If you’ve been looking to crank up the intensity of your hamstring workouts without hitting the gym, then you’re in the right place. We’ve got a killer lineup of exercises that can be done right at home, with just some basic equipment like dumbbells and resistance bands.
And let me tell you, these aren’t your average moves; they target your hamstrings in ways that will challenge you and get you the results you’re after.
Let’s get started!
Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift
The Romanian deadlift targets your hamstrings and lower back, crucial for athletic power and injury prevention. This exercise specifically activates the posterior chain, enhancing sprinting, jumping, and lifting performance.
Proper form is vital: Maintain a neutral spine and hinge at the hips to isolate the hamstrings. Unlike squats or traditional deadlifts, the focus is on the hamstring stretch, not depth. Lower only until you feel a hamstring stretch, then return to start.
Primary Muscles: Hamstrings, lower back
Secondary Muscles: Glutes
Step-by-step:
- Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and maintain a slight bend in your knees.
- Hold a dumbbell in each hand.
- Initiate the hip hinge by sticking your butt out and keeping a straight back.
- Stop the movement before your back begins to bend—usually just below the knees.
- Engage your glutes and hamstrings to return to the starting position.
Expert Tip: It’s crucial to keep your knees slightly bent and your back straight the entire time. Also, brace your core and exhale after every rep.
Band Romanian Deadlift
Incorporating resistance bands offers the unique advantage of variable resistance that’s more aligned with your natural strength curve. The bands also improve time under tension and force you to stabilize your body, promoting balance and coordination.
The elastic nature of the resistance band encourages you to focus on the concentric (lifting) part of the movement, maximizing the engagement of your fast-twitch muscle fibers. This boosts your explosive strength, making the exercise particularly beneficial for athletes or those into high-intensity workouts.
Primary Muscles: Hamstrings, lower back
Secondary Muscles: Glutes
Step-by-step:
- Stand shoulder-width apart on the elastic bands while gripping them with both hands.
- With your knees slightly bent, stick your butt out and hinge your
- Pull yourself back to the starting position using your glutes and hamstrings.
Expert tip: Think of it as driving your legs into the ground rather than coming up with your body.
Dumbbell or Kettlebell Swing
The kettlebell swing provides a dynamic, explosive workout that targets your hamstrings while simultaneously engaging the entire posterior chain, including the lower back and glutes. This exercise is ideal for building power and enhancing athletic performance.
Technically speaking, the swing hinges on a powerful hip thrust. Your arms act merely as cables, letting the weight swing in response to your hip drive. While typically done with kettlebells, using dumbbells works just fine too if you don’t have one.
Primary Muscles: Hamstrings, glutes
Secondary Muscles: Lower back
Step-by-step:
- Hold a dumbbell or kettlebell with both hands
- Assume a stance slightly wider than shoulder-width, with knees softly bent
- Thrust your hips forward to swing the weight up to shoulder level or higher.
Expert tip: Your butt should be pushed back until you’re seeing the ground. Focus on the hip thrust and engage those hamstrings to avoid turning this into a squatting motion.
Band Pull-Through
The band pull-through exercise strengthens the posterior chain: the glutes, hamstrings, and lower back without putting undue stress on the spine. It’s great for anyone looking to improve their deadlift or squat by familiarizing themselves with proper hip hinge mechanics.
The key is to maintain a straight back and a slight bend in the knees. As you pull the band through your legs, your hips should thrust forward, squeezing the glutes at the top of the movement.
Primary Muscles: Hamstrings, glutes
Secondary Muscles: Lower back
Step-by-step:
- Attach a resistance band to a heavy, stable object.
- Step away to create tension on the band, feet a bit wider than shoulder-width apart.
- Grip the band between your legs, with a slight bend in your knees.
- Maintain a neutral spine as you hinge at the hips, letting the band pull your hands back.
- Extend your hips forward, bringing your hands and the band with you.
Expert tip: Make sure it’s your glutes and hamstrings doing the work, not your arms pulling the band.
Resistance Band Hamstring Curls
As with any curl exercise, the hamstring curls provide muscle isolation that’s hard to achieve with compound exercises. Using bands allows for adjustable tension by pulling further or progressing to heavier resistance levels.
You’ll most likely begin with a thinner band, as the hamstrings are some of the more neglected muscle groups. You should also be able to do the exercise without bringing up your entire lower back.
Primary Muscles: Hamstrings
Secondary Muscles: Calves, glutes
Step-by-step:
- Place your feet inside the loop of a resistance band and walk backward until you’re sitting on a bench.
- Hold onto the bench for stability, curl your heels towards your glutes, and hold the contracted position for about 2 seconds before returning to the starting position.
Expert Tips: Consider wearing long socks or wrapping a towel around the area where the band will make contact with your leg. This makes the exercise more comfortable without compromising its effectiveness.
Benefits of Training Your Hamstring Muscles
When it comes to lower body power, the hamstrings are an invaluable asset. Building these muscles directly influences your overall athletic performance, from sprinting to heavy lifting. They also aid in preventing lower back pain by promoting better posture and spine alignment.
Additionally, strong hamstrings act as stabilizers for the knees, reducing the risk of ligament tears and joint injuries. From a metabolic perspective, muscle tissue burns more calories at rest compared to fat, making strong hamstrings a contributing factor to more efficient calorie burning and, consequently, easier weight management.