A strong lower body does more than power your workouts. When you focus on the best hamstring exercises, you support your knees, protect your lower back, and make daily movements like walking stairs or picking up groceries feel easier.
Below, you will find practical, research-backed ways to strengthen your hamstrings whether you work out at home or in the gym.
Why your hamstrings matter
Your hamstrings are the muscles that run along the back of your thigh. They bend your knee and extend your hip, which means they help you walk, run, jump, and stand up from a chair. They work hard in the background, even when you are not thinking about them.
For runners, hamstrings play a particularly important role. They help pull you forward during foot strike, lift your heel during the stance phase, and control your leg as it swings forward before the next step (Recover Athletics). Strong hamstrings help reduce injury risk and muscle soreness, even if they do not automatically make you faster on their own.
When your hamstrings are weak compared to the muscles at the front of your thigh, you are more likely to deal with tightness, strains, and knee or hip discomfort. Strength training helps restore balance so you can move with more control.
How often to train your hamstrings
Hamstrings respond well to regular, targeted work. A recent analysis suggests that hamstring strengthening can cut injury risk by about 49 percent when you do enough weekly volume, roughly 10 to 16 sets per muscle group per week (Healthline).
You can reach that range in one longer workout or by spreading it across two or three sessions. If you are just starting, begin with fewer sets so you can focus on form and avoid overwhelming soreness, then slowly add sets as you get stronger (Healthline).
Best hamstring exercises with weights
If you have access to dumbbells, barbells, or machines, you can load your hamstrings heavily and build strength and muscle over time.
Romanian deadlift (RDL)
Romanian deadlifts are often considered a staple hamstring move. You keep a slight bend in your knees and hinge at your hips, which lets you feel a deep stretch in the back of your legs while you control the weight.
RDLs emphasize hip extension and limit knee involvement so your hamstrings and glutes do more of the work (TrainHeroic). You can use a barbell, dumbbells, or even a kettlebell. Start light, maintain a flat back, and think about pushing your hips behind you as you lower the weight.
Conventional deadlift
The conventional deadlift is one of the most popular heavy lifts for total body strength. It targets hip extension and engages your hamstrings, glutes, core, and back to stabilize the weight from the floor (TrainHeroic).
If you are newer to lifting, spend time dialing in your technique before loading aggressively. A good rule is to feel tension in the back of your legs without rounding your spine. Over time, this lift can dramatically improve leg strength and resilience.
Single leg Romanian deadlift
The single leg RDL challenges your hamstrings, hips, and balance at the same time. You stand on one leg with a soft bend in the knee, then hinge forward while keeping your back neutral. Your hamstrings and glutes work hard to control the movement and keep you stable.
This exercise is especially useful for injury prevention because it addresses side-to-side imbalances and improves your position sense (Sports Injury Physio). You can start with bodyweight and eventually hold a dumbbell or kettlebell in the opposite hand as you progress.
Leg curl variations
Leg curls directly target your hamstrings by bending your knees against resistance. If you have access to a leg curl machine, you can use it for focused hamstring work with a clear movement path.
Research suggests that seated leg curls might build slightly more hamstring muscle than lying curls, which makes the seated version a strong choice if hypertrophy is your goal (BarBend). Machine setup matters. Adjust the seat and ankle pads so you can move through a full range of motion without the pads digging into your calves or thighs (BarBend).
If you do not have a machine, you can still mimic leg curl mechanics with banded leg curls, stability ball leg curls, or glute ham raises. These options teach control and often recruit your glutes and core at the same time (BarBend).
Kettlebell swing
Kettlebell swings train explosive hip extension using higher reps. You hinge at your hips with a soft bend in your knees, then drive the kettlebell forward using the power of your glutes and hamstrings.
When your form is on point, swings are great for conditioning and teaching you to generate force quickly from your posterior chain (TrainHeroic). Keep the motion crisp and avoid turning it into a squat or a slow front raise with your arms.
Best bodyweight hamstring exercises
You do not need heavy equipment to get a serious hamstring workout. Your own bodyweight, along with simple tools like a chair, towel, or exercise ball, can be enough.
Good mornings and bodyweight RDLs
Beginner friendly options include bodyweight good mornings and bodyweight Romanian deadlifts. Both involve hinging at your hips while keeping a soft bend in your knees and a neutral spine.
These movements help you learn hip hinge mechanics safely so you can progress to heavier exercises later. They are a good starting point if you are new to strength training or easing back after a break (Healthline).
Bridges and elevated bridges
Glute bridges work your hamstrings and glutes while your feet stay planted. To shift more emphasis to your hamstrings, you can place your feet on a chair or bench and move your body slightly farther away. This position creates a smaller knee bend, around 15 degrees, which makes your hamstrings work harder as you lift your hips into a straight line (Sports Injury Physio).
You can hold the top position for time or perform controlled reps. As you feel stronger, you can progress to single leg bridges with your heel on a chair, lifting your hips so your body forms a straight line and building up your repetitions over time (Sports Injury Physio).
Sliding hamstring curls and bridge curls
If you have a slick floor and a towel or sliders, you can perform sliding hamstring curls. Start in a bridge position with your heels on the towel, then slowly slide your feet away from your body and back in while keeping your hips lifted.
This type of bridge curl works your hamstrings both by bending the knee and extending the hip. It provides a strong stabilizing challenge without any machines, which is useful for home workouts (Hinge Health).
Stability ball or “Swiss ball” curls
For an added balance challenge, you can place your heels on a large exercise ball. Lift your hips so your body forms a straight line, then roll the ball away to straighten your legs and pull it back toward you to bend your knees again.
Over time, aim to build up to multiple sets of smooth, controlled reps. This variation targets your hamstrings while you maintain pelvic stability, which translates well to real life movements (Sports Injury Physio).
Eccentric hamstring exercises for injury prevention
Eccentric work means your muscle is lengthening while it is under tension. This type of training is especially effective for preventing hamstring strains.
Nordic hamstring curl
The Nordic hamstring curl is one of the most researched exercises for hamstring injury prevention. You anchor your lower legs, then slowly lower your body forward from a tall kneeling position while trying to resist gravity with your hamstrings.
Because your hamstrings are working hard as they lengthen, Nordic curls have been shown to significantly reduce hamstring injury rates when done consistently (Recover Athletics). If a full Nordic curl feels too intense at first, you can control the lowering phase as far as you can, then catch yourself with your hands, reset, and repeat.
Eccentric bridges and kickstand RDL
Eccentric bridges, such as sliding curls where you focus on controlling the lengthening phase, are another accessible way to train your hamstrings under stretch. They are often used as a stepping stone before full Nordic curls or as a long term alternative if Nordic curls are not comfortable for you (Recover Athletics).
The kickstand Romanian deadlift is another helpful option. You use a staggered stance, with most of your weight on the front leg, and lower slowly to emphasize the lengthening part of the movement. The hamstring on your working side gains eccentric strength while you practice balance and control (Hinge Health).
Consistent eccentric training creates more resilient hamstrings so that sudden sprints, jumps, or awkward steps are less likely to result in a strain.
Hamstring training for runners and athletes
If you run or play field sports, hamstring strength is even more crucial. Sprinting itself ranks as one of the highest level hamstring activities since it loads the muscles at high speed, but adding targeted strength work fills in the gaps and improves durability (Jack Tyler Performance).
For contact athletes, exercises like RDLs, seated leg curls, Nordics, and single leg RDLs all rank highly and can be used together in a balanced program (Jack Tyler Performance). For runners, including single leg RDLs, Nordic curls, and eccentric bridges helps prepare the hamstrings to handle the demands of regular training and racing (Recover Athletics).
Strength work should complement, not replace, your running or sport training. Start with one or two hamstring focused sessions per week on days when your main workout is lighter, then adjust based on how your legs feel.
Putting it all together
You do not need to use every exercise listed here at once. Instead, think about building a simple routine around a few of the best hamstring exercises for your situation.
For example, you might combine a hip hinge move like RDLs, a knee flexion move like leg curls or sliding bridge curls, and one single leg option such as single leg RDLs or single leg bridges. Over a week, aim to reach your target number of sets, rest at least a day between hard sessions, and pay attention to how your hamstrings respond.
As you get stronger and more confident, you can add more challenging variations like Nordic curls or heavier deadlifts. The goal is not perfection on day one. It is consistent, thoughtful training that keeps your legs strong, steady, and ready for whatever you ask of them.
