Tip: One Exercise Isn't Enough for Hamstrings Search Skip to content Menu Menu follow us Store Articles Community Loyal-T Club Loyal-T Points Rewards Subscribe to Save Search Search The World s Trusted Source & Community for Elite Fitness Training Tip One Exercise Isn t Enough for Hamstrings Only do one hamstring exercise Then you' re missing half the muscle Here' s why plus the best exercises to do by Nick Tumminello January 3, 2017November 24, 2021 Tags Legs, Tips, Training All you need are the big compound lifts to build muscle, right? Not so fast. Science tells us that this is a myth. Muscle size requires more than just the compound lifts. You need to isolate certain muscles to get them to grow. For instance, different parts of the hamstring complex can be regionally targeted through exercise selection. This falsifies the common belief that just sticking to the big lifts will give you a fully comprehensive training stimulus for building muscle. Researchers investigated the muscle activity of the hamstrings during the leg curl, good morning, glute-ham raise, and Romanian deadlift (RDL) and found that hamstring activity was maximized in the RDL and glute-ham raise. The Romanian Deadlift (RDL) The Glute-Ham Raise Another study compared hamstring exercises where movement originates at the hip versus the knee to see whether they'd cause differential activation of the hamstring muscle complex (1). The researchers found that the lying leg curl (where movement originates at the knee joint) elicited more activation of the lower lateral and lower medial hamstrings compared to the stiff-legged deadlift (where movement originates at the hip joint). Their results were confirmed in another study, which concluded that people trying to maximize the involvement of the hams should consider focusing on both the glute-ham raise and RDL (2). One Hip Joint Exercise One Knee Joint Exercise So if you think your hammies suck, maybe you're just not hitting them from all angles. Complete hamstring training should have at least one exercise where movement is focused at the hip joint, like the Romanian deadlift or its variations; and one exercise where movement is focused at the knee joint, like the leg curl, glute-ham raise or other isolation exercises. And this goes for all muscle groups. Isolation exercises used on the same area (quads, biceps, glutes, delts) can have unique training benefits and impact muscle growth differently. References Schoenfeld BJ, et al. Regional Differences in Muscle Activation During Hamstrings Exercise. J Strength Cond Res. 2014 Jun 24. McAllister MJ, et al. Muscle activation during various hamstring exercises. J Strength Cond Res. 2014 Jun;28(6):1573-80. Get The T Nation Newsletters Don' t Miss Out Expert Insights To Get Stronger, Gain Muscle Faster, And Take Your Lifting To The Next Level related posts Training 4 Reasons You Suck at Building Mass If you're small and weak, this is either going hurt your feelings or help you get bigger and stronger. Your choice. Check it out. Bodybuilding, Powerlifting & Strength, Training Paul Carter November 2 Training Tip Exercise Variety is Overrated A little variety is good. A lot of variety is lazy and dumb. Here's why. Bodybuilding, Powerlifting & Strength, Tips, Training Tony Gentilcore March 15 Training Tip Do Sweeping Deadlifts for Overall Strength This tough deadlift variation will make you better at pull-ups, Olympic lifts and more. Check it out. Tips, Training Christian Thibaudeau February 15 Training No to Squats and Barbell Rowing It's not about being anti-squatting or anti-barbell rowing, it's about being pro-logic. Let your needs and goals dictate your exercise choices. Training Ben Bruno November 7