Moving Claw Series

Muscles worked

The force comes from the hamstrings, which extend the hip and bend the knee, frequently at both joints in the same repetition.

A plyometric repetition is over before a slow contraction could contribute anything, so they have to produce that force immediately on contact.

Because more than one joint is moving, the work does not stay in one place: the calves control the ankle and hold the heel position; the quadriceps straighten the knee and take load on the descent.

Every exercise for:HamstringsCalvesQuadriceps

How this movement works

Several joints move together, so effort spreads across a chain rather than concentrating in one place. Coordination is part of the difficulty: the movement is only as good as its weakest link, and improving it often means fixing a position somewhere other than the muscle you meant to train.

It is filed under plyometrics, which trains the stretch-shortening cycle: loaded fast, released immediately. Contact time matters more than volume, so these belong early in a session.

What you need

These train the hamstrings too, using equipment this one does not:

• Muscle Snatchbarbell
• Natural Glute Ham Raisebody only
• One-Arm Kettlebell Cleankettlebell
• Reverse Hyperextensionmachine
• Stiff-Legged Dumbbell Deadliftdumbbell

Difficulty

Listed at beginner level: the pattern is simple enough to pick up without coaching, and a position that goes wrong mid-set is obvious enough to correct on the next repetition.

Of the 86 hamstrings exercises in this database, 37 are listed at beginner level.