Check Out These Hams!

Your bodybuilding recipe is not complete without that hearty chunk of meat you’ve been trying to whip up through months and months of arduous gym labor.

They dangle there lifelessly – underneath your glutes - during the dormant months. However, it’s now time to start cooking them up in the gym.

Hamstrings may not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think of legs. Many fitness fanatics instead focus in on grinding the quadriceps into impressive spectacles or grooving the calves into sharp diamonds.

Yet, hamstrings are vitally important when it comes to turning your measley legs into hefty logs.

Here are a couple of power exercises designed to blast your hams to full growth.

SQUATS: True, squats will not only blast your hamstrings, but also work your quadriceps, glutes, even your lower back.

Establish firm footing at the squat rack, lodging your shoulders underneath the barbell. Lifting the barbell off the rack, carefully balance it as you set your feet at shoulder’s width. Make sure that your upper torso is straight with perhaps a slight arch in your back.

Then, slowly lower your seat, bending at the knees, as you begin to drop toward the floor. You want to squeeze your hamstrings during the range of motion. Stop when your upper legs are parallel with the floor, as you abruptly reverse the motion. Explode toward the ceiling as you look upward and return to the starting position.

Also, these are very taxing. Make sure that you have a spotter, especially if you’re slipping on the heavy poundage.

DEADLIFTS: The name alone is intimidating enough. If deadlifts don’t sap the life out of you, no other exercise will. If you ever watched a competitive power lifter work out, chances are, you’ve seen him rattle through a few sets of deadlifts.

Aside from working the back, traps, and forearms, deadlifts are also synonymous with building big, bulging legs, particularly the hamstrings.

First, don’t be stingy when arming the barbell with heavy artillery. Pack the plates on aplenty if you’re looking to sprout muscle growth in your hamstrings.

Then, take a stance with your feet about shoulder’s width apart. Have the bar on the floor, directly in front of your shins. Drop your hips to a stance in which you can hold the bar. Take the bar into your hands – arms straight – and straighten your legs as you hold the bar at your hips. At this point, you should be standing straight, the bar hanging in your arms by the upper thighs.

After a beat, reverse the motion and lower the barbell to the floor.

And like with squats, you’re likely to be performing with heavy poundage. Thus, take the necessary safety precautions and use a spotter.