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THeMaCHinE
New member
fitmedic said:
You bet! I tried to reply to your PM, but your box was full...
Please Please Help My Hams!!!
- Thread starter fitmedic
- Start date
You bet! I tried to reply to your PM, but your box was full...
fl8meplz
New member
Hey fitmedic, try this as I had the same problems and it worked for me. It's kind of a bizarre superset but I hope it helps you.
You have to completly exhaust your hams on lying leg curls first, so do this:
2 sets to failure with just enough weight so you fail around 20 reps on your first set.
- rest no more than 1 minute -
Keep the weight the same and do a set where you don't straighten your legs all the way out for 10 then after the tenth 'mini-curl' finish the set out to failure curling the full range.
- rest 1 minute -
Do 1 more set to failure.
Next you are going to put more weight on a 45 degree leg press than you could do a full press with. You will do very shallow presses and try to shoot for 100 reps. You should feel this in your exhausted hamstrings first, then your ass.
- rest 1 minute -
Do another set of leg curls to exhaustion - have someone spot you and do a forced rep or two.
- no rest -
Move your feet a tad furter apart than before and do another set of shallow leg presses and try for 70 reps. You will feel this more in your ass this time. You should be seeing jelly worms and stars at the end of this set.
- rest 1 minute -
Now alternate doing hyperextensions and traveling lunges for two sets each.
When you are done, you should be wiped out. Be sure to eat.
You have to completly exhaust your hams on lying leg curls first, so do this:
2 sets to failure with just enough weight so you fail around 20 reps on your first set.
- rest no more than 1 minute -
Keep the weight the same and do a set where you don't straighten your legs all the way out for 10 then after the tenth 'mini-curl' finish the set out to failure curling the full range.
- rest 1 minute -
Do 1 more set to failure.
Next you are going to put more weight on a 45 degree leg press than you could do a full press with. You will do very shallow presses and try to shoot for 100 reps. You should feel this in your exhausted hamstrings first, then your ass.
- rest 1 minute -
Do another set of leg curls to exhaustion - have someone spot you and do a forced rep or two.
- no rest -
Move your feet a tad furter apart than before and do another set of shallow leg presses and try for 70 reps. You will feel this more in your ass this time. You should be seeing jelly worms and stars at the end of this set.
- rest 1 minute -
Now alternate doing hyperextensions and traveling lunges for two sets each.
When you are done, you should be wiped out. Be sure to eat.
Serenity Head
New member
fitmedic said:What will carb rot. do for hams directly...i don't know. Nothing apparently, if you look at mine. I have been on the NHE pan for 8 weeks now. About 20-30g carbs and high pro and fat/ day. Im gonna try something else-diet wise-cause that doesn't seem to have helped. I'll try prioritizing vinyl and see how that helps. And BG, define "plenty." Are you saying don't worry about the fat that will appear on my legs or stomach just pack on size then diet the fat away? What are pull thru's, hypers and reverse hypers? I see everyone talking about them but not sure what they are or how to do 'em. Serenity, maybe that is also part of my problem. I'm not feeling too much of a contraction when I do hams. It's really hard to find the exact place to feel that good squeeze..or cramp. lol. So does that mean I'm wasting my time? Thanks to all for taking the time to post.
1.) I didn't say you would feel the squeeze right away...it takes time and dedication. One of the best exercises is to just stand straight up and attempt to flex the ham while your foot on the ground. This is why you see bodybuilders put their hands on their hams on stage to feel if the ham is tight. It is one of the hardests muscles to gain control of. I personally have found that through my demonstrations as a trainer I get enormous squeezes in the exercises I am demonstrating to begginers even though I have little/no weight on machine.
2. I would not recommend the deadlift the way they had it in the picture, I would hang the bar with hands, being sure to stick your but out and only use your hams to pull it up, this is where muscular control becomes important.
3. If I were you I would do the following:You have option to have a leg split or to do a full leg day.
Prefatigue Hams: Ham curls 2 sets 20 reps as warmup
Squats: 4 sets 8-12 reps
One legged leg sled: 4 sets 10-15 reps
Ham Curls(Could use modified version in article): 5 sets 15,12,10,8,20 reps
Lunges: 3 sets to failure
Standing leg curl: 2 sets-20 reps go for that tight squeeze.
Can use alternate lifts week by week, but I personally always keep at least one of the squats or leg sleds in there.
A million people will tell you a million things, my advice is pick one and use it...you can add variation but try to keep a 3 month plan.
I think you will see awesome results if in 3 months you can make that hamstring "cramp" on demand....Goood Luck
spatts and makedah mentioned pull throughs. can someone please 'splain it to me?? fl8, how flat were your hams? that sounds like a brutal ham workout. i will definitely try it along with what serenity has posted. should i change my ham workout everytime I do them which now is 1x/week.
SteelWeaver
New member
Damn! Both those workouts sound brutal! I've heard here and there that hams are usually made up of predominantly fast-twitch fibres, and thus can be worked in a lower rep range. But I guess the key is to keep switching things up every now and then.
Pull-throughs: stand with your back to a low cable stack, legs spread a bit wider than shoulder width (or wider if you like) with a rope or leather straps attached to the cable. Bend down and grab the rope between your legs - yes, you WILL get stares whenever you do this move in the gym. Now walk forward a bit to increase the tension on the cable, then straighten up, pulling the cable up between your legs. You'll end up with the rope handles um .... basically just below your groin, depending how long your arms are, lol. The move is like a GM in reverse - with a GM you start vertical and bend down, then come back up. With this you start bent down, stand up, then bend down again. Same form requirements - back, abs tight, slight bend in knees, etc etc.
These, along with heavy SLDL's and some GM's gave me some nice improvements in my hams. I even did drop sets on pull-thoughs a few times. OMG! Lately I've been doing SLDL's not straightening up all the way to vertical - stopping about 30 degrees from the top - this keeps the tension on the hams and butt - OW!
I've noticed that heavier isn't always better.
As for mind-muscle, try flexing your hams whilst sitting around at work, or whatever you're doing.
Pull-throughs: stand with your back to a low cable stack, legs spread a bit wider than shoulder width (or wider if you like) with a rope or leather straps attached to the cable. Bend down and grab the rope between your legs - yes, you WILL get stares whenever you do this move in the gym. Now walk forward a bit to increase the tension on the cable, then straighten up, pulling the cable up between your legs. You'll end up with the rope handles um .... basically just below your groin, depending how long your arms are, lol. The move is like a GM in reverse - with a GM you start vertical and bend down, then come back up. With this you start bent down, stand up, then bend down again. Same form requirements - back, abs tight, slight bend in knees, etc etc.
These, along with heavy SLDL's and some GM's gave me some nice improvements in my hams. I even did drop sets on pull-thoughs a few times. OMG! Lately I've been doing SLDL's not straightening up all the way to vertical - stopping about 30 degrees from the top - this keeps the tension on the hams and butt - OW!
I've noticed that heavier isn't always better.
As for mind-muscle, try flexing your hams whilst sitting around at work, or whatever you're doing.
slinky
New member
Mainstay for ham/glutes: Good mornings. Will throw in reverse hypers for good measure. Also, glute-ham raises - THESE are amazing.
After a workout, I'll consume a shake that is made up of dextrose and maltodextrin and some protein powder and also creatine. It's best to consume a high GI carb for recovery purposes after a grueling workout. I even do the same after a boxing workout. Works beautifully for me!
After a workout, I'll consume a shake that is made up of dextrose and maltodextrin and some protein powder and also creatine. It's best to consume a high GI carb for recovery purposes after a grueling workout. I even do the same after a boxing workout. Works beautifully for me!
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