Strong Hamstrings Make Strong Skaters:
Five Exercises to Strengthen your Hamstrings
It’s no secret that strong hamstrings make strong skaters. These five exercises are a proven ways to strengthen your hamstrings. You can work them in to your workout as a main movement at the beginning of your workout or a supplementary movement at the end of your workout.
Close Stance Good Mornings
Close stance good mornings are one of the best exercises to build your hamstring, glute and lower back strength.They will brings up your strength and increase your size. These good mornings can be performed as a main movement in your workout or as a supplementary movement after your main movement.
To perform this exercise, place the bar on your upper back just as you would when performing a squat. Set up with a shoulder width stance and push your hips back a few inches. Slightly bend your knees while pushing your hips back and keeping tension on your hamstrings. Bend at the hips and lower the weight until your upper body at at about 25 degrees to the floor. Reverse direction and push the weight back up.
Sumo Good Mornings
This exercise is very similar to a close stance good morning. The difference is that a sumo good morning will strengthen your hamstrings and glutes while putting less pressure on your lower back. This exercise can be used as a main movement on your workout or performed as a supplementary movement at the end of your workout.
Set up under the bar like you would when setting up to squat. Unrack the bar and set up with a stance that is a few inches wider than shoulder width. Push your hips back a few inches and slightly bend your knees. Then bend at the hips until your upper body is at about 25 degrees to the floor while keeping tension on your hamstrings. Reverse direction and stand up. It is import to not lower your butt once you have pushed back your hips at the beginning of the movement.
Romanian Deadlifts
Romanian deadlifts are great way of bringing up your weak hamstrings. This exercise should be done as a supplementary movement after your main exercise sets of 8-12 reps with moderate weight.
To perform this exercise, set up like you would for a regular deadlift. Lift the weight and slowly lower it until the weight is a few inches from the ground. Reverse direction and perform another rep. Don’t strain too much, keep your back straight, and keep tension on your hamstrings during the entire movement.
Glute Ham Raises
This exercise strengthens the glutes, hamstrings, and calves all in one movement. Begin the exercise in a horizontal position and use your glutes to raise your body. After your body has been slightly raised, your hamstrings will take over and will finish the exercise. It is important to push your toes against the back plate and to control the lowering part of the.
This exercise should be very difficult for the beginner. A beginner should be able to grind out a few reps before being exhausted. If you’re busting out effortless sets of 15 reps, you’re doing it wrong. It is best to do this exercise at the beginning of your workout as a warmup or at the end of your workout.
Reverse Hypers
Reverse hypers are a great exercise for strengthening you entire posterior chains. This exercise strengthens your hamstrings, glutes, and lower back. It is doubtful that your gym will have one of these machines, I have only ever seen one gym that had a reverse hyper, but if you’re lucky enough to find one of these amchines then use it as much as you possibly can.
To perform this exercise, load the machine with weight. Don’t go overboard thinking that you’re the Incredible Hulk. Start small and feel out a comfortable weight. Swing the weight back and forth and try to hold it at the top of each swing (you won’t be able to). Do 3-5 sets of 10-15 reps before your workout or at the end of your workout (this exercise can be done before or after your workout).
