How to Do Standing Hamstring Curls in and Out of The Gym
Standing hamstring curls are great strengthening exercises for the hamstrings.
The hamstrings are the muscles at the back of the thigh. It is composed of three muscles combined to flex (or bend) the knee and extend the hip.
The three muscles of the hamstrings are the biceps femoris (the long head and the short head), the semimembranosus and the semitendinosus.
Working together, these three muscles are powerful muscles, important for proper gait. Without the hamstrings or if these muscles are in their weakened state people can't walk or run properly.
Put More Emphasis on Hamstrings
Many people don't really give much emphasis on the hamstrings when working out, but professionals like physical therapists and fitness trainers know how important this group of muscles is.
Exercises like hamstring curls can help to make the hamstrings more toned, more muscular and stronger. Here are a few ways to do standing hamstring curls.
Simple Hamstring
The first is doing a simple hamstring curl. Simply get a chair with the back rest in front of you and place your hands on it, using it to maintain balance. Slowly bend one knee until your leg has reached about 90 degrees and then slowly bring your leg down.
Do repetitions on one leg first and then do the same thing with the other leg. You can progress to adding ankle weights later on when you feel like the exercise is getting too easy.
You can also increase resistance by using an exercise band strapped around both your ankles. Do the same thing as mentioned above. And if you progress, you can skip using the chair a just place both hands on your hips while doing the exercise.
Using a Gym Machine
You can also do this in the gym using a leg curl machine. This machine is perfect for a progressive increasing resistance.
You stand facing the machine and do your standing hamstring curls by lifting the rollers as you bend your knee. The rollers provide the resistance which you can increase or decrease.
(Make sure you check out our leg workouts for more awesome workouts including the big 2 leg exercises)
Hamstring Curl
Hamstring curl is one of the exercises that isolate the hamstring muscles. That's why for people who've had injuries and those who need to strengthen their hamstrings, it is the perfect exercise.
But it is important to remember when doing this that you must not bend forward or arch your back and you must keep your abs taut while performing these exercises.
If you do them wrong, you might risk getting a back injury so it's best to ask a professional before trying to do this particular exercise.
There are other exercises to build up the hamstrings such as the lunges, the squats and the deadlifts and lots of others (see squat about squats, 17 barbell squat tips and how to deadlift for more info on these).
All of these help exercise the hamstring muscles. The hamstrings are important muscles not only for proper walking but also for sports that involve running like football and baseball, and also for other sports like cycling.
For optimal performance from athletes, they should strengthen every necessary muscle, which would include the big muscles groups like the quadriceps and the hamstrings.
Standing Hamstring Curls
This exercise can be included in every leg workout or you may want to alternate it with other hamstring exercises such as lying hamstring curls.
If you want to have a well-shaped, well muscled body, you must take the time to exercise every part of the body. Knowing a few isolation exercises like hamstring curls would be a plus especially if you're trying to bulk up.