Leg Curls Minimize Hamstring Pulls
Leg Exercises Prevent Injury
The leg biceps, or hamstrings, are probably the most bothersome muscles for athletes. In sports, training generally shortens, strengthens and lessens flexibility of certain muscles, while leaving the opposing, relatively unused muscles weak. Studies have shown that when one muscle group is stronger than the opposing muscle group, the chance of injury to the weaker group increases. If your quadriceps (front thigh muscles) are stronger than your hamstrings (back thigh muscles), the chance of a hamstring pull increases.
Hamstring vulnerability depends on what sport you’re in. The distance runner, for example, ordinarily has strong quadriceps and weak hamstrings. Weight training can prevent such imbalance.
Serious bodybuilders in pursuit of total muscular development always make Hamstring Curls part of any leg training program (in bodybuilding the movement is called the Leg Curl). The hamstrings are essential to the stability of the knee - as well as to balanced muscle development.
Leg Curls Are Unpopular
Unfortunately, many people neglect the Leg Curl simply because it isn’t a particularly comfortable or satisfying exercise to do. The average Leg Curl machine in a health club doesn’t accommodate all sizes and shapes of people. Some machines are downright bad and put inordinate stress on the knee joint. Compared to the quadriceps, the hamstrings are relatively weak. People attempt to use heavy weight on the Leg Curl just because it’s a leg exercise and ignore the fact that the movement involves a difficult leverage. You can use only about one-fourth the poundage you use for the Squat, and, despite the Leg Curl’s difficulty and seemingly high energy requirement, the returns in development aren’t commensurate. Furthermore, since the hamstrings are on the back part of the body, people simply take the attitude “out of sight, out of mind.”
A small structural imbalance in the body can result in incapacitating injuries and persistent disability. Prevention and treatment of these problems rely on the structural balance and architectural integrity of the body. Strong hamstrings help protect the knee joint. They provide stabilization, particularly for athletes who have suffered knee ligament injuries.
Leg Curls can be done several ways. Two types of commercial Leg Curl machines permit you to do the exercise either lying facedown or standing erect. Experienced weight athletes may do them holding a dumbbell between their feet, a method popular before the advent of the Leg Curl machine. In the absence of any equipment, they can be done manually, with a training partner providing the resistance.
Safe Leg Curls
Regardless of the equipment or method used, you should begin the exercise with your legs fully extended. If you’re using the popular Nautilus or Universal Leg Curl machines, place your heels under the padded crossbar. You may draw your toes toward your shin or point them straight back during the curl movement. When using the former method, the gastrocnemius muscle of the calf is put under tension, causing it to exert much of the force during the Curl. With this method the hamstring is the prime mover and the calf muscle is a synergistic secondary mover. The method offers considerable calf development. With the toes pointed back, the gastrocnemius is neutralized and the hamstrings do most of the work. Experienced bodybuilders use this method to develop the lower leg biceps.
From the starting position, pull your heels to the buttocks, then lower your feet slowly back to the legs-extended position. Although many people recommend keeping the hips flat on the bench, the exercise is more effective when you lift the hips slightly. This takes the strain off your back and also establishes greater initial tension on the hamstrings, permitting them to contract with greater force. Upgraded models of Leg Curl machines are built to accommodate this elevation of the hips.
The hamstrings consist of three muscles: biceps femoris, semimembranosus and semitendinosus. By rotating the leg inward or outward at the start of the Curl, you can alleviate rotatory instabilities of the knee or isolated muscle pulls.
For safe, balanced development and good bodybuilding appearance, Leg Curls offer many benefits including minimizing hamstring pulls.
Author: Rex Grogan
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