Build A Great Set Of Hamstrings

This is probably one area of the physique that’s changed the most since I was competing. We worked our thigh biceps alright but nothing like they do today. The hams have become almost as important as the quads. Consequently, you just can’t ignore them or even approach them casually. Hams have become so popular your eye almost searches for them.

Everyone and his brother knows about the flat supine thigh biceps machines … never have been very efficient. When the exercise gets hard, you have to stick your rear end up in the air to give you enough pre-stretch to handle any weight. A few years ago a designer got smart and put a hump right in the middle of the bench to improve the efficiency. Then a short while later Flex Equipment came out with a seated thigh curl machine which places you in full pre-stretch position so you can really use some heavy weight.

Actually, the seated one is pretty good but I’ll tell you about an exercise for building hams that beats all of them. It’s simply terrific and I’ll bet you’ve never heard of it. I know I hadn’t.

This exercise really blasts the tar out of the hams. To start off with you’ll have a hard time doing even one rep. It’s called the Sit-Up bench Ham Curl.

I got this out of Dennis Weis’ terrific new book called Anabolic Muscle Mass. It’s so clever. I tried it and was hooked. Here’s how to do it.

Get yourself one of those sit up benches with a padded foot rest. Kneel down on the bench and place your heels under the padded foot rest. Place an extra pad under the knees. Place your hands behind your head and slowly extend the body out over the bench. It’s all thigh biceps. What an exercise!

To start off with you’ll probably want to bend at the waist. As you get stronger you’ll be able to do the exercise with your upper body straight. Then finally with your upper back arched. This is the best ham exercise I have ever used.