Hammering The Hamstrings Into Growth


Whether out of ignorance or neglect, exercise enthusiasts have ignored the importance, of necessary muscular development of their leg biceps. Why you might ask? Well when modern bodybuilding was new, you could see that the muscles swelled especially the ones that could be seen easily. The adage “out of site out of mind” most certainly applied with those bodybuilders of that era. You see back then, the backs of the thighs were about as distant as the other side of the moon. In a nutshell what happened was that bodybuilders didn’t see the hamstrings so therefore they didn’t work them. Then as time has progressed the muscle standards continued to improve. They may not be the most glamorous body part, but a set of powerful hamstrings will catch notice. Today, hamstrings remain a source of muscular prowess, noted and rewarded by contemporary contest judges.

Like the triceps, the leg biceps play a major part in a wide variety of poses. When you do a side-chest or triceps shot, the sweep of the leg biceps is very evident. In any back shot, powerful and defined rear delts, traps, and lats will not compensate for underdeveloped leg biceps. Seen from the back, development of the distinct heads of the leg biceps, along with ripped and developed calves, are needed to create a balance to the muscularity of the back, shoulders, and arms displayed in poses like a rear double- biceps or rear lat spread. Thorough out the course of time we are seeing more and more examples of striated and even cross-striated leg biceps, something that didn’t happen years ago. A properly developed leg biceps leaves a distinct line separating the back of the leg from the front of the thigh when seen from the side, and is a sure indication of a bodybuilder who has really succeeded in achieving quality leg training.

I proved how one could be rewarded for hamstrings in the first competitive natural bodybuilding show that I competed in. Despite that I made the mistake of turning towards the judges in the wrong direction when doing the pose for the hamstrings. My hamstring development still attracted the attention of the judges and audience members alike. While I was in the elevator before the last individual round for both novice and open classes I received praise. A lady who was apparently a fitness competitor and wife of a long time natural bodybuilder was quite impressed with my hamstrings. She said, “you have the best hamstrings of any one competing here today” that is no small statement considering the number of competitors that were in the show. She went on to say how important it was for me to practice the posing more for them. So I could of course more properly display them instead of making the mistake of posing wrong.

At the end of the night when the show had ended I chose to speak with just one judge based on limited time before I had to go. So that way I could receive feed back on my performance in the show. He too also had positive comments about my hamstring development. My lower body development in general was out of proportion compared to my smaller upper body development. He said that my lower body was awesome. Much like the fitness competitor had he recommended improved posing. We also talked about widening my stance during posing when I compete again among other improvements I could make. Although the time spent talking to these two people was brief it was beneficial. The years of experience they have had combined observing bodybuilding shows tells it all. Not to speak of their thoughts being more neutral since we didn’t know each other at all before meeting at the show.

So when stimulating their development, therefore, think of the leg biceps as a larger than life arm biceps. So large, in fact, that limiting their development to a partial, motion or singular training stimulation will only serve to undermine their potential. That’s why there was a lack of muscular development with bodybuilders during years past with hamstring development. Too many body builders didn’t make a great enough effort to continue to challenge the hamstrings in different ways. The leg curling movements are the common strategy used to work the hamstrings. There are other movements that will prove successful for bodybuilders. Like the stifflegged deadlift and uphill sprinting, which serves to act like a fat hook upon which to snag the hamstrings. Granted, leg curling will work wonders, but there’s something about a sprinter’s hamstring development that puts conventional apparatus to shame.

So of course you want to start with a general warm up with cardio to get the blood flowing and the sweat going. Since the hamstrings come replete with kinks, sprains and pulls, you must uncoil their tough, fibrous bands by stretching before, during and after exercise. This practice causes much tissue pliability and flowing blood, which will ensure you receive a pump so super it’s unparalleled. But since this muscle also comes into play in Squats and Lunges, especially as you work through the lower half of the range of motion. The amount of specific warm up you chose would depend on if you train your quadriceps before hamstrings. This list of movements can be used to devise a program that will shock the hamstrings. When you feel you have gotten challenged by a movement take another from the list and put it in its place. Even when you vary the program, leave one fundamental free weight exercise in the training.

Since hamstring training is demanding, conditioning is an important factor. Just doing the sprinting up the hill, barbell stiff-legged deadlifts, and lying leg curls once a week could be enough depending on previous training experience. After awhile, when you have become stronger and more conditioned the total efforts will need to steadily increase in intensity. Remember that all the exercises detailed in this program are important for continued hamstring development success. Doing more exercises, doing the exercises in a different order, continually using more weight, or doing more reps with the same weight. Since the hamstrings have a tremendous capacity for endurance, continually striving to exhaust all the muscle fiber available is ideal. The more you can shock this important muscle, the more development you can expect to see. Pushing the hamstrings to development requires a mixture of courage, technique, and imagination.