[quote]krazykoukides wrote:
A tip for fellow shorter lifters:
If you aren’t feeling anything from RDLs or SLDLs:
Try standing on 25lb plates to increase the range of motion.
I just recently started ‘feeling’ my hamstrings much more with SLDLs because I increased the range of motion.
Of course… the 45lb plates are taller than my calves I’m pretty sure! lol![/quote]
When you’re doing these are you maintaining a tight arch in your lower back, pushing your hips back and only going down as far as you can maintain your arch? I’ve noticed a lot of people stand on steps/boxes/plates and do sldl’s/rdl’s and at the bottom position have no arch or worse yet start to round. Most people don’t have the flexibility to go too much past their knees with the barbell without losing the arch and once you do that you’re using more low back and less hamstring. You don’t need to go down as far as you think to really blast the hamstrings, that is unless you’re a gymnast or as flexible as one.[/quote]
I agree, the more of an arch you have during the RDL the more your hamstrings are activated. I think it was Bret Contreras that found this with his EMG tests. Also push your butt back as far as you can as opposed to just lowering the weight in front of your body. Imagine your are standing in front of a wall and trying to touch the wall with your butt. If you do this you shouldn’t need to use the extra plates to increase the ROM.
Also have any of you guys tried back extensions for hamstrings they give you a great pump. If you don’t feel them in the hamstrings initially try bending your knees so that your stomch comes off the pad and aqueeze your glutes as hard as you can when you are a bit past parallel.
[quote]Pat_Butcher wrote:
Akuma, im a n00b when it comes to this bodybuilding thing and i wondered if you could give me some pointers on how to see whether hamstrings are lagging in comparison to quads maybe with pictures of someone with good hamstrings in comparison to poor? Also felt this thread should be bumped[/quote]
Hamstrings can be thought of as the bicep of the leg. in that regards, having them about 1/3 or even 1/2 the size of the quads (looking from a side leg shot) would be a good size to shoot for. At the early levels, say a level in where you dont even have separation between the quad/ham, i honestly couldnt tell you how to tell if you are on the right track. You just have to ensure that you are hitting the hamstring sufficiently. As i stated in the OP, no, 1 compound movement is not enough for the ham, and no, 1 compound + 1 isolation is not enough. it deserves your full attention. I personally do 1 compound, + 2-3 Ham focused movements. Other than that, its just a game of YOU playing. Keep pushing, push hard and push smart, and your endeavors will be rewarded. [/quote]
Not to mention hamstrings are one of those muscle groups that nearly everyone person is lacking, even most of the pro’s don’t have hamstrings up to par with their quads.
Point being, never operate under the assumption that your hamstrings are big or aren’t lagging because they are.
[quote]Pat_Butcher wrote:
Akuma, im a n00b when it comes to this bodybuilding thing and i wondered if you could give me some pointers on how to see whether hamstrings are lagging in comparison to quads maybe with pictures of someone with good hamstrings in comparison to poor? Also felt this thread should be bumped[/quote]
Hamstrings can be thought of as the bicep of the leg. in that regards, having them about 1/3 or even 1/2 the size of the quads (looking from a side leg shot) would be a good size to shoot for. At the early levels, say a level in where you dont even have separation between the quad/ham, i honestly couldnt tell you how to tell if you are on the right track. You just have to ensure that you are hitting the hamstring sufficiently. As i stated in the OP, no, 1 compound movement is not enough for the ham, and no, 1 compound + 1 isolation is not enough. it deserves your full attention. I personally do 1 compound, + 2-3 Ham focused movements. Other than that, its just a game of YOU playing. Keep pushing, push hard and push smart, and your endeavors will be rewarded. [/quote]
Not to mention hamstrings are one of those muscle groups that nearly everyone person is lacking, even most of the pro’s don’t have hamstrings up to par with their quads.
Point being, never operate under the assumption that your hamstrings are big or aren’t lagging because they are.[/quote]
True story. Im actually in the process of taking a session every 2 weeks or so where i do major Hamstring focus (major hamstring focus as in More so than usual, sometime that cant be done weekly). Hopefully this will make my hams a major factor in my physique down the road.
I’m a big fan of training hamstrings on their own day separate from quads with high volume. I’m surprised more people don’t do this. Hams are starting to become a standout body part as a result.
I’ve been doing this for a while now. My hamstring (or deadlift sessions if you like) look like this:
Podium deadlift the first 3 weeks, regular deadlift the next 3 weeks: Low rep ramping.
Romanian deadlift: 4x5
Natural glute ham raise: 2 sets with body weight (I recently did 2x10 with full ROM and relative strict technique)
Leg curl: 2 sets of max reps
Strength went up, and my hamstrings have grown too.The real reason I posted is this though; how is my form?
[quote]cyberwar wrote:
I’ve been doing this for a while now. My hamstring (or deadlift sessions if you like) look like this:
Podium deadlift the first 3 weeks, regular deadlift the next 3 weeks: Low rep ramping.
Romanian deadlift: 4x5
Natural glute ham raise: 2 sets with body weight (I recently did 2x10 with full ROM and relative strict technique)
Leg curl: 2 sets of max reps
Strength went up, and my hamstrings have grown too.The real reason I posted is this though; how is my form?
Cyberwar,
Form looks pretty good. I personally don’t take my RDLs to the floor, but go down slowly (2-5 second negative) and then explosively come back up. Whether I do DB or BB RDLs, that is how I usually do them.
Fit the movement to match your body. I personally dont touch the floor either, but then again i keep my legs completely straight and pretty close in (Remember the old school 'feet together and touch your toes? Thats basically the form i personally use).
I also never touch the floor when doing RDLs. Usually go right below the knees but concentrate on pushing my hips back and feeling the stretch in my hamstrings. I then explode up and squeeze. I also prefer the barbell to dumbbells.
Thanks for the input guys! I’ll try a little shorter ROM with a more controlled negative and I’ll see how it feels. I might even film it and throw it up here once again.
D Public: I would say I have relatively long legs compared to my torso, but my arms are long too so that weighs up for it when it comes to the RDL. My troop recently ordered new parade uniforms, and my arms had to be tailored 1,5" longer than what was regular for my size.
Bump: What do you guys think about training hammies for those who have a history of torn/pulled hams? I’ve injured mine about eight times total and doing direct work seems to aggravate them quite a bit. Squats and deads suffer a lot if I start doing leg curls/GHRs. By suffer I mean that my hammies get really tight and I can’t do the movements properly.
I’ve been foam rolling and stretching but was just wondering if anyone had experience/advice.
[quote]PHGN wrote:
Don’t know if this video has been posted before, but I think Shelby has a great form on RDL and it shows a cool variation he got from Dante.
Notice how his toes come up? He keeps the weight on his heels. Tight arch, big chest, weight on your heels. That’s how they should be done.
My hammies suck. I’ve just gotten back into the habbit of training them… hopefully they’ll grow.
I come from the PL forum so all of my leg supp/accessory work is posterior chain dominated, yet even still my quads in both my squat and aesthetically overpower my hams. It wasn’t until I discovered band leg curls and Swiss ball leg curls that made my hams start to catch up to my quads, hips, and back. Getting my hams stronger has been good for my squat form and DL numbers too.
BUMP: Dunno if these have been mentioned in this thread, its been awhile, but Hams are important enough for another mention.
Recently added Box Squats to my Ham arsenal. A great posterior chain movement. Get into a rack, and bring a about knee height platform with your. When doing these, be sure to stretch out at the hips and get that great stretch in the hams before you sit on the platform. Pause a moment at the bottom, then while keeping the weight in your heels pop up. When i do this form of squats i feel nothing in my quads. I keep a very wide stance, with toes pointed outward. As i said, at the beginning of the movement take time to stretch your ass out and find that platform, dont just plop down on it. part of the movement is getting that stretch at the beginning.
