Hamstrings - the V12 engine

 If I had to pick only one muscle group which I believe is the most beneficial for athletes (strength athletes, track athletes, fighters, players, etc.) I would not pick "core" as many people would; I'd pick hamstrings.

Hamstrings are absolutely essential for power production when sprinting, running, jumping, skating, football, rugby, basketball, and pretty much any other sport. 

Hamstrings have two functions: they assist in hip extension and in knee flexion. Strong hamstrings ensure knee stability because they are attached below the knee. They can become insanely strong, powerful and muscular with proper training.

I recommend people train hamstrings twice a week, heavy with low or moderate reps.

Here are my TOP 5 Go To exercises for strong and powerful hams:

1/ Sprinting

Yes. Sprinting. There is no other movement for powerful contraction of hamstrings. They can produce fantastic results. If you look at elite sprinters - they all have muscular and powerful hamstrings. I like to do 8-10 sets of 130-150m uphill after some light running warm-up.

2/ Glute-Ham Raises

Lower yourself slowly with anchored ankles and then with a slight push with your hands reverse into concentric motion. You can do them with staight hips, bent hips, trunk rotation.

3/ Single-Leg Hip Raise

With one heel firmly against the bench fire the hamstring and push your body upwards using hamstring and glutes strength. It looks easy but it is not. I feel this exercise in the glute/ham tie-in. Go for higher reps.

4/ Power Kettlebell Swings

With only slight bend in the knees, let the KB swing far between the legs they contract the hamstrings powerfully to swing the kettlebell forcefully forward. Don't use your hands, they only hold the weight. The power comes from hamstring contraction. I like doing these for time of for many sets of 20-30 reps.

5/ Deficit Stiff-Leg Deadlift

People often confuse Romanian deadlift and Stiff-leg deadlift. RDLs are a glute exercise and SLDLs are a hamstring exercise. Sure, they overlap but the focus is clear. You can stand on a small block to increase the range of motion and thus the stress on hamstrings.

Good luck

Powerful Combos .... for Life!

With all the latest surge online of new fancy exercises, different pulley handles, different balancing exercises, etc. I would like to remind everyone that the human body works as one unit usually using dozens of muscles when moving (running, jumping, lifting, carrying, fighting, etc.)

And all the fancy new exercises, they usually come and go. Normal stuff. What stays for decades and centuries are the compound exercises like deadlifts, presses, bench presses, squats, etc. because they work, they consistently bring results, they work dozens of muscles at the same time in prefect sync and they stimulate the largest strength and hypertrophy response.

Also, people these days are very busy and most of us have limited time to train.

That's where the "Powerful Combos" come into play. Two compound lifts which hit 70-80+% of muscles in your body, take limited time to complete and stimulate large strength and hypertrophy response. You do them for lifetime. Because they bring results over and over and over. You can add to them 1-3 assistance exercises as you wish based on your goals (hypertrophy work, unilateral work, plyos, Oly lifts, strongman stuff, rehab, stabilisation, whatever you need).

(Pictured Yuri Belkin, one of the best sumo pullers of all time)

But these combos stay for life. Because they work.

Here are my favourites and muscles they hit. I also try to couple them together so that I hit the most muscles in the body and have minimum hassle setting up the stands, bench, etc.:

Combo #1

paused deadlift 4 sets of 3 medium heavy

bench press 5 sets of 3 heavy

muscles trained: whole posterior chain, core, all pressing muscles

Combo #2

front squat 3 set of 5 heavy

OHP 3 sets of 5 heavy

muscles trainied: legs, core, upper back, shoulders

Combo #3

power snatch 4 sets of 2 ramp

front squat 3 set of 2 very heavy

muscles trained: upper back, shoulders, core, legs

Combo #4

deficit SLDL 3 sets of 5 heavy

close-grip bench press 3 sets of 5 very heavy

muscles trained: hams, glutes, whole back, all pressing muscles

Combo #5

low bar squat 4 sets of 3 heavy

pull-ups 5 sets of 3 with added weight

muscles trained: legs, core, lats, biceps, forearms

Combo #6

barbell lunges 3 sets of 6 heavy

dips 5 sets of 5 very heavy

muscles trained: legs, glutes, all pressing muscles

Combo #7

front squat 3 sets of 3 heavy

snatch-grip high pulls 4 sets of 3 ramp

muscles trained: legs, core, whole posterior chain, traps, grip

Remember, you do not have to train each single muscle in your body every single week. And your body is not a collection of body parts - it is one strong highly coordinated unit. Train it accordingly.

SBD days ...

SBD days (squat, bench, deadlift) are an excellent way to increase frequency of the powerlifts, practice good form and learn how to lift heavy while fatigued. It also simulates the meet as you have to perform nine heavy singles, 3 for each powerlift. 

(pic: Joe Ladnier)

A typical way is to perform several sets of low bar squat, competitive bench press and your version of competitive deadlift (sumo or conventional). You perform several sets of low reps, usually at the 70-85% of 1RM where strength is best built.

Example:

squat 4 sets of 3 @ 80%

bench press 3 sets of 5 @ 70%

deadlift 3 sets of 3 @ 75%

You can do the competitive powerlifts or you can do their variations which build your individual weakness, for example deficit deadlifts and block pulls for your deadlift, SSB squats of front squats for your squat and CGBP or incline press for your bench press. Some more workout examples below:

Example 1:

low bar squat 4 sets of 3 @ 80%

CGBP 3 sets of 5 @ 70%

deadlift 3 sets of 3 @ 80%

Example 2:

deficit deadlift 4 sets of 2 @ 75%

SSB squat 4 sets of 4 @ 75%

incline press 4 sets of 3 @ 80%

Example 3:

front squat 4 sets of 2 @ 85%

bench press 5 sets of 3 @ 80%

deficit SLDL 2 sets of 5 @ 65%

The session should be heavy but not too heavy. Perfect form on all three lifts and accummulation of volume are the priorities. I like to do the SBD days once every two weeks or so. You can do them 3x a week in the beginning of a training cycle to build volume and frequency fast.

Good luck :)

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