Top 4 Semitendinosus Exercises To Strengthen Your Hamstrings

Training the semitendinosus muscle goes to extend performance, increase strength and reduce injury. Isolating the semitendinosus muscle out of your other hamstring muscles is inconceivable, but you may do exercises that favor it. Further, knowing your body’s anatomy and performance will only improve your training.

This text will lay out the most effective semitendinosus exercises you should utilize to make sure you’re training the entire hamstring in essentially the most efficient way possible.

What Is The Semitendinosus Muscle?

Your hamstring muscles are one of the powerful muscle groups within the human body. Collectively, this muscle group comprises three different muscles that work together to increase the hips and flex the knees. The three muscles are:

• Biceps Femoris: Sits on the lateral side of the posterior upper thigh. Of the three hamstring muscles, it’s the only two-headed muscle composed of a protracted head and a brief head (biceps). It is also the strongest muscle of the hamstrings. Try the most effective biceps femoris exercises!
• Semimembranosus: Sits on the medial side of the upper thigh and deep to the semitendinosus. It is the one most frequently forgotten.
• Semitendinosus: Stands out from the unusually long tendon at its knee insertion point, making it a novel a part of your hamstring group. This can also be where its name is derived.

We’ll now dig into the semitendinosus and the exercises it’s essential train it.

3 Advantages of Semitendinosus Exercises

Your hamstrings are a vital muscle involved in health and performance. Whether you are an athlete, lifter, or simply a daily person wanting to take care of health and mobility, listed below are the explanations it’s essential strengthen your hamstrings.

1. Prevent Injury

Most athletes have some experience pulling a hamstring. Perhaps you have not straight-up snapped the muscle, but most athletes have had some issue with a minor strain, often while sprinting.

Hamstring injuries, which account for 12-16% of all sports injuries, will be significantly reduced with stronger hamstrings.¹ The high reinjury rate of 22-34% underscores this importance, making it clear that stronger hamstrings are crucial for injury prevention.

While the biceps femoris is chargeable for essentially the most injuries, a stronger overall hamstring and semitendinosus will still help mitigate problems and even speed up recovery.

2. Improve Performance

A stronger semitendinosus muscle makes for a stronger and faster athlete. This muscle extends your hips and flexes your knee, which is involved in nearly every movement you make.

For instance, we all know that stronger hamstring muscles are related to:

• Faster sprinting
• Faster acceleration
• Stronger squats
• Stronger deadlifts
• Higher force production

You may not improve in athletics and performance with no stronger set of hamstrings.

3. Improve Muscular Imbalances

Muscular imbalance, a condition during which the strength of agonist and antagonist muscles is mismatched, can result in joint instability. The quadriceps, the agonist/antagonist muscle opposite the hamstrings, plays a key role on this imbalance.

When these two muscles are balanced, they supply optimal stability to the knee and hip. For instance:

• In Hip Extension: When the hamstrings (agonist) contract to facilitate hip extension, the quadriceps (antagonist) lengthen to support the movement.
• In Hip Flexion: When the quadriceps (agonist) contract for hip flexion, the hamstrings (antagonist) lengthen to assist balance this motion.

Regardless, the best balance between the hamstring and quadriceps needs to be 3:4 or 75%. In other words, in case your quadricep can produce 400 lbs, your hamstring should give you the option to supply 300 lbs. Nevertheless, in nearly all of people, their hamstrings are significantly weaker. Which means weak hamstrings don’t just mean you’ve got the next risk of injury to the hamstrings but the next risk of injury to:

• Knees
• Gait imbalance
• Hip issues

This has been seen to occur when the hamstring to quadricep strength ratio is lower than 60%.² Which means once you’re training your legs, it’s possible you’ll wish to spend more time in your hamstrings.

The semitendinosus exercises we cover below will assist you to try this.

4 Best Semitendinosus Exercises

As mentioned, the semitendinosus is one in all the three hamstring exercises that work in unison, so it’s inconceivable to isolate it. Further, it doesn’t really have any very specific secondary functions. In other words, there are not any exercises that specifically goal the semitendinosus to a high degree.

But this doesn’t suggest there aren’t awesome semitendinosus exercises to strengthen it along together with your hamstrings! Listed below are the highest semitendinosus exercises to construct mass and strength.

1. Nordic Curl

The Nordic curl was an odd exercise known only in sports performance and injury prevention. Nevertheless, its status as among the finest exercises for increasing hamstring strength led to its use worldwide.

It consists of getting in your knees, locking your ankles, or having a friend hold them down. You then let your body come down slowly so far as you may until you drop.

The Nordic curl is a improbable exercise for training the hamstrings as an entire. It has been used extensively in athletics and even rehab and prehab. Studies have shown that this exercise prompts the semitendinosus in a lot of the three hamstring exercises.³

How To Perform The Nordic Curl

• Kneel together with your knees about hip-width apart while keeping your torso upright and interact your core.
• Together with your hips prolonged and your body straight out of your knees to your shoulders, brace your core.
• Slowly lean your torso forward while keeping your hips prolonged. Your knees should remain in place, and your descent needs to be controlled. Go as little as you may while maintaining good form.
• Stop at that time should you cannot go further without losing form or control.
• Use your hamstrings to then pull yourself back as much as the starting position. This movement requires significant strength and control. For those who cannot pull yourself back, you should utilize your hands to assist.
• As you come up, many individuals will wish to flex their hips, push them back, after which extend them.  Subsequently, deal with driving your hips forward to help the hamstrings in returning to the upright position.

2. Glute Ham Raise (GHD Machine)

The Glute Ham Developer machine, or GHD, is an awesome piece of apparatus that won’t nearly used enough. It became far more popular with the rise of CrossFit, because it is performed extensively in the game.

One in every of the exercises you may perform on these is the glute ham raise. It’s pretty much like the Nordic curl by way of biomechanics. The important difference is that you just actually hit the hamstrings from either side with hip extension and knee flexion.

Now, we haven’t any specific studies that show the semitendinosus sees higher activation in the opposite hamstring muscles. Nevertheless, we realize it’s an awesome hamstring exercise, and the movement pattern could be very much like that of the Nordic curl.

Subsequently, we are able to guess that the activation shall be similar. The worst-case scenario is that you just get awesome activation within the semitendinosus, biceps femoris, and semitendinosus muscles.

How To Perform The Glute-Ham Raise (GHD)

• Kneel on the machine together with your thighs resting on the pad. Your feet needs to be firmly secured against the footplate or anchored under the rollers. Keep your body upright and interact your core.
• Start together with your body straight out of your knees to your shoulders. Your hips needs to be prolonged and your core engaged.
• Slowly lower your torso toward the bottom by bending on the knees and hips. Keep your back straight and avoid letting it round. Move in a controlled manner to maximise tension within the hamstrings.
• Lower yourself so far as you may while maintaining good form. Ideally, it’s best to lower until your torso is sort of parallel to the bottom or as little as you may comfortably go without compromising form.
• Push through your heels and contract your hamstrings and glutes to lift your body back up. Deal with using your posterior chain to return to the starting position.
• At the highest of the movement, ensure your body is straight and aligned. Avoid using momentum to lift yourself and maintain a controlled motion throughout.

3. Running (Especially Acceleration)

Running is your body’s structural, intended use of running. And by running, we mean running!

This is just not a shot at jogging—we expect jogging and even brisk walking are incredible ways to enhance the endurance of the hamstring muscles and general weight control. Nevertheless, running at top speeds is a distinct activity, significantly increasing the hamstrings’ activation.

Interestingly, studies show that the semitendinosus receives higher activation while running at top speeds. While the hamstrings saw greater muscle activation from speeds of fifty% intensity and up, the semitendinosus muscle saw significantly higher activation at 75%, 85%, and 95%.⁴ Things specifically took off when accelerating from 85% to 95% intensity.

Suggestions For Running

• Use distances that will let you run at top speeds (>75%)
• Play with acceleration drills (run at 50% for 10m, then speed up to 90% for 10m)
• On acceleration, run repeats, attempting to run so far as you may in 5 seconds.
• Run uphill or an incline on the treadmill.
• Play with resisted sprinting (sled, parachute)

4. Deficit Romanian Deadlift

As we mentioned originally, your whole classic hamstring exercises are going to hit your semitendinosus very well. Nevertheless, through research, we did find that some exercises appear to have a bigger effect. One in every of these is the deficit Romanian deadlift.

A gaggle of researchers had participants perform 3 different deadlift variations:

• Romanian deadlift
• Step Romanian deadlift (deficit RDL)
• Stiff leg deadlift

In total, they measured the activity of 4 different muscles:

• Gluteus Maximus
• Gluteus Medius
• Biceps Femoris
• Semitendinosus

Of the three exercises, the deficit RDL created essentially the most significant level of muscle activation for the semitendinosus muscle. Nevertheless, there are two other interesting observations.

1. The semitendinosus appeared to have greater activation throughout the deficit RDL when put next to the biceps femoris.
2. When the differences between the three exercises are compared for the various muscles, the deficit RDL seems to have had the best impact on the semitendinosus.

Which means, in line with this study, the deficit RDL appears to be a improbable exercise for training the semitendinosus.⁵

Now, suppose you are lifting or haven’t got the mobility/ability to perform a deficit RDL. In that case, you may be good at performing the standard RDL, because it also produces high levels of muscle activation within the semitendinosus.

How To Perform The Romanian Deadlift

• Resolve whether to start out with the barbell on the bottom or elevated. Either way works, but we would really like to start out elevating it. Load the barbell together with your chosen weight plates.
• Arrange a sturdy platform to face on. A really low box works best. If you’ve got nothing else, standing on a plate can work.
• Stand in front of the barbell and grasp it with a double overhand grip, hands shoulder-width apart. In case your grip gets fatigued, you should utilize lifting straps. Let the barbell hang naturally in front of you as you stand tall.
• To begin the movement, push your hips back and permit your torso to lean forward. It’s crucial that your knees stay almost stationary with minimal forward movement; letting them come too far forward will reduce tension in your hamstrings.
• Proceed lowering the barbell while keeping your shoulder blades retracted to take care of a straight back. Ensure your back stays neutral—avoid hyper-extending. Keep the barbell near your body.
• Lower until your form starts to interrupt and your back begins to round. There’s not a selected depth to aim for, however the barbell should typically reach mid-shin height. Remember, the goal is not to the touch the bottom but to maximise tension in your hamstrings and biceps femoris.
• When you reach your required depth, drive your hips forward and focus on contracting your glutes as you come to the starting position until you’re fully upright.

3 Training Methods For Semitendinosus Exercises

Now that you’ve got the most effective semitendinosus exercises, listed below are some basic training practices. Utilize this with the exercise above to get essentially the most out of your training.

1. Range of Loads

When training your hamstrings, incorporate a wide range of loads. This could include heavy weights (90% or higher), provided your technique is sound. Using heavy weights increases strength and power in addition to possibly being more practical at stopping injury.

It’s best to also use moderate loads (8-12 reps) and even higher (15+). These rep schemes will increase muscle growth and endurance.

The hamstrings are powerful muscles that endure prolonged use, so developing maximal strength and endurance is important to optimizing their function.

2. Eccentric Training

Eccentric training plays an important role in targeting the semitendinosus, as demonstrated in exercises just like the Nordic curl and the Glute-Ham Developer (GHD). Research indicates that eccentric contractions are crucial for muscle growth and development, and so they have a very significant impact on the semitendinosus and hamstrings in comparison with other muscle groups.

One effective approach to eccentric training is to extend the eccentric phase of your lifts, aiming for a duration of 4 seconds or more. This prolonged time under tension enhances muscle recruitment and promotes growth.

One other strategy is to make use of heavier weights while avoiding concentric movements, which places greater emphasis on the eccentric phase and allows the muscles to adapt and strengthen more effectively.

Moreover, deal with lowering an increased weight (+10-15%) as slowly as possible, akin to the movements performed in Nordic curls or GHDs. This controlled descent maximizes your muscles’ time under tension, further stimulating muscle development. By incorporating these techniques, you may significantly enhance your training for the semitendinosus and overall hamstring strength.

3. Multi-Method Approach

Resistance training is important to constructing strong hamstrings. Nevertheless, a dynamic approach could produce more pronounced effects. For instance, you may do your weight training while also doing a little sprint workouts or acceleration drills.

Further, resulting from the role of the hamstrings and semitendinosus in athletics, using exercises like sled work and resisted sprinting could further improve your results. The exercises require the identical basic sprinting mechanics but are done under load.

Final Say On Training The Semitendinosus

Integrate the above exercises and training methods into your overall training, and you will not should worry about having a weak semitendinosus. More importantly, be sure you have specific hamstring exercises and train them with the identical intensity as every other muscle. Apply progressive overload, and you may begin to see improvements in your performance and even your aesthetics. Plus, no more pulled hammies!

Try our full collection of hamstring exercises!

References

1. Looney, Austin M., et al. “Proximal Hamstring Ruptures: Treatment, Rehabilitation, and Return to Play.” Current Reviews in Musculoskeletal Medicine, 9 Feb. 2023, https://doi.org/10.1007/s12178-023-09821-7.
2. Hamstring to Quadriceps Strength Ratio and Noncontact Leg Injuries: A Prospective Study during One Season.” ResearchGate, www.researchgate.net/publication/236955327_Hamstring_to_quadriceps_strength_ratio_and_noncontact_leg_injuries_A_prospective_study_during_one_season.
3. Bourne, Matthew N, et al. “Impact of Exercise Selection on Hamstring Muscle Activation.” British Journal of Sports Medicine, vol. 51, no. 13, 13 May 2016, pp. 1021–1028, https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2015-095739.
4. Higashihara, Ayako, et al. “Functional Differences within the Activity of the Hamstring Muscles with Increasing Running Speed.” Journal of Sports Sciences, vol. 28, no. 10, Aug. 2010, pp. 1085–1092, https://doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2010.494308.
5. Coratella, Giuseppe, et al. “An Electromyographic Evaluation of Romanian, Step-Romanian, and Stiff-Leg Deadlift: Implication for Resistance Training.” International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, vol. 19, no. 3, 8 Feb. 2022, p. 1903, https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19031903.