Hamstring exercises for the gym and home

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These are the 10 hamstring exercises in our library. Each one includes the correct technique, the muscles it works and alternatives if you lack the equipment. You can generate a free routine that includes them based on your level and goal.

Muscles you work when training your hamstrings

The hamstrings do two jobs: they extend the hip and flex the knee. That is why they need two different kinds of exercise: hip movements with a nearly straight knee (Romanian deadlift, good mornings), which load them in a deep stretch, and knee-flexion movements (leg curl). Training them properly is one of the most cited measures for reducing injury risk when sprinting.

How to train your hamstrings: sets, reps and frequency

For muscle growth, the meta-analysis by Schoenfeld, Ogborn and Krieger (2017), covering 15 studies, found a dose-response relationship: more weekly sets per muscle lead to more hypertrophy, and the practical benchmark usually drawn from it is around 10 or more sets a week. Splitting them over two sessions works better than doing them in one (Schoenfeld and colleagues, 2016), and light or heavy loads give similar hypertrophy when sets end close to failure (Schoenfeld and colleagues, 2017).

They need two kinds of movement: hip hinges (Romanian deadlift, good mornings) and knee flexion (leg curls). Doing only one of the two leaves one of their functions undertrained. If you are starting out, stay at the low end of the sets and build up gradually. We explain it in how many sets per muscle you need.

Seated or lying leg curl: the measured difference

Maeo and colleagues (2021) had 20 adults train for 12 weeks with one leg on the seated leg curl and the other on the lying leg curl, with the same load and volume, and measured the muscle with MRI:

Seated, with the hip flexed, the hamstrings work more stretched, and that favours hypertrophy. If your gym has both machines, prioritise the seated one; if it only has the lying one, it still works: it grows less, it does not stop growing.

Blog guides: Hamstrings

• Deadlift: correct technique, variations and safety — Deadlift: correct technique step by step, which variation suits you (conventional, sumo, Romanian) and the truth about whether it is bad for your back.
• Best leg exercises for the gym and at home — The best leg exercises according to science: squats, seated leg curls, stretched calf raises, how many sets to do and a routine for the gym and home.
• Glute exercises: the guide to actually building them — Glutes are the most sought-after muscle group in the gym — and the most poorly trained. The best exercises, correct technique, and a plan that actually works.

The 10 hamstring exercises

Compound exercises (5)

Isolation exercises (5)

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