maratoolSeated Hamstring
How to do the seated hamstring
- In a seated position with your legs extended, have your partner stand behind you. Now, lean forward as your partner braces your shoulders with their hands. This will be your starting position.
- Attempt to push your torso back for 10-20 seconds, as your partner prevents any actual movement of your torso.
- Now relax your muscles as your partner increases the stretch by gently pushing your torso forward for 10-20 seconds.
Muscles worked
The muscles under tension are the hamstrings, which extend the hip and bend the knee, frequently at both joints in the same repetition.
A stretch loads them at the far end of the range they normally work in, so the position you hold is itself the resistance.
Nothing travels, but holding the position is not the target muscle’s job alone: the calves control the ankle and hold the heel position.
Every exercise for:HamstringsCalves
How this movement works
Nothing travels once you are in position. The muscle holds a length under tension instead of working through a range, so effort is measured in seconds rather than repetitions — and the honest progression is more time in a good position, not a deeper one forced early.
It is filed under stretching, so the target is range of motion rather than force — a position you can settle into and breathe in, held long enough for the tissue to give.
What you need
These train the hamstrings too, using equipment this one does not:
- Seated Leg Curlmachine
- Snatch Deadliftbarbell
- Stiff-Legged Dumbbell Deadliftdumbbell
- 90/90 Hamstringbody only
- Alternating Hang Cleankettlebell
Difficulty
Listed at expert level. It asks for range, stability or speed that takes time to build, and it punishes a rushed set-up much harder than an easier movement would.
Of the 86 hamstrings exercises in this database, 8 are listed at expert level.
Photos: free-exercise-db — public domain (Unlicense) Full attribution →
ⓘ Informational only — not a substitute for professional fitness or medical advice.