The glutes and hamstrings are primary force producers for locomotion within the human body. Actually, the glutes are one among the distinguishing features of human beings and set us aside from apes by allowing us to walk bipedally.
Sitting on the posterior of your body, they’re essential for each performance and aesthetics. Meaning that you just’re setting yourself up for injury whenever you don’t train these muscles properly for strength, size, and power, particularly in the event you’re an athlete.
For these reasons, I’m sharing my favorite glute and hamstring exercises with you to maintain you healthy, strong, and searching great. And simply because you’ll be able to’t see your rear does not imply others cannot -give ’em something good to take a look at.
Table of Contents:
- Glute Muscle Anatomy
- Hamstring Muscles Anatomy
- 8 Best Glute And Hamstring Exercises
- Honorable Mentions For Hamstring and Glute Exercises
- Why Is It Essential to Construct Strength Using Exercises For Glutes And Hamstrings?
- FAQs
Glute Muscle Anatomy
Your gluteal muscles are a gaggle of three different muscles collectively often called the glutes. Those muscles are:
- Gluteus Minimus: The gluteus minimus is the smallest muscle within the glute muscle group. They lay under the gluteus medius and assist in hip abduction.
- Gluteus Medius: The gluteus medius is the second largest (or smallest) of the three glute muscles. It sits on the outer hip and is primarily accountable for hip abduction.
- Gluteus Maximus: The most important and strongest muscle is the gluteus maximus.
Positioned on the hips on the back of your body, your glutes are of vast importance as they’re the strongest muscle within the human body and are accountable for locomotion.
The glutes are primarily accountable for manipulating the hips to maneuver the body. Specifically, your glutes power the hip hinge, arguably probably the most essential movement pattern in athleticism.
Hamstring Muscles Anatomy
Your hamstrings are a set of three muscles that sit on the posterior of the upper leg between the glutes and knees. These three muscles are the next:
- Semimembranosus
- Semitendinosus
- Biceps femoris
If we put the glutes to the side for a minute, the first function of the hamstring muscles is to flex the knee, which is why leg curls hurt so good.
Nonetheless, the hamstrings also cross the hip joint, making them one other critical muscle involved with hip extension.
Inside performance, the hamstring muscles play a major role in running and, unfortunately, injuries. On the planet of athletics, hamstring injuries are all too common attributable to the excessive amount of stress placed on them.
The 8 Best Glute and Hamstring Exercises
Now that we all know where the glutes and hamstrings are situated on the body, along with their primary functions, it is time to get right into it in the guts of this text by going over the very best hamstring and glute exercises.
And since we wish to go over the easiest hamstring AND glute exercises, to save lots of time, I’m bringing you the very best options to coach each concurrently!
1) Romanian Deadlift:
The primary exercise on the list goes to be the Romanian deadlift.
While the traditional deadlift can also be on my best glute-and-hammy list, many individuals can higher goal their glutes and hamstrings with the Romanian deadlift, due to the starting position. Because it starts on the hips, it requires an eccentric contraction to assist the load drop in a slow and controlled manner, cueing those muscles to activate under tension.
An eccentric contraction occurs when muscle fibers actively get longer and stretch, most frequently when resisting motion, similar to the “down” a part of an RDL. Research has discovered that the eccentric phase of a movement has a more significant effect on muscle damage.
That is why probably the most common cues for a correct Romanian deadlift is to “load” the hamstrings as you descend. Doing so supports a stronger mind-muscle connection and emphasizes correct form.
Pro Tip: I prefer to make use of a barbell once I do heavier loads and just grab some dumbbells for lighter loads, but you’ll be able to do either. No matter what you employ, the shape shall be the identical.
Learn how to do the Romanian Deadlift:
- Pick up your implements and get into the standing position together with your feet shoulder-width apart. Let your arms hang naturally, and brace your core tight. Bend on the hips, pushing your butt back. Nonetheless, it is best to barely bend your knees to permit your torso to drop.
- Keeping your shoulders pulled back and back straight, let your torso begin to fall forward. As you come down, concentrate on constructing tension in your glutes and hamstrings. That is why you don’t need to push your hips too far backward.
- Lower your torso in a controlled manner while maintaining your hip flexion. Don’t push your hips back more simply to get lower. Go down until your form starts to interrupt, which ought to be around mid-shin.
- Pull your torso back up by squeezing through your glutes and pressing into the ground.
- Again, your end depth isn’t essential, as it would be determined by your mobility. Once you are feeling your shoulders pull forward as you go down, that is your depth.
2) Deadlift:
Deadlifts are the heaviest barbell exercise you’ll be able to do, period. Consequently, they will put immense stress in your glutes and hamstrings. And as an added bonus, they’re also going to work your upper body.
The principal difference between the deadlift and squat is that the deadlift is a pure hip hinge, placing a concentrate on your posterior muscles. While you take a look at the deadlift, you notice that the knees don’t move (or they shouldn’t).
All the force comes from driving your hips forward through the glutes and hamstrings.
Learn how to do the Deadlift:
- Arrange a barbell and cargo it. Walk as much as the barbell with the bar sitting close enough to your shins that it’s almost touching them.
- Stand together with your feet hip-width apart (or barely wider) and align your hips together with your knees. Position your toes slightly below the barbell.
- Hinge at your hips and bend your knees until you’ll be able to reach the load. Hold the barbell with an overhand mixed or overhand grip, placing your hands barely outside your legs. Remember to maintain your back straight and avoid rounding it.
- Start by driving your hips forward and pulling the barbell straight up, keeping it near your body. Because the barbell reaches a mid-thigh level, retract your shoulder blades to take care of a stable torso.
- When you’re standing, lower the barbell back to the bottom in a controlled manner using the identical hip-hinging movement. Should you’re lifting heavy weights, you’ll be able to drop the barbell once it passes below your knees, but attempt to bring it down slowly while keeping your back straight. This eccentric phase of the lift is helpful for muscle and strength development.
- Pause when the barbell is back on the bottom, ensure your form is correct, and repeat the method. Remember, each repetition should start from a dead stop.
- Keep your core braced throughout the exercise to guard your spine and maintain strong movement.
- Complete the remaining repetitions in your set, increasing the reps or weight as vital. With practice, you will get stronger and might add more weight plates to the barbell.
3) Low Barbell Back Squat:
Low bar or high bar squat? Why not each?
If we absolutely had to decide on one to focus on the glutes and hamstrings, nevertheless, it could be the low bar squat. On account of the barbell sitting low in your back across your shoulder blades, you will need more hip flexion to maintain the load centered over your feet while squatting.
Because you’re naturally going into greater hip flexion on the best way down, you will also need more extension on the ascent. This implies more work from the glutes and hamstrings.
Learn how to do the Low Barbell Back Squat:
- Rack a barbell. It is going to likely have to be one notch lower than usual. Stand under the barbell and place it a few inches lower down your back than a high bar squat (traditional squat), somewhere across your shoulder blades.
- Note that this can require greater shoulder mobility, which is likely to be difficult if you could have shoulder issues. Unrack the barbell and step out of the rack. Some guys find a rather wider stance more comfortable attributable to the greater hip flexion.
- Perform the squat in the identical manner. Nonetheless, you have to to bend on the hips more to maintain the bar happening in a straight line. Proceed until your thighs hit parallel. Note: this shall be tougher attributable to the greater hip flexion because it requires more mobility.
4) Barbell Hip Thrusts:
Barbell hip thrusts are the very best isolation exercise to go incredibly heavy on. They’re also unique because they’re one among the one movements where the barbell is placed directly on a joint.
Because of the load placement, hip thrusts are mainly one big ass (pun intended) hip extension for the glutes, meaning many consider it the very best exercise for overall glute development. Due to this fact, it ought to be on any top list of glute exercises.
Still, whenever you perform hip thrusts, you will also get some insane muscle activation within the hamstrings. As such, the barbell hip thrust builds serious muscle mass in your posterior, and it ought to be in every program designed to construct strong glutes and hamstrings.
Learn how to do the Barbell Hip Thrust:
- Arrange a bench and ensure it may’t move easily, as it would must support you. Also, prepare a loaded barbell using either a bumper plate or a 45lb metal plate. You wish the barbell to take a seat off the bottom so you’ll be able to roll it over your body.
- Sit to the side of the bench together with your back pressing into the bench. You will need to play some to make sure a correct setup, however the bench edge should lie in your upper back near your shoulder blades.
- Have your feet out straight. Roll the barbell over your legs in order that the barbell is sitting within the crease of your hips. Pull your legs up together with your knees bent and feet flat on the ground. At this point, the barbell should sit snugly in your hips.
- Your shins ought to be vertical, but some slight variation is OK if it’s worthwhile to adjust. Place your hands on the barbell for support.
- Brace your core and drive your feet down into the bottom while driving your hips forward (up). Proceed until your hips are fully prolonged. It sometimes helps to visualise the hip hinge as a hinge. Your hips and glutes ought to be traveling upward in a straight line.
Should you want more hamstring activation, pretend you are pulling the bottom toward you. This may simulate the leg curl and destroy your hamstrings with an isometric contraction.
5) Lunges:
Ouch. There’s something about lunges that make the glutes and hamstrings burn.
They work all the muscle groups within the lower body and are infamous for killing the glutes. Further, they’re one among the few exercises performed in motion. Consequently, in addition they have the unique advantages of improving balance and mobility.
Also, an incredible lunge variation to your backside is walking lunges. Every thing is similar until your back knee touches the bottom. From there, as an alternative of pushing backward, you will pull yourself forward as in the event you were walking. This pulling motion causes many individuals to feel these of their glutes more.
Learn how to do Lunges:
- Start the lunge in a traditional standing position. Don’t overthink this.
- While you’ll be able to start this movement with either leg, we’ll start with the fitting leg to make clear the instructions.
- Take a large step out together with your right leg that is about 1.5x larger than usual. Make sure to keep the toes of your left and right foot pointed straight.
- Let your body drop down in a straight line until your back knee (left leg) touches the bottom. DO NOT let your knee slam. As a substitute, attempt to kiss the bottom. It’s possible you’ll need to rest your knee on the bottom together with your first rep to make sure proper form.
- Your right knee and left knee should each make right angles. The appropriate knee ought to be directly over the fitting foot, while the left knee ought to be directly under the left hip.
- Keep your torso straight, as many individuals are likely to bend forward on the waist barely. From here, you’ll then push off together with your right leg to propel your body backward to the unique starting position. Now repeat together with your left foot forward.
6) Glute Ham Raise:
When in search of the very best glute and ham exercise, we should always take a look at the exercise literally named the glute ham raise.
Despite its name, in the event you don’t set the machine up appropriately, you will actually goal the lower back. While you’ll be able to train back with this machine, that is now what we’re here for in this text. Regardless, this easy machine is a crazy effective method of coaching these muscles using just your body weight.
Learn how to do the Glute Ham Raise:
- You will want to first arrange the machine. There are two settings, one to hit the glutes and hamstrings more and one to hit the lower back. The difference shall be with the setting of the hip pad.
- When setting the hip pad, ensure it sits lower than your hips, so you will have to contract your hamstrings to stay awake. Then you definately will flex your hips yet keep your back straight. The opposite way, for comparison, is to set the pad at your hips so that they’re supported. You’d then curl your torso for a back extension.
- The foot pad location will rely on the hip pad. You wish your feet to be snug.
- Place your feet on the foot pads and your thighs on the hip pad to perform the movement. This may put you in a kneeling position.
- Extend your legs and hips as your torso drops. Make sure to keep your hips prolonged. Once your back drops below parallel, flex your legs and lift your torso to the unique starting position. Repeat as vital.
In case your gym doesn’t have a glute ham raise, don’t be concerned. We have you covered! Try the 7 Best GHD Machines For Home Gyms, and you will not must worry about missing a day.
7) Lying Leg Curl Machine:
Should you’ve ever used these, then you already know the true work of the glutes and hamstrings.
They’re one among the few machine exercises (together with seated leg curls) we routinely prescribe, as they work! It’s an easy machine that uses basic biomechanics to focus on the hamstring muscles and glutes.
Learn how to do the Lying Leg Curl Machine:
- Lay on the lying leg curl machine and adjust the pads. The ankle pads should sit somewhere along the upper ankle. Nonetheless, every machine is different, so just you should definitely spend time setting it up your first time.
- Select your weights and select a load.
- Grab the handles to assist regular the body. When ready, curl your legs and produce your feet toward your glutes. Concentrate on pulling the load so far as possible, because it tends to be those last couple of inches that basically burn.
- Remember to maintain your legs and butt planted firmly on the pad. A standard mistake is to let your butt raise up (hip flexion) to assist move the load. Don’t let this happen- concentrate on flexing your glutes to lock in your hips.
8) Nordic Hamstring Curl:
The Nordic hamstring curl is a brutal exercise that takes advantage of the eccentric contraction we discussed above. Further, all it uses is your body weight, making this unassuming exercise brutal.
Gaining popularity within the fitness world, it has been utilized in rehab and sports performance settings for years. On this setting, it’s predominantly used as an injury prevention tool.
But that is since it’s excellent at eccentrically loading your hamstrings, and as we mentioned above, eccentric contraction creates muscle gain. That also makes it probably the greatest hamstring exercises, so it’s gaining popularity with most people.
Learn how to do the Nordic Hamstring Curl:
- Ideally, you should have a partner who may also help to anchor your ankles right down to the bottom. If not, one other popular option is to lower the bar on the Smith machine so you’ll be able to slide your feet underneath.
- Either way, kneel on the bottom with either your partner or Smith machine securing your ankles. Brace your core and slowly lean forward, allowing your torso to drop toward the ground. As you drop, try to maintain your hips fully prolonged. (don’t bend at hips). That is where your glutes come into play!
- Your hands could be anywhere, but most find it easiest to carry them on the chest. Should you need, you can too use your hands for support. Many will use them to grab another person for assistance, similar to a bench or band, to take some load off the hamstring muscles.
- Slowly let yourself down so far as you’ll be able to until free fall.
- Calm down and push yourself back up.
These are seriously tough, and be careful for DOMs within the AM! Should you can already knock out lots of these, congratulations, you do not need this text!
Honorable Mentions For Hamstring And Glute Exercises
There are a ton of other options as well to assist construct muscle in your lower body. Two other great ham and glute exercises you’ll be able to placed on rotation include Glute Kickbacks & Cable Pull Throughs.
Why Is It Essential to Construct Strength Using Exercises For Glutes And Hamstrings?
Strengthening the glutes and hamstrings is imperative for each performance and performance. You have probably heard of the posterior chain, a term for a string of muscles that run down your posterior, forming a series.
A couple of of the vital functions these muscles are accountable for include:
- Maintaining an erect torso
- Locomotion
- Lower body plyos and power movements
Weak glutes and hamstrings can act like a series response wherein various injuries can occur attributable to their multiple roles. These muscle groups MUST be adequately developed for optimal health and performance.
FAQs
Any lingering questions on exercises for glutes and hamstrings? Let’s discuss!
How can I construct my glutes and hamstrings at home?
If you could have a set of dumbbells or a barbell, do a few of the above exercises! If not, you will need to envision out our article The Best Glutes Workout At Home for a comprehensive training plan.
What’s the very best and fastest method to construct glutes?
Consistent training together with proper fuel is the very best method to construct any muscle, so aim to hit your glutes for not less than 10 sets per week and get adequate protein.
How repeatedly every week should I hit glutes?
The perfect results will come from overload with enough time to get well. Divide your 10+ sets over 2-4 training sessions per week, based in your schedule and the way much you’ll be able to realistically manage.
Should glutes be its own day?
It’s best to train your glutes together with the remaining of your leg day, especially since a lot of the exercises that work best train each your glutes and hamstrings.
The Best Glute and Hamstring Exercises: Summary
I reviewed the very best glute and hamstring exercises to annihilate your posterior leg muscles. You would cycle through 3-4 sets of 6-10 reps of those exercises alone to construct a powerful posterior.
As you’ll be able to see, most of them are relatively well-known, so in the event you’re not doing them, start. Should you are doing them already, consider form to isolate the intended muscles to a greater degree, or explore our other glute isolation exercises for a change.
