Stiff legged deadlifts put the hamstrings under a great loaded stretch, as do the other movements listed below. She's also a professional writer. Women practicing straight-leg dead lifts without weights. Improves grip strength. Whether it’s heavy pectoral stretch with a pair of dumbbells, or a heavy preacher curl (at the bottom) - the riskiest part of the range of motion is always the stretch part. Lower your torso until it’s nearly parallel to the floor and/or you feel a deep stretch in your hamstrings. Do a few sets of 10 as a warm-up. How about the biceps of the arm? This allows your hamstrings to take on more of the lifting load. First of all, any kind of weighted stretch increases the chance of a muscle tear. } This is especially true if the person has already had lower back issues.So when we compare the cost and reward - the investment of energy and the risk of injury, compared to a very small amount of possible gain - it seems clear that the wiser strategy would be doing only leg curls for hamstring development.Incidentally, in my experience, I’ve gotten significantly better hamstring development by doing PRONE hamstring curls (lying on my stomach), as compared to doing them on the Seated Leg Curl Machine. A deadlift is a standard weight-training exercise that works both the upper and lower body at the same time. This means that, although its primary function is to flex the elbow, it “assists” in shoulder abduction (moving the upper arm forward). var expires = "; expires="+date.toGMTString(); Hamstring weakness and inflexibility is very common in modern Western society, perhaps due in part to the habit of not sitting on the ground or bending over regularly, both activities that stretch and strengthen the hamstrings. In addition to the risk of a hamstring tear while doing stiff-legged deadlifts, there is certainly the risk of lower back injury. You also don't stretch many muscles under load in a deadlift. and fshowMsg = false; Performing Romanian Deadlift For Keeping The Legs Healthy. The (long head of the) triceps muscle, like the hamstring, also crosses two joints. 'transitionOut' : 'elastic', Likewise, the Gluteus muscle is primarily charged with the task of hip extension, because it originates much higher on the pelvis, than does the hamstring. Rewire Your Hamstring Workout. While the biceps of the arm might assist in moving the upper arm forward (at the shoulder), it is not contracted until (and unless) the elbow is bent. The hamstrings also assist in hip extension, which means they help push the femur backward. 7) Squeeze your glutes and hamstrings at the top of the movement, and then repeat. ); spu_createCookie('spu_cookiesubs', 'subs', persistance); diagnosis or treatment. }