Hamstring Strengthening Exercises

Written By: Chloe Wilson, BSc(Hons) Physiotherapy
Reviewed by: KPE Medical Review Board

Hamstring strengthening exercises work to strengthen the backs of your thighs, help to transmit power between the knees and hips and help support your lower back.

Weakness in the hamstrings can lead to all sorts of problems and affect daily activities.

There are three hamstring muscles on the back of the thigh, semimembranosus, semitendinosus and biceps femoris.

This hamstring strengthening exercise is the perfect place to start, especially after an injury as it doesn’t require any knee movement. It is very easy to control how hard you work the hamstrings by changing how hard you push the heel down

 ·  Starting Position: Lie flat on your back or propped up, with your knee slightly bent and your heel on the floor/mat

 ·  Action: Press the back of your heel firmly down. You should feel the muscles in the back of your thigh tightening. Hold for 5-10 seconds and relax

Top Tips: If you prefer to do this exercise in sitting, perch on the edge of a chair with the leg to be worked stretched out in front of you with just a small bend in the knee. Push the heel down into the floor and feel the hamstrings contract

Hamstring curls get the hamstrings muscles working as the knee bends, making it functional but without putting much force through the muscles or the knee.

 ·  Starting Position: Stand upright holding on to a chair or table for balance

 ·  Action: Lift your foot back behind you bringing it up towards your glutes as high as you can. Hold for 3 seconds and slowly bring the foot down to the floor

 ·  Progression: Tie a resistance band to the chair leg and hook it round your ankle. Or add an ankle weight or wear a shoe to work the muscles harder

 ·  Alternative Position: If you prefer to do hamstring strengthening exercises lying down, lie on your stomach with your legs stretched out. Slowly lift your foot, bringing it towards your glutes and then lower down. Progress in the same way as in standing

Top Tips: 1. Make sure you don’t lean forwards as you lift the leg, keep upright
2. Don’t let the leg come forwards as you lift it up, your knees should stay in line with each other so the hip doesn’t bend

Using a ball with hamstring strengthening exercises is a great way to activate the hamstrings, work them harder and gain more control around the knee. And it makes it more fun!

 ·  Starting Position: Stand, holding onto a table or chair with a soft, inflated ball in the crook of your knee, leg bent behind you

 ·  Action: Squeeze the ball by bringing your heel towards your glutes and hold for 3 seconds, then relax

 ·  Progression: Start as above but as you hold the squeeze on the ball, bring your whole leg forwards until your hip is at a right angle (90) and then back behind you as far as you can without moving your upper body. 

 ·  Starting Position: Tie one end of the theraband to something sturdy directly in front of you such as a table leg. Fasten the other end of the band around your ankle and sit in a chair with your leg out in front of you 

 ·  Action: Slowly slide your heel back, bending the knee and pull against the band. As the tension increases through the theraband, you should feel the hamstrings working harder. Hold for 3-5 seconds and slowly bring the foot forwards again

 ·  Starting Position: Tie the theraband so it forms a loop and hook it round the foot of your good leg and the ankle of the leg you want to work. Lie on your stomach with your legs out straight, feet slightly apart

 ·  Action: Bring your heel towards your bottom pulling against the theraband as far as you can. Hold for 3-5 seconds and slowly lower the leg back down

Top Tip: Don't let your back arch as you do this exercise

1. The more tension i.e. the less slack there is in the band when you start, the harder you will work the hamstrings
   
   
2. It is actually harder work for the hamstrings to control the movement on the way back i.e. as you return to the starting position so make sure you bring the foot back slowly rather than letting it just flop back
   
   
3. Start with a low resistance band (tan/yellow) when you first start these hamstring strengthening exercises. Once you can do 3 sets of 10 reps, progress on to the next colour band but be aware you may need to reduce the number of reps you then do to start with

Related Article: Theraband Exercises For Legs >

 ·  Starting Position: Lie flat on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Your feet and knees should be hip distance apart – a good way to do this is to start with the feet together, turn the toes out making a “V” shape and then follow with your heels. To check the distance between your knees, you should just be able to fit your fist between your knees. Tighten your abdominal muscles slightly to engage your core and stabilise your lower back

 ·  Action: Clench your glutes and slowly lift your buttocks up off the floor as high as you can without arching your back – you are aiming for there to be a diagonal line from your knees down to your hips. Hold for 3 seconds and slowly lower

 ·  Progression: Use a resistance band, ether looped around your knees or over the top of your thighs and anchored in your hands

 ·  Starting Position:  Same as with the simple bridge

 ·  Action: Lift up into a bridge position as with the simple bridge but as you hold the bridge position, lift one foot off the floor and extend the knee as shown. Hold for 3-5 seconds, bring the foot back down, and then lower down to the floor

 ·  Watch Points: Keep your pelvis/hips lifted up and level throughout – don’t let them drop down on either one or both sides

 ·  Progression: Keep up in the bridge position throughout, alternating from side to side which leg you stretch out. Gradually build up the number of reps you do between each time you fully lower your buttocks down to the floor

Having a foam or air roller underneath your feet as you do these hamstring strengthening exercises makes your hamstrings and core work much, much harder.

 ·  Simple Bridge With Roller: Exactly the same as the simple bridge above but performed with the roller under your feet

 ·  Single Leg Bridge With Roller: Again, as with the single leg bridge above but performed with the roller under your foot

Beware of cramp – it’s a good idea to make sure you have stretched the muscles out before doing hamstring strengthening exercises on a roller.

You will probably need to start with a lower number of reps with roller hamstring strengthening exercises than with the simple bridging exercises.

Starting Position: Kneeling with your feet firmly anchored, either under something stable or held down by someone. You may want to place a small cushion on towel underneath your knees for comfort

Action: Slowly lean forwards as far as you can – when you start losing control, allow your body to fall, bringing your hands down to control yourself and then quickly push yourself back up to the starting position