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Quick Wits: Best Exercises for the Hamstrings (Lifting for Muscle Series) · Wits & Weights | Strength & Fat Loss Over 40

• 0:00
  Philip Pape: The hamstrings are the often overlooked powerhouse behind your lower body.
• 0:05
  Philip Pape: Last week we talked quads.
• 0:06
  Philip Pape: Today we're going to talk hamstrings.
• 0:08
  Philip Pape: Join me on the lifting for muscle series of quick wits as I reveal my four go-to exercises for building strength and size in your hamstrings.
• 0:18
  Philip Pape: Welcome to the Wits and Weights podcast.
• 0:23
  Philip Pape: I'm your host, philip Pape, and this twice a week podcast is dedicated to helping you achieve physical self-mastery by getting stronger, optimizing your nutrition and upgrading your body composition.
• 0:34
  Philip Pape: We'll uncover science-backed strategies for movement, metabolism, muscle and mindset, with a skeptical eye on the fitness industry, so you can look and feel your absolute best.
• 0:44
  Philip Pape: Let's dive right in.
• 0:46
  Philip Pape: Welcome to quick wits, where we attempt to get straight to the point.
• 0:52
  Philip Pape: In today's episode, we're zeroing in on the hamstrings, unoverlooked but crucial for leg strength and stability.
• 1:01
  Philip Pape: We're going to look at four exercises that I love for this.
• 1:05
  Philip Pape: First, of course, with a barbell, is going to be the deadlift.
• 1:09
  Philip Pape: Deadlifts are arguably for your legs and for your back and I mentioned them on the back on the very first quick wits in this series about the back as a stabilizer, but of course they are phenomenal for hamstring development, the active muscle in the hinge movement.
• 1:26
  Philip Pape: They engage your entire posterior chain, including your glutes and hamstrings.
• 1:31
  Philip Pape: When someone says to me and, ladies, you know who you are, I want to get bigger glutes my first question is are you squatting and deadlifting because you want to have those in, at a minimum to load those up before you get to the other movements?
• 1:43
  Philip Pape: The key with deadlift, as we said before, is that neutral, solid back, that slight extension in the lower back, the proper hinge and strong pull to the top.
• 1:53
  Philip Pape: There's a lot of elements that I'm not going to be able to explain here.
• 1:56
  Philip Pape: There's some great videos about that and if you have questions, always reach out to me.
• 2:01
  Philip Pape: Deadlifts are number one.
• 2:02
  Philip Pape: Number two are going to be some other hinge with a barbell, usually with a barbell, but also could be used with a dumbbell, such as Romanian deadlifts or good mornings.
• 2:12
  Philip Pape: These isolate the hamstrings even more.
• 2:17
  Philip Pape: I like the Romanian deadlift from the top, bringing it slowly down to the bottom, very lightly, locking the knees not locking the knees, but there's a slight bend in the knees and you're not bending them further, where it would become more of a deadlift.
• 2:31
  Philip Pape: You're keeping them somewhat stiff or straight.
• 2:33
  Philip Pape: Some people use the term straight leg deadlift when you do this from the ground, but a Romanian deadlift is bringing it down and feeling that tension in your hamstrings.
• 2:43
  Philip Pape: The good morning is having the bar on your back, kind of like a high bar movement, and then hinging forward and getting the stretch in your hamstrings.
• 2:53
  Philip Pape: Rdls focus on lifting the weight with your hips and legs and good mornings pivot around your waist.
• 3:00
  Philip Pape: But either way, they're both really solid barbell or dumbbell movements that can give you a targeted hamstring movement and avoid some of the strain you might get from the deadlift which is going to tax other things like your back.
• 3:12
  Philip Pape: All right.
• 3:13
  Philip Pape: So number three is going to be, if you have access to either of these, either a glute ham raise or Nordic curls.
• 3:20
  Philip Pape: Now, Nordic curls you can kind of rig up in your home gym.
• 3:23
  Philip Pape: It takes some time to set it up.
• 3:25
  Philip Pape: Look it up online.
• 3:26
  Philip Pape: I'm not going to explain it.
• 3:27
  Philip Pape: You're basically just you're on your knees and you're hinging forward.
• 3:30
  Philip Pape: Most people need a band because it's so difficult to bring yourself up unless you have sufficient strength.
• 3:36
  Philip Pape: Glute ham raises, also known as GHR or GHD machine, is often only found in a gym, unless you're lucky enough to have one at home and you're basically just locking your legs in.
• 3:48
  Philip Pape: Your torso is upright and then you're going forward and getting a really nice tight stretch in the hamstrings, and then you're pulling yourself back up.
• 3:58
  Philip Pape: The last one is, of course, going to be leg curls.
• 4:00
  Philip Pape: Whether these are line seated or standing, they're very targeted isolation movement which allows you to focus on that mind muscle connection, that contraction, that control.
• 4:10
  Philip Pape: They're great as a finisher in your leg workout or you can use them as a warmup for pre-exhaustion.
• 4:17
  Philip Pape: So there you go.
• 4:18
  Philip Pape: If you get these four things the barbell deadlift, the Romanian deadlift, the good mornings, the GHD or Nordic curls and the leg curls into your routine, you'll have some nice, well-developed, strong hamstrings.
• 4:31
  Philip Pape: And there you have it, my top four exercises for hamstring strength and development.
• 4:35
  Philip Pape: Thank you for tuning in to another episode of Wits and Weights.
• 4:41
  Philip Pape: If you found value in today's episode and know someone else who's looking to level up their wits or weights, please take a moment to share this episode with them and make sure to hit the follow button in your podcast platform right now to catch the next episode.
• 4:56
  Philip Pape: Until then, stay strong.