![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Suggested repetitions: 10 to 12 on each leg Return to starting position and then step backwards into your next reverse lunge on your other leg.Maintain your weight in the heel of your front foot and keep your knee behind your toes.Lower yourself down into a lunge by bending both of your knees – make sure your torso stays upright (that you don’t collapse through the chest).Step into a wide stance backward step, starting with your weaker leg.Begin standing upright with your feet together.Unlike the standard forward lunge, reverse lunges hit your hamstrings much harder given that the driving force of the movement comes from your back leg. Mind-to-muscle connection is everything when performing the reverse lunges, and this exercise affords you the level of control and stability that promotes this connection.įollow the five steps below to perform the reverse lunge exercise. Alternating Reverse LungesĪlternating reverse lunges are a leg curl alternative that takes your hamstrings through the motion of flexion and extension via bending the knee, as in the leg curl. To spice it up a little, once you have completed your rep range, add a few bonus repetitions that involve small pulse movements from parallel to the ground and upwards.Įquipment needed: none 3. Pro tip: the standard version of this exercise sees you lifting your bent leg from the ground until your thigh is parallel with the floor. Suggested repetitions: 15 to 20 on each leg This is a unilateral exercise that requires all repetitions to be done on one side before changing sides.Hold at the top of the movement briefly before returning to starting position (without resting your knee back on the ground).Note, to keep the tension on your hamstring, your leg needs to remain bent at the knee throughout the movement.Beginning with your weaker side, have your leg bent at the knee and then you’re your thigh upwards until you feel your glute contract.Begin square on your hands and knees with a flat back.If you haven’t done much hamstring work before, this is a great bodyweight exercise for building some base hamstring strength.įollow the five steps below to perform the bent leg lifts. Bent Leg Lifts/Donkey Kicksīent leg lifts (also known as “Donkey Kicks”) is a leg curl alternative that’s easy to get right but is hard on your hamstrings. And if that isn’t enough for you, give the unilateral version of this exercise a go by using only one leg at a time.Įquipment needed: none 2. Keep your repetitions slow and controlled. ![]() Pro tip: time under tension is everything. At the top of the movement, squeeze your glutes and hold for a second or 2 before returning to starting position.Pushing through your heels, lift your hips and back off the ground (as one unit) so that only your upper back and shoulders are left on the ground.The further your heels are from your hips, the more tension you will feel on your hamstrings. Note, the closer your heels are to your hips, the more tension you will feel on your glutes.Lie on your back with your knees bent just over 90-degrees and your feet flat on the floor.Below are the four steps for performing hip extensions with a focus on hamstrings. Tweaking the exercise slightly allows you to make it more glute-focussed or hamstring-focussed. Hip extensions are a technically easy exercise that works both glutes and hamstrings. Variations: Since you have three foot positions you have in reality three exercises.Hip extensions are one of the simplest and most effective leg curl alternatives. Repeat for the recommended amount of repetitions.Ĭaution: Do not ever use so much weight on the exercise that you start using swinging and jerking as you can risk both lower back injury and also a hamstring tear.Slowly return to the starting position as you breathe in.Hold the contracted position for a second. As you exhale, pull the machine lever as far as possible to the back of your thighs by flexing at the knees.Then grasp the side handles on the machine as you point your toes straight (or you can also use any of the other two stances) and ensure that the legs are fully straight right in front of you. Place the back of lower leg on top of padded lever (just a few inches under the calves) and secure the lap pad against your thighs, just above the knees.Adjust the machine lever to fit your height and sit on the machine with your back against the back support pad. ![]()
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