Barbell Hamstring Exercises

Building strength in your hamstrings allows you to bend forward at the waist and bend your knees with greater ease. In addition, stronger hamstrings reduce the risk of knee injuries because of increased joint stability. There are multiple barbell exercises you can do that target the hamstrings. A traditional barbell weighs 45 pounds, but you can add weighted plates on the ends to increase the load your hamstrings have to lift.

  1. Hamstrings

    • The hamstrings are a collection of three muscles -- the biceps femoris, semitendinosus and semimembranosus -- at the back of your upper thighs. They originate at your pelvis bone and run down your leg, inserting just below your knee joint. Because they cross both the hip and knee joints, they’re able to perform both hip extension, which means they can straighten your hips, and knee flexion, or bending your knees.

    Exercises

    • According to ExRx.net, you can effectively develop strength and tone in your hamstrings with barbell straight leg deadlifts, barbell good mornings and barbell hamstring raises. The straight leg deadlift involves standing and holding the weighted barbell down at the front of your thighs and then lowering the bar toward the floor by bending forward at the waist while keeping your knees straight. Good mornings require you to bend forward at the waist from a standing position but with the weighted barbell on the back of your upper shoulders. Barbell hamstring raises require the use of a back extension of the glute ham raise apparatus. The apparatus positions your thighs horizontally but your torso erect. With the bar on the back of your shoulders, lower your torso toward the floor until it’s in a horizontal position.

    Impact of Flexibility

    • The straight leg deadlift, good morning and hamstring raise all require you to bend forward at the waist. However, how far you’re able to bend forward depends on the flexibility of your hamstrings. Avoid stretching beyond what’s comfortable for you. If your hamstrings are flexible and you don’t feel a stretch when you’re performing barbell straight leg deadlifts from the floor, do the exercise while standing on an elevated surface, such as a box.

    Safety

    • When performing the straight leg deadlift, keep the weighted barbell close to your body throughout the whole movement. It should nearly slide right up and down your legs. When you keep the load over your feet, the stress on your lower back is minimal. Because of the stress that’s placed on your lower back during barbell straight leg deadlifts and barbell good mornings, begin by training with a light barbell. This allows your lower back time to adapt to the stress and increase strength so that it can adequately protect the spine.