Are You Really Training Your Glutes and Hamstrings?

by Dr. Michael Yessis

To fully define, strengthen and tone the buttocks (gluteus maximus) and posterior thigh muscles (hamstring muscle group), you should do several exercises that specifically target these areas. The squat and lunge, although touted as the best exercises for posterior chain muscle development, in reality, lack the specificity to be considered "the best". They involve these muscles but only if you go deep enough in the down position while maintaining good posture, especially of the lower back.

Of all the exercises available, the best is the glute-ham-gastroc (g-h-g) raise executed on the Yessis Glute Ham Back Machine (or Glute-Ham-Developer as I called it when I created this machine back in 1980s). In this exercise, you execute hip joint extension from a fully hip flexed position. This is the key action for working both of the above noted muscles through a full range of motion. Immediately upon completion of the hip extension you then execute knee flexion in sequence to hit the hamstrings again, but mainly the lower portion (biceps femoris) and the tendons that cross the knee joint.

When done through a full range of motion, the muscles are actively involved from 90° of hip flexion to the neutral straight-line body position. This is the total range of motion for these muscles at the hip joint. Both of these muscles are maximally involved in this hip joint extension action after which the muscles remain strongly contracted isometrically when knee flexion occurs to create an even stronger contraction of the hamstring. In essence, you get a double maximal contraction of the hamstring. When done correctly your body will tell you that you're getting a maximal contraction because it will be a feeling that you experience only in this exercise. A loud moan or groan is commonly heard from athletes who get the movement correct.

Also very effective is hip joint extension on the Yessis Glute Ham Back Machine with the axis in the hip joint. The key is to make sure you're properly positioned so that only the hip joint is involved. This is not possible on many machines especially those that have too big a thigh-hip pad. Exercises such as the stiff-legged deadlift and good morning are also effective. However, you must maintain an arched back throughout execution to get the results.

Hip joint extension for muscle development through the full range of motion can also be done on a multi-hip machine, but only if you maintain a straight leg during the pull down and back. When using Active Cords or resistance bands, the straight-leg pull-down (pawback, as it is known in running) is equally, if not more effective, because of a slightly greater range of motion.