leg stays in alignment with your upper body. Try to go all the way down so that you touch the floor and slowly go up again.
The entire exercise has to be done slowly & controlled while focusing on keeping your knee stable.
Standing Ham Curl
Start by standing on both legs with an upright posture. Shift your weight onto one leg and slowly bend your knee until your foot touches your bottom. Squeeze your hamstrings at the top of the motion and slowly lower your leg down again.
Since the exercise can be quite easy, you should try to add an elastic band, by standing on it with your ground foot. Strap your other foot into the elastic band and perform the same exercise.
Lying Ham Curl
The laying ham-curl is performed the same way as the standing ham curl, while only using one leg at a time. Use a short elastic band to make the exercise more challenging.
Crab Walking
Start by sitting down; then move your hands behind your ass and lift it up. It is important that your hips aren't bent at all. Then start to walk by bending your knees. This exercise will work your hamstrings, glutes & hip flexors at the same time.
Back Extension
To perform a back extension, you are going to need a low edge/partner or a back extension machine to lock your feet in place. Slowly lower yourself down as far as you can go and then lift your upper body as far up as you can. The exercise works both on your hamstrings & lower back.
Elevated Glute Bridge
Place both your legs onto a chair/box at knee height. Lay on your upper back, with your arms on the floor. Now push your hips up until you are in a straight position. Hold the position for 1-2 sec and then slowly lower your hips down again.
Reverse Lunge
Instead of stepping forward, you are going to take a big step backward from a regular stance. Perform a lunge and go back to a regular stand to perform the exercise on the other leg.
Nordic Ham Curl
One of the most effective but also most challenging hamstring exercises is the Nordic Ham Curl. Use a partner or an object to lock your feet in place while being on your knees.
Now start to lower down your upper body (slowly!) while keeping your hamstrings and upper body in alignment if possible.
Once you can't go further down with only the power of your hamstrings, you can catch yourself with your arms and also use your arms to push yourself up a little bit.
Go back to the starting position by contracting your hamstrings in a controlled manner.
Adjusting The Difficulty:
The best way to adjust the difficulty of an exercise is by adding external resistance. Use an elastic band for the glute bridge or wear a weight vest while doing crab walks to make the tasks harder.
Some of the exercises can be done on one leg instead, as the Romanian Deadlift is basically similar to the Good Morning exercise but with only one leg.
Alternatively, you can adjust the angle of the exercise; by doing a glute bridge on the floor instead of having your feet elevated, it is going to be easier to do for your hamstrings.
Hamstring Workout:
In all three workouts, you are going to rest for 60-90 seconds between each exercise before moving to the next exercise. Once you've done all four exercises, you start from the top again until you did 3 rounds.
Beginner
10x Good Morning
10x Back Extensions
10m of Crab Walking
10x Regular Glute Bridge
- Repeat 3x
Intermediate
10x Romanian Deadlift
15m of Crab Walking
10x Standing Ham Curl + Elastic Band
10x Reverse Lunges (10 each leg!)
- Repeat 3x
Advanced
6-8x Nordic Ham Curls
10x Elevated Single Leg Glute Bridge
10x Back Extension + Weights (Heavy Backpack etc.)
20m Crab walking
- Repeat 3x
Conclusion:
Many people think that you can't train your hamstrings without using weights or specific machines. But with a little bit of creativity, you can do quite challenging workouts.
But if you are planning to go more advanced, you will still need a partner or something to keep your feet in place to be able to do nordic ham curls or back extensions.
Feel free to share this article with your friends if they might find it helpful. Also, leave a comment below if you've got any exercise suggestions or questions about strengthening your hamstrings!
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