Introduction

Training the hamstring is often considered a cornerstone of every sport performance program due to their high involvement in movements such as sprinting.  The high involvement during sprints is also a major reason why they are a common injury site in sport (8).  For instance, in professional soccer they represent 12 - 17% of all injuries (1,3) and in the NFL hamstrings are the second most common injury site (5).  Additionally, in the NFL, hamstring injuries have a recurrence rate of 38% within that season (2) and is one reason you do not draft, or you are kicking yourself for drafting a player with a preseason hamstring injury in your fantasy football league.

Training the hamstring

Going back to our basic anatomy class, we know that the hamstrings are made up of the semimembranosus, semitendinosus, and the biceps femoris.  The function of all 3 of these muscles is to both flex the knee and extend the hip.  However, if we take a deeper look at the biceps femoris, we will notice that it has 2 heads (long and short head) (Figure 1). Biceps femoris short head does not cross the hip so if you only do hip extension-based exercises (i.e., deadlift) you would not train this entire muscle.  Thus, for optimal hamstring development incorporating both hip (i.e., deadlift) and knee (i.e., leg curl) dominant exercises is crucial.

Figure 1. Anatomy of hamstring

There are many traditional resistance training (TRT) methods of training the hamstring such as barbell deadlift, cable/machine leg curl, or the extremely popular Nordic hamstring.  Although these methods have been shown to be very effective, multiple studies have shown that flywheel resistance training (FRT) exercises may be a superior way to train the hamstring.  For instance, previous authors reported that the flywheel leg curl had far greater muscle activation in comparison to the Nordic hamstring (Figure 2) (4).  Timmins et al. (7) further compared the Nordic to the FRT deadlift in a 39-week training study.  Both groups increased fascicle length and eccentric strength.  However, the FRT group also improved in maximal sprint velocity and horizontal force production.  Finally, a 2024 investigation compared the training effect of the FRT vs TRT Romanian deadlift (RDL) after 6 weeks of training (6).   Both groups improved their 3RM strength, yet the FRT group also improved their eccentric hamstring strength.  Altogether, training the hamstring via FRT can be extremely beneficial and may be a more favorable way to train hamstrings in comparison to traditional methods.

Figure 2. Pre and post muscle activation via fMRI of the Nordic hamstring and flywheel leg curl. * = greater than Nordic hamstring at POST (modified figure from the results of Fernandez-Gonzalo et al. (4))

6 Exercises to Maximize Your Hamstrings

Deadlift

Primary Goal: Strength

Load: Moderate to heavy load (~ ≥ .075 kg m2)

Reps: 2 – 6

Sets: 2 - 4

Deadlifts are one of my favorite exercises for building hamstring strength because of the heavier loads that you can utilize.  Please note that for new flywheel users the deadlift may be challenging to get the hang of due to the rapid transition from concentric to eccentric (unable to pause at the top).  For this I recommend starting with a slow movement speed and/or multiple flywheels, and cue on the athlete to “float” the top end range of motion.

Clean High Pull

Primary Goal: Power

Load: Light to moderate load (~ .025 - .075 kg m2)

Reps: 3 – 6

Sets: 2 - 4

I often employ the clean high pull to develop power due to the high forces and velocity it can create.  This exercise is similar to the traditional high pull counterpart, except with the flywheel variation you will not make hip contact.  Due to the additional technique that is required for this exercise, previous flywheel and resistance training experience is recommended before implementing.

Romanian Deadlift (RDL)

Primary Goal: Strength or Hypertrophy

Load: Moderate to heavy load (~ .075 - .15 kg m2)

Reps: 5 – 10

Sets: 2 - 5

Note: Lower reps and higher sets (5 x 5) would be utilized for strength gains, whereas high reps and lower sets (3 x 10) would be utilized for hypertrophy.

This exercise is another similar movement as the deadlift, however, the legs are slightly straighter.  This movement pattern might be slightly easier to learn and could be taught before the deadlift due to its shorter range of motion.  This shorter range of motion also allows you to implement a slightly higher rep range if hypertrophy is the primary training goal.

Prone Leg Curl

Primary Goal: Hypertrophy

Load: Moderate load (~ .05 kg m2)

Reps: 8 – 12

Sets: 2 - 4

The prone leg curl is my go-to knee dominant hamstring exercise because you can set it up relatively easy on both the ultimate and rack fly with no additional equipment such as a box.  In the video you'll be able to see that the athlete has tied the rope directly to the ankle cuff rather than utilizing the rope clamp, which I typically recommend because the clamp tends to weigh down the rope on this exercise.

Seated Leg Curl

Primary Goal: Hypertrophy

Load: Moderate load (~ .05 kg m2)

Reps: 8 – 12

Sets: 2 - 4

This exercise is extremely like the prone leg curl except you will be on an open plyo box rather than the floor.  One challenge of this is keeping the box from moving, thus I recommend using a heavy box or plates to weigh it down.

Back Extension

Primary Goal: Hypertrophy

Load: Moderate to heavy load (~ .05 - .10 kg m2)

Reps: 8 – 12

Sets: 2 - 4

Back extensions are an accessory exercise that I write into every program due to its ability to train the entire posterior chain which include the hamstrings, glutes, and lower back (erector spinae).  However, one major disadvantage of this exercise is the additional set up time it will take to strap the rack fly to the glute ham developer

Conclusion

Training of the hamstring is a crucial part of any sport performance program due to their involvement in key movements and being a common injury site.  In general, when training the hamstrings you should try to incorporate both knee and hip dominant exercises.  The incorporation of flywheel specific hamstring exercises into your training program has been shown to be as effective and potentially a superior method of training in comparison to TRT exercises.  Outlined above highlights some of the most popular and my personal favorite exercises.  However, there are many exercises that can be performed with the flywheel such as flywheel supine single leg hip extension, reverse hyper extensions, split stance/single leg variations.  The loading parameters (load/reps/sets) listed above are general recommendations for you to get started.   Different loading schemes can be utilized for each exercise depending on the training goal (i.e., strength vs hypertrophy).  For more information on programing, please visit this blog here.

References

1. Bisciotti, GN, Chamari, K, Cena, E, et al. Hamstring injuries prevention in soccer: a narrative review of current literature. Joints 07: 115–126, 2019.
2. Bodendorfer, BM, DeFroda, SF, Newhouse, AC, et al. Recurrence of hamstring injuries and risk factors for partial and complete tears in the National Football League: an analysis from 2009–2020. Phys Sportsmed 51: 139–143, 2023.
3. Ekstrand, J, Hägglund, M, and Waldén, M. Injury incidence and injury patterns in professional football: the UEFA injury study. Br J Sports Med 45: 553–558, 2011.
4. Fernandez-Gonzalo, R, Tesch, P, Linnehan, R, et al. Individual muscle use in hamstring exercises by soccer players assessed using functional MRI. Int J Sports Med 37: 559–564, 2016.
5. Luxenburg, D, Wasserman, NA, Geller, JS, et al. Hamstring injuries in the national football league: An epidemiological study. J Orthop 35: 111–114, 2023.
6. O Brien, J, Browne, D, Earls, D, and Lodge, C. The effect of a flywheel hip extension vs a traditional hip extension exercise on hamstring strength. Int J Strength Cond 4, 2024.
7. Timmins, RG, Filopoulos, D, Nguyen, V, et al. Sprinting, strength, and architectural adaptations following hamstring training in australian footballers. Scandinavian Med Sci Sports 31: 1276–1289, 2021.
8. Van Den Tillaar, R, Solheim, JAB, and Bencke, J. omparison of hamstring muscle activation during high-speed running and various hamstring strengthening exercises. Intl J Sports Phys Ther 12: 718–727, 2017.