Chris250
MuscleChemistry Registered Member
Hamstring training.
Lying leg curls on machine
This is one of the most screwed up exercises I see people doing in the gym. Done incorrectly it can be a pretty big waste of your time. Done correctly it can be one of the best ways to build mass on your ham and drive deep cuts into your leg. Here is how I do them:
Find a lying leg curl machine. I like the ones that are angled so your head is lower then your glutes, most machine have some degree of drop, but I like the ones that are pretty pronounced.
Lay on the machine face down and see where your heels line up on the pad. . adjust the pad (that goes over your heels) so it goes directly over your heels ( not over your calves). Adjust the weight stake to 30% of what you probably normally do. Now lay back down face down and pull yourself into position. I always tell my guys to hike themselves forward on the machine as to pull your hips down towards the handles you hold with your hands so your knees are hanging just a few inches off the machine. Now before you even think about doing a rep I want you to squeeze your glutes as hard as you can. This will activate your hams and it forces your hips to stay down on the machine and not lift up off of it. Ok, squeeze them hard and now curl the weight up. As you raise it up you should not go fast with it at all, give it 2-3 sec to get it all the way up. Now raise it as far as you can while keeping the hips down against the machine. Remember to keep the glutes tight the whole time. Very few people can get the pad on their heels to hit their ass in the full positive portion of the rep, if you are doing this you are probably raising your gluts off the machine. Now at the very most positive position of the rep when you are curled up as far as you can go I want you to lift your knees off the machine as to create a gab between the machine and your knees/quads. This will create the most intense burn in your hams and glutes you have ever felt. Lift the knees up like this for about 2-3 sec then lower the heels back down to the starting position of the exercise (your knees will automatically come back in contact with the machine) but remember to keep your glutes flexed thru the whole negative portion of the rep. The negative portion of the rep should take about 3 sec as well. When you get all the way down you can unflex the glutes for about 1-2 sec. before you re squeeze them and repeat the same process for the 2nd rep.
Do 3 sets of 8-20 reps and you will be amazed at the amount of stress and new fiber recruitment it added to ham training.
if you train your hams like this on the lying leg curl machine I will guarantee you will see a noticeable difference in the way they develop. I will also guarantee you will be more sore the next day then you have been in a very long time.
Any of you guys who compete and have issues with getting the glute/ham tie in to separate this will defiantly do it for you.
This is an advanced technique meant for guys who are wanting to take their hamstring development to the next level. You have to check your ego at the door and be abel to endure an extreme amount of pain as this will feel like someone is sticking a knife into your hams and twisting it. If it does not feel like this you are doing it wrong.
Once you finish up with this its good to do some intense stretching of the hams and lower back as they will be pretty tight.
Give it a try and let your hams start growing.
I want to let all you guys know these are just my techniques I have found to be effective in my training. This article is not meant to be the be all end all on ham training, just my take on it. Hope it works well for you.
If you have any questions please fee free to post them up.
Lying leg curls on machine
This is one of the most screwed up exercises I see people doing in the gym. Done incorrectly it can be a pretty big waste of your time. Done correctly it can be one of the best ways to build mass on your ham and drive deep cuts into your leg. Here is how I do them:
Find a lying leg curl machine. I like the ones that are angled so your head is lower then your glutes, most machine have some degree of drop, but I like the ones that are pretty pronounced.
Lay on the machine face down and see where your heels line up on the pad. . adjust the pad (that goes over your heels) so it goes directly over your heels ( not over your calves). Adjust the weight stake to 30% of what you probably normally do. Now lay back down face down and pull yourself into position. I always tell my guys to hike themselves forward on the machine as to pull your hips down towards the handles you hold with your hands so your knees are hanging just a few inches off the machine. Now before you even think about doing a rep I want you to squeeze your glutes as hard as you can. This will activate your hams and it forces your hips to stay down on the machine and not lift up off of it. Ok, squeeze them hard and now curl the weight up. As you raise it up you should not go fast with it at all, give it 2-3 sec to get it all the way up. Now raise it as far as you can while keeping the hips down against the machine. Remember to keep the glutes tight the whole time. Very few people can get the pad on their heels to hit their ass in the full positive portion of the rep, if you are doing this you are probably raising your gluts off the machine. Now at the very most positive position of the rep when you are curled up as far as you can go I want you to lift your knees off the machine as to create a gab between the machine and your knees/quads. This will create the most intense burn in your hams and glutes you have ever felt. Lift the knees up like this for about 2-3 sec then lower the heels back down to the starting position of the exercise (your knees will automatically come back in contact with the machine) but remember to keep your glutes flexed thru the whole negative portion of the rep. The negative portion of the rep should take about 3 sec as well. When you get all the way down you can unflex the glutes for about 1-2 sec. before you re squeeze them and repeat the same process for the 2nd rep.
Do 3 sets of 8-20 reps and you will be amazed at the amount of stress and new fiber recruitment it added to ham training.
if you train your hams like this on the lying leg curl machine I will guarantee you will see a noticeable difference in the way they develop. I will also guarantee you will be more sore the next day then you have been in a very long time.
Any of you guys who compete and have issues with getting the glute/ham tie in to separate this will defiantly do it for you.
This is an advanced technique meant for guys who are wanting to take their hamstring development to the next level. You have to check your ego at the door and be abel to endure an extreme amount of pain as this will feel like someone is sticking a knife into your hams and twisting it. If it does not feel like this you are doing it wrong.
Once you finish up with this its good to do some intense stretching of the hams and lower back as they will be pretty tight.
Give it a try and let your hams start growing.
I want to let all you guys know these are just my techniques I have found to be effective in my training. This article is not meant to be the be all end all on ham training, just my take on it. Hope it works well for you.
If you have any questions please fee free to post them up.
