is anyone else here TERRIBLE at hamstring curls?

I’m weak at all lifts. I run 1:11 half.

I don’t lift but when i try I am shocked I can barely move 40 pounds on any machine with an individual leg.

I mean like barely can squat ...100 pounds

Hamstring curls maybe 20-40 pounds leg extension the same...

I was, then I got injured. Concentrate on the let-down phase (eccentric contraction), good advice to follow, lift up with both legs but let down with just one (obviously lighting up with 2 should not be near your 8-10 rep max). Alternate sets that way after starting with a warm-up set up 2 up and 2 down. Improving power is good.

i gave up that machine and just do hamstring curls on the ball.

thought I was strongish-er wrote:

I know hamstring curls are widely shunned as being useless for running, but the other day I got on the machine anyway. I was struggling to do sets of eight with even four of plates on the machine, and the machine goes up to about 15 plates! (On any other machine in the same gym I am 2/3 - 3/4 of the way to maxing out the machine, including all of the leg machines like the leg press.)

Normally I would avoid machines and do free weights (squats, deadlifts, weighted lunges) for lower body, and I'm pretty experienced with those, decently strong for a distance runner. I have been stuck working out in this small gym at my work lately. I was shocked at how much I apparently stink at this, a leg-related exercise.

In short, WTF?

There are a few dead enders in the caves of Iwo Jima, circa 1947 who believe leg curls are a waste. Leg curls may help prevent femoris bicep tears while sprinting.

Me too. I thinks it's because the hamstrings are a weak muscle group. When you run they only do a very quick lifting motion, the rest of the range of motion i.e. most of it is muscle reflex.

Some research suggests the opposite.

chuff wrote:

Shunned by whom? wrote:

There are a few dead enders in the caves of Iwo Jima, circa 1947 who believe leg curls are a waste. Leg curls may help prevent femoris bicep tears while sprinting.

Some research suggests the opposite.

They are shunned by most of the leading trainers in the industry today. Think about it.

What is the primary function of the hamstring? What type of muscle is it?

What is a functional way to exercise It?

If the primary function is to extend your hips why just work it as a knee flexor?

If it is comprised of pennate shaped muscle that is designed for moving powerfully in a short range of muscle why bring your knee all the way to your butt slowly?

If you run standing up, one leg at a time, why lie on your stomach and bend your knees?

Do eccentric hamstring work. It's better.

coach wrote:

chuff wrote:

Some research suggests the opposite.

They are shunned by most of the leading trainers in the industry today. Think about it.

What is the primary function of the hamstring? What type of muscle is it?

What is a functional way to exercise It?

If the primary function is to extend your hips why just work it as a knee flexor?

If it is comprised of pennate shaped muscle that is designed for moving powerfully in a short range of muscle why bring your knee all the way to your butt slowly?

If you run standing up, one leg at a time, why lie on your stomach and bend your knees?

I believe Owen Anderson, PhD stated in Running Science that femoris bicep function to provide stability when foot is on the ground. Physiologist at my university athletic department along with head t&f and xc coach told us the strength ratio in relationship to quad muscles is important. His research stated weaker femoris bicep were more apt to tear while sprinting. This is Lets Run. 99% on here never really sprint. Doing 10 x 100 yards at 800m pace after a ten mile run is not sprinting.

Then work the hamstring in a closed kinetic chain with the foot on the ground or pressed against something. The classic hamstring curl doesn't strengthen it in the way Anderson suggests it is being used while running. Anderson also mentions better, more functional and more explosive exercises runners should do. Of course we should have symmetry between the quads and hamstrings but the classic leg curl is not a good choice unless you have a diagnosed weakness and have been prescribed them by a PT. As a previous poster stated eccentric work by lifting with 2 legs and lowering with 1 would be a good choice but you don't need to bring your heel to your butt.

I would suggest deadlifts and variations over any machines personally for hamstrings.

The anti-machine attitude is based on false assumptions about the purpose of weight training. A knee flexion exercise is the only way to work the hamstrings thoroughly and work all aspects them. However, most leg curl machines aren’t very good as it is a difficult exercise to position the body for, and most machines have bad resistance curves. Reccommend using a Nautilus machine if you have access to one.

Brian Gates wrote:

The anti-machine attitude is based on false assumptions about the purpose of weight training. A knee flexion exercise is the only way to work the hamstrings thoroughly and work all aspects them. However, most leg curl machines aren’t very good as it is a difficult exercise to position the body for, and most machines have bad resistance curves. Reccommend using a Nautilus machine if you have access to one.

"A knee flexion exercise is the only way to work the hamstrings"

Are the hamstrings not hip extensors too? When do you ever truly flex your knees so dramatically as in a leg curl machine? The leg curl should be used for nothing but rehab.

"Some research" is not a source.

yes wrote:

When you run they only do a very quick lifting motion

Wrong.

thought I was strongish-er wrote:

I know hamstring curls are widely shunned as being useless for running, but the other day I got on the machine anyway. I was struggling to do sets of eight with even four of plates on the machine, and the machine goes up to about 15 plates! (On any other machine in the same gym I am 2/3 - 3/4 of the way to maxing out the machine, including all of the leg machines like the leg press.)

Normally I would avoid machines and do free weights (squats, deadlifts, weighted lunges) for lower body, and I'm pretty experienced with those, decently strong for a distance runner. I have been stuck working out in this small gym at my work lately. I was shocked at how much I apparently stink at this, a leg-related exercise.

In short, WTF?

Rumor has it that the hammy's should be 50% as strong as the quads.

It's also possible that you are more easily able to cheat a bit on the other exercises and not as much with the leg curls.

coach wrote:

"A knee flexion exercise is the only way to work the hamstrings"

Are the hamstrings not hip extensors too? When do you ever truly flex your knees so dramatically as in a leg curl machine? The leg curl should be used for nothing but rehab.

I said a knee flexion exercise is only way to work the hamstrings thoroughly since the short head of the biceps only flexes the knee, and exercises that involve hip extension generally work the hamstrings less hard than the back, glutes, and quads. It’s fine to rely on squats and deadlifts, but a skillfully executed leg curl works the hamstrings a little better. The only rational purpose of resistance training is to fatigue the muscle fibers under load to stimulate them to grow stronger, not to somehow replicate the motions involved in extraneous acts like running. A muscle fiber in the hamstrings has no “awareness” of whether it is being used as a knee flexor or hip extensor; all it does is shorten when its motor neuron fires.

Dandy Donny wrote:

Rumor has it that the hammy's should be 50% as strong as the quads.

This has absolutely no scientific or factual basis. Muscle balance is mostly genetically determined, and at present there is no tool in existence capable of accurately measuring hamstrings strength.

But we aren't training individual muscle fibers, we are training whole muscles, joints, and movement patterns.

1. Motor unit recruitment patterns will vary based on the movement

2. The ability of a muscle fiber to shorten when excited is dependent on its length, velocity, contraction of nearby fibers, etc.

3. Strength training at a specific joint angle has greatest carryover to that same joint angle.