Let’s talk about hamstrings - and not just the stretch-and-pray kind (like the post I wrote on stretching HERE).

Over the years, I’ve noticed something: nearly every person who ends up in Vital with recurring knee, hip or back issues has one thing in common - underdeveloped hamstrings at one length or another.

We test this all the time on the ForceFrame, and it's not uncommon for us to see hamstring strength in the 25th percentile (FYI that is LOW), or a hamstring-to-quad ratio of 20-40% (we want that closer to 60%).
​
These discrepancies can be the reason someone can lift heavy and sprint fast but still pull a hamstring. Or deadlift heavy but still feel it in their back instead of in their glutes and hamstrings.

Hamstrings are muscles that cross 2 joints (the hip and the knee) they have an effect on both as well. What that means in practice is that we want to build hamstring strength across multiple lengths:

• Short-length strength (bent-knee): Razor Curl and Harop Curl - scalable with the addition of banded assistance.
• Mid-length control: Hex Bar Deadlift - allows you to load heavy and develop strength.
• Long-length resilience: GHR Back Extensions (straight knee, bent knee, and single-leg variations) - allows us to bias the area of the hamstring where weakness or problems are occurring.

Try some of these variations out in November's $20 Strength Club.

Recent research spotlight: measuring hamstring strength across the length spectrum
​​
​Claudino et al. reviewed 17 studies (n ≈ 2,893 athletes; 97 % male, mean age 22 ± 4 y) that used field-friendly devices (e.g., flywheel leg-curl machines, the NordBord) to assess eccentric hamstring strength.

How it's results can contribute to your training & rehab:

• Monitoring eccentric hamstring strength (especially at longer muscle lengths) gives meaningful insight into neuromuscular status - i.e., how the hamstrings are coping with load, fatigue, and asymmetries — even if it doesn’t yet give a perfect predictor of injury.
• In practice, it supports our “train the hamstrings across their full length” narrative: if the long-length strength isn’t developed (which many assessments show), the risk of breakdown during high-speed deceleration or late swing phases may increase.
• Because measurement methods vary, it emphasizes our value of custom testing and retesting (rather than relying solely on generic injury-risk numbers), which is precisely why our complimentary consults and strength/power retesting become so relevant. (Hint: this is what Vital does best)

Still not sure where to start?​
​​
Book a free 15-minute consultation (in-person or virtual) with one of our trainers or therapists.
[Book a Virtual Consult with a Trainer]
[Book a Virtual Consult with a Therapist]

Happy hamstring training! Yours in physiology,

Carla