How to Develop Strong, Muscular Hamstrings: A Complete Guide

Have you ever taken a second to just watch what people are doing in the gym? I have, and there’s a trend I can’t help but notice: everyone loves training the muscles they can actually see in the mirror. And when it comes to the lower body, that would be the quads. 

It’s not uncommon to see a workout that looks like this:

A) Squats
B) Lunges
C) Leg extension
D) Leg curl

Can you spot the problem?

There are THREE exercises that target the quads, while only ONE targets the hamstrings.

Not only will you develop a wonky set of legs with this strategy, but you’ll be creating problematic strength imbalances that can cause injury to your joints, especially the knees and lower back.

Strong and muscular hamstrings don’t just happen by accident. They’re the foundation of powerful movements like sprinting, deadlifting, and even jumping.

And yet, many lifters…maybe even your clients… often neglect them in favor of quad-heavy routines.

If you want to support your clients in developing balanced lower-body strength and musculature, you’ll need to give the hamstrings the attention they deserve.

 

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In this article, we’ll explore exactly how to do that: from understanding the anatomy of the hamstrings, to balancing their training ratio with quads, as well as looking at example work-outs.

By the end of this article, you’ll have a deeper appreciation for the hamstrings, and you’ll feel confident programming exercises that will deliver meaningful results for your clients.

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Hamstring Breakdown: Muscle by Muscle

The hamstrings are actually a set of 4 individual muscles:

• Biceps femoris (long head):

1. 1. Origin: ischial tuberosity
   2. Insertion: lateral aspect of the fibular head
   3. Action: knee flexion, hip extension, external rotation of the knee (when the knee is flexed)

 

 

• Biceps femoris (short head): 

1. 1. Origin: linea aspera of the femur
   2. Insertion: lateral aspect of the fibular head
   3. Action: knee flexion, external rotation of the knee (when the knee is flexed)

*Note: Often considered a “fake” hamstring as it does not originate from the ischial tuberosity.

 

• Semimembranosus:

1. 1. Origin: ischial tuberosity
   2. Insertion: posterior aspect of the medial tibial condyle
   3. Action: knee flexion, hip extension, internal rotation (when the knee is flexed)

 

• Semitendinosus

1. 1. Origin: ischial tuberosity
   2. Insertion: proximal medial surface of the tibia
   3. Action: knee flexion, hip extension, internal rotation of the knee (when the knee is flexed)

*Note: The semitendinosus sits more superficially (closer to the surface) than the semimembranosus, which lies deeper. An easy way to remember this is by thinking of the “t” in semiTendinosus as standing for “top”, and the “b” in semimBranosus as “bottom”.

Below is a GIF demonstrating all 4 muscles of the hamstrings.
You can see how the short head of the biceps femoris (in purple) has its origin along the backside of the femur, contrary to the other 3 heads.

In short, understanding these four hamstring muscles, their attachments, and actions will enable you to select more targeted and effective exercises for your clients.

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Agonist-Antagonist Synergy Between the Quads and Hamstrings

Earlier we mentioned the common tendency for lifters to over-train and over-develop their quadriceps compared to their hamstrings. There are several problems with this that we’ll discuss:

Strength Imbalances

While the concept of “agonist-antagonist” is a simplified model of muscle interactions, it’s a helpful way to understand their relationship in movement, even if it’s not strictly anatomically precise.

Specifically, the quadriceps primarily extend the knee and flex the hip, whereas the hamstrings perform the opposite actions: they flex the knee and extend the hip.

Thinking in this way, it becomes clear that having significantly stronger quadriceps than hamstrings creates uneven tension at the hip and knee joints.

This imbalance can lead to various issues, including knee instability, lower back pain, reduced athletic performance, poor movement mechanics, and increased injury risk.

These strength imbalances can lead directly to:

• Knee instability and joint stress: ACL strain, patellar tracking issues causing inflammation and pain.
• Reduced athletic performance: Limited sprinting speed, jump power, and weaker performance in hip-hinge movements like deadlifts.
• Poor movement mechanics: Compensation through lower back strain, exaggerated anterior pelvic tilt, and compromised technique.
• Increased injury risk: Hamstring strains and chronic overuse injuries due to weak muscles forced to overcompensate. Lower back pain is also possible and more common.

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Muscular Imbalances

Even if these above imbalances don’t lead to knee or low back pain, they’ll still show up in your client’s physique. From the front, everything might look fine, but the moment they turn to the side or walk away, it’s obvious. Underdeveloped hamstrings flatten out the legs and throw off their entire silhouette.

Which is a shame, because hamstrings add serious depth and shape to the lower body. In my opinion, the legs are the most aesthetic part of the physique. And you can’t have a great quad sweep without a strong hamstring hang to match!

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Prioritizing Hamstring Training and Fixing Imbalances

Now that we are aware of the potential downside to having a weak set of hamstrings, let’s discuss how we can work toward fixing this issue.

To effectively fix strength imbalances caused by quad dominance, you’ll actually need to temporarily create an intentional imbalance in your clients’ programming. Rather than immediately aiming for a balanced 1:1 ratio of hamstring-to-quad exercises, you should initially shift towards a deliberate 2:1 ratio favoring hamstrings. 

It might seem counterintuitive at first, but a short-term, intentional imbalance is exactly what’s needed to correct years of quad-dominant training. If your client’s been hitting quads at a 2:1 or even 3:1 ratio for months or years, bringing things back to a 1:1 split won’t fix the issue fast enough.

You’ll need to swing the pendulum the other way. That means placing hamstring work first in the session, increasing their training volume, and scaling back quad work temporarily. Once their hamstring strength and size are more in line with their quads, then you can return to a more balanced 1:1 ratio, and adjust as necessary.

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Selecting The Right Exercises

If you paid attention to the breakdown of each hamstring muscle, you probably noticed that their functions are mostly similar, with just a few key differences worth highlighting:

Short Head of the Biceps Femoris

• Does not assist in hip extension because it doesn’t cross the hip joint.

Tibial Rotation

• Internal rotation (toes toward the midline) emphasizes the semitendinosus and semimembranosus.
• External rotation (toes away from the midline) emphasizes the biceps femoris.

The point regarding tibial rotation is subtle, though I encourage you to try this during leg curls to see how they shift the emphasis.

The big takeaway is that hip-extension exercises (like back extensions and deadlifts) don’t train the short head of the biceps femoris. Though, this doesn’t mean you get to avoid hip-extension exercises. If loaded correctly, they can be an excellent choice toward improving posterior chain strength.

We also know that knee flexion exercises are simpler in nature, as they primarily target the hamstrings with minimal involvement from other muscle groups. In contrast, hip extension movements also recruit the glutes and lower back, making them less specific to the hamstrings alone.

Using the above information, we can deduce that there may in fact be a more effective ordering of exercises if the goal is hypertrophy and strengthening of the hamstrings.

Can you guess what that order might be?

If you guessed “Train knee flexion first, and hip extension second” then you’d be right!

The reason is simple: 

Knee flexion hits all four parts of the hamstrings with minimal involvement of other muscle groups.

Recommendation: Always program knee flexion exercises (like leg curls) first, followed by hip extension movements (like back extensions or stiff-legged deadlifts). This order maximizes hamstring-specific recruitment first, before bringing in the glutes and lower back muscles. 

*Note: We have an entire article on how to build an impressive set of legs, check it out by clicking here! 

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What About Single Leg Work?

Because the goal here is to balance the strength of quads and hamstrings, it makes sense to extend this idea to balancing strength between each leg as well. That’s where unilateral exercises excel.

They help identify if a true imbalance exists between the left and right side, and they also allow you to address that imbalance over time. From my experience, unilateral knee flexion exercises are especially effective for correcting differences because they clearly reveal which side is weaker. You can then adjust your reps accordingly, limiting the stronger side so the weaker one can catch up.

For example, if a client can perform 5 reps on their right leg and 8 on their left, you’d match the stronger side to 5 reps as well. 

Pushing the stronger side to do more reps only makes the imbalance worse.

 

Unilateral hip-extension exercises still have value, but they’re less precise for directly correcting hamstring imbalances. Because they involve multiple muscle groups, isolating exact hamstring activation becomes difficult. For accurately addressing strength differences between legs, unilateral knee flexion exercises are a superior choice, as they clearly highlight and allow direct targeting of weak-side deficits.

It’s also shown that unilateral work improves neural drive to the working muscles, which can further enhance the rate of strength acquisition.

Unilateral work is almost always a smart addition. Training one limb at a time not only helps expose and correct imbalances, but also increases core demand and coordination, leading to better overall control and stability throughout the body.

Just think about how much of daily life happens one side at a time: walking, climbing stairs, carrying groceries, changing direction. It only makes sense to train that way too.

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Let’s Put It All Together

All of this information is useful, but it only becomes practical when you know how to apply it.
Below are a few example workouts you can implement with your clients to start addressing hamstring development effectively.

Workout 1

A) Standing Leg Curl 3 x 6
Tempo: 2012
Rest: 30-60 sec between sides, 2 mins between sets

B) Incline Back Extension 2-3 x 10-15
Tempo: 2111
Rest: 2-3 min

C) Dumbbell Split-Squat 2-3 x 8-10
Tempo: 3010
Repos: 60 sec between sides, 2-3 mins between sets

 

Workout 2

A) Lying Leg Curl – Accentuated Eccentric 3 x 4-5
Tempo: 6110
Rest: 30-60 sec between sides, 2-3 mins between sets

B) Stiff-Leg Deadlift 2-3 x 8-10
Tempo: 3110
Rest: 3 min

C) Reverse-Band Hack Squat 2-3 x 8-10
Tempo: 3010
Rest: 3 min

 

Workout 3

A) Kneeling Leg Curl 3 x 6-8
Tempo: 3110
Rest: 30-60 sec between sides, 2 mins between sets

B) Glute-Ham Raise 2-3 x 1-2 RIR
Tempo: As slow as possible
Rest: 3 min

C) Barbell Step-Up 2-3 x 10-15
Tempo: 2010
Rest: 60 sec between sides, 2-3 mins between sets

*Note: Notice the difference in tempos for each exercise. Some have very slow eccentrics while some have pauses in different locations. If you want to better understand this logic, click here to read all about tempo!

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Conclusion

Most lifters train hamstrings like an afterthought. As a coach, you can do better, and your clients deserve better. Balanced programming isn’t just about injury prevention or better performance (though it gives you both). It’s about building a body that holds up under load, moves well, and actually looks the part.

You now have the tools. Use them! Prioritize what’s been overlooked, and your clients will feel the difference, and see it too.

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References:

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Biceps_femoris_muscle_long_head.PNG

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Biceps_femoris_muscle_short_head.PNG

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Semimembranosus_muscle.PNG

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Semitendinosus_muscle.PNG

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hamstrings.gif

Jónasson, G., Helgason, A., Ingvarsson, Þ., Kristjánsson, A. M., & Briem, K. (2016). The effect of tibial rotation on the contribution of medial and lateral hamstrings during isometric knee flexion. Orthopaedic Journal of Sports Medicine, 4(1), 2325967115623054. https://doi.org/10.1177/2325967115623054

Park, S., & Lim, W. (2023). Comparison of muscle activity of hamstrings as knee flexors and hip extensors and effect of tibial and hip rotation on the contribution of hamstrings. Physical Therapy in Sport, 62, 13–20. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ptsp.2023.04.004