Whether you’re an athlete or a typical fitness enthusiast, strengthening hamstrings will help you boost your overall exercise performance and minimize the risk of injury. And you can do that through various resistance band hamstring exercises at home with and without an anchor.
But before you do the banded workouts, I suggest performing these bodyweight hamstring exercises. Bodyweight workouts are an excellent way to increase strength and mobility and help you scale up for resistance training.
Moreover, you can also strengthen your hamstrings with barbells, dumbbells, and kettlebells.
The Seven Best Resistance Band Hamstring Exercises
I’ve got seven hamstring resistance band exercises for you that will help you target each muscle, such as the biceps femoris, semitendinosus, semimembranosus, and reinforce your hammies.
- Resistance Band Good Morning
- Resistance Band Lying Leg Curl
- Banded Seated Leg Curl
- Resistance Band Romanian Deadlift
- Banded Single Leg Deadlift
- Resistance Band Leg Kickbacks
- Banded Hip Thrust
1. Resistance Band Good Morning
The resistance band good morning is one of the basic exercises for hamstrings that work on the lower back. Doing it will help you improve your strength and flexibility and minimize the risk of a hamstring injury.
Level: Intermediate
Steps to perform:
- Stand upright in the hip-width stance and place the band under your feet and wrap the other end of the band around your neck.
- Bend your torso forward without bending your knees until your chest is parallel to the floor.
- Pause for a moment in that position for a couple of seconds and then slowly return to the upright position.
- Aim for three sets of 6-10 reps with one to two minutes rest between sets.
2. Resistance Band Lying Hamstring Curl
The leg curl is an isolation workout that specifically allows you to strengthen your hamstring. You can do it with the resistance band, dumbbell, kettlebell, and machines. And as this post is about resistance band hamstring exercises, let’s see how to do it with step-by-step instructions.
- Anchor the band, wrap it around your ankle, and lie prone on your stomach.
- Curl your legs toward your buttocks until your knees are fully bent, and hamstring and glute engaged.
- Hold for a moment in that position, and return your legs until they are straight.
- Aim for a couple of sets of 10-12 reps each.
3. Resistance Band Seated Hamstring Curl
If you want to do leg curl differently, you can do it in the seated position. The seated leg curl also helps you work on your hamstring effectivelly.
You can follow these steps to perform this move efficiently:
- Attach the band to a firm object close to the ground.
- Wrap it around your ankle, and sit on a flat bench with your feet slightly off the floor.
- Slightly lean back and firmly grip the bend with your hands. That’s the start.
- Pull the band in until you feel the good contraction in your hamstrings.
- Pause for a moment before returning to the start.
- Shoot for a couple of sets of 10-12 reps each.
4. Resistance Band Romanian Deadlift
The Romanian deadlift is an excellent workout you can do to increase hamstring strength and mobility. You can do perform it with all kinds of equipment. And if you’re a beginner, you can start with the resistance band.
A study published by the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research suggested that hamstring muscles are highly active during the RDL.1 McAllister MJ, Hammond KG, Schilling BK, Ferreria LC, Reed JP, Weiss LW. Muscle activation during various hamstring exercises. J Strength Cond Res. 2014;28(6):1573-1580. doi:10.1519/JSC.0000000000000302
However, it wasn’t mentioned which equipment provides the most activation in that research. I assume it’s the barbell, but doing it with bands can also be effective.
How to do it:
- Stand straight in the hip-width stance and place the resistance band under your feet.
- Firmly grab the other end of the band with an overhand grip and maintain an upright posture. That’s the starting position.
- Pushing your hips back, lean your torso forward until the band reaches your shin level. And from that stance, pull the band as you return to the standing position until your hips are entirely extended. Make sure to keep your arms straight while lifting the bar. You’ll feel the work on your hamstring muscles during the movement.
- Aim for three to four sets of five to six reps each.
5. Resistance Band Single Leg Deadlift
If you’ve been working out for a while, you can try a single-leg deadlift with the resistance band. The resistance band single-leg deadlift will help you improve your balance and reinforce your hamstrings muscle.
A study also suggested that track and field athletes can include the single-leg deadlift to improve their hamstring strength and prevent injury.2 Malliaropoulos, Nikolaos & Mendiguchia, Jurdan & Pehlivanidis, Hercules & Papadopoulou, Sofia & Valle, Xavier & Malliaras, Peter & Maffulli, Nicola. (2012). Hamstring exercises for track and field athletes: Injury and exercise biomechanics, and possible implications for exercise selection and primary prevention. British journal of sports medicine. 46. 846-51. 10.1136/bjsports-2011-090474.
You can easily do it by following these simple steps:
- Place the band under your left foot and grab the other end with both hands.
- Raise your right leg behind you and lower your torso toward the floor simultaneously until they are parallel to the ground.
- Pushing your right foot into the ground, slowly return to the upright position.
- Aim for a couple of sets of five to six reps each.
6. Resistance Band Leg Kickback
You can do leg kickback with resistance bands to build up your hamstrings and glutes simultaneously. It will be challenging at first; however, you’ll be able to do it efficiently with consistent practice.
How to do it:
- Sit on your all fours and wrap the resistance band around the right foot and hold the other side of the band with your right hand.
- Brace your core, firmly grip the band and kick your leg back until your knee is entirely straight.
- Squeezing your glutes and hamstrings, pause for a moment at the top, and then return your leg to the start.
- Shoot for three sets of six to ten reps, each side.
7. Banded Hip Thrust
You can also strengthen your hamstrings with a resistance band hip thrust workout. The hip thrust is a lower body workout that fortifies hammies and glutes.
Level: Intermediate
Steps to do it:
- Place the band under your feet and wrap it around your thighs.
- Put your upper back on a flat bench and your feet firmly on the ground. Make sure your knees are in line with your toes.
- Brace your core and glutes and thrust your hips upward as high as possible so you can feel the good contraction in your hamstring and glute.
- Pause for a couple of seconds, and then lower your hips.
- Perform three sets of eight to ten reps each.
Share these resistance band hamstring exercises with your friends if you find them helpful.
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References
- 1McAllister MJ, Hammond KG, Schilling BK, Ferreria LC, Reed JP, Weiss LW. Muscle activation during various hamstring exercises. J Strength Cond Res. 2014;28(6):1573-1580. doi:10.1519/JSC.0000000000000302
- 2Malliaropoulos, Nikolaos & Mendiguchia, Jurdan & Pehlivanidis, Hercules & Papadopoulou, Sofia & Valle, Xavier & Malliaras, Peter & Maffulli, Nicola. (2012). Hamstring exercises for track and field athletes: Injury and exercise biomechanics, and possible implications for exercise selection and primary prevention. British journal of sports medicine. 46. 846-51. 10.1136/bjsports-2011-090474.