Glute Ham Raise Overview
The glute ham raise is a hard hamstring move on a machine. It works your hamstrings most. Your hamstrings are the muscles on the back of your thighs. It also works your glutes and lower back. You use a glute ham developer machine. You lower and raise your body with your legs. The glute ham raise builds very strong hamstrings. It helps your knees and your sprint. It also protects the back of your legs. It is a tough move, so it suits advanced lifters. Put it on leg or pull days. Move slow and stay in control. Build up to it if it feels too hard.
What Is The Point of the Glute Ham Raise?
The glute ham raise builds serious hamstring and glute strength while improving hip hinge movement. It's one of the best exercises for bulletproofing your posterior chain.
How To Do The Glute Ham Raise
- Set up on the glute ham developer with your feet secured under the pads and your knees just past the edge of the main pad. Your toes should press into the foot plate for support.
- Start with your body upright and in a straight line from your knees to your head. Cross your hands over your chest, or place them behind your head for more difficulty.
- Brace your core and squeeze your glutes to lock your hips straight. Keep your spine neutral, since letting your lower back round or overarch takes the work off your hamstrings.
- Slowly lower your torso forward by extending at the hips and slightly at the knees. Fight gravity the whole way and keep your body in one line.
- Keep lowering under control until your body is nearly parallel to the floor. Aim for a slow 2 to 3 second descent so your hamstrings work through the stretch.
- At the bottom, feel the strong stretch and tension in your hamstrings. Do not let your hips sag or your back round to reach lower.
- Drive through your hamstrings and glutes to pull your body back up to the starting upright position. Think about curling your heels into the pads to help pull yourself up.
- Finish tall and controlled, then start the next rep. The glute ham raise is demanding, so most people build well in the 6 to 10 rep range for 3 to 4 sets.
Glute Ham Raise Form Tips
- Set your knees just past the edge of the pad.
- Keep your body in one straight line. Do not bend at your waist.
- Brace your core the whole time.
- Lower slowly. Control the way down.
- Keep your back straight, not rounded.
- Go down until you are near parallel to the floor.
- Drive with your hamstrings and glutes to rise.
- Keep your hips straight. Do not pike them.
- Breathe out as you pull yourself up.
Common Mistakes to Avoid for the Glute Ham Raise
- Rounding your lower back to cheat the rep. Bending at the waist instead of the hips takes the load off your hamstrings and strains your spine. Keep your body in one straight line and hinge only at the knees and hips.
- Dropping down too fast. Letting yourself fall skips the eccentric, which is the most valuable part of this exercise for building hamstring strength. Lower slowly over 2 to 3 seconds and fight gravity the whole way.
- Not securing your feet properly. Loose feet or the wrong pad height leave you unstable and unable to pull back up. Set the pads so your feet are snug and your knees sit just past the edge.
- Letting your hips sag at the bottom. When your hips break and your butt sticks out, the hamstrings lose tension. Squeeze your glutes and keep your hips locked straight through the whole range.
- Trying the full movement before you are strong enough. The glute ham raise is advanced, and forcing it too soon leads to falling or straining. Use a band, a partner, or a smaller range until you build the strength.
- Bouncing at the bottom. Using a bounce to reverse the movement strains the hamstrings in a stretched position. Reach the bottom under control and drive up with muscle, not momentum.
- Overarching your lower back. Cranking your spine into extension to help puts stress on your back instead of your hamstrings. Keep a neutral spine and let the hamstrings do the job.
- Only doing partial reps at the top. Never lowering far enough trains only a small, easy range. Lower until your body is near parallel to get the full benefit.
- Rushing the concentric with a jerk. Yanking your torso up with a snap can tweak the hamstrings. Pull up smoothly by curling your heels and squeezing your glutes.
- Holding your breath the whole set. Locking your breath spikes tension and tires you fast on an already hard lift. Brace and breathe in a controlled rhythm.
- Ignoring the stretch at the bottom. Skipping the deep hamstring stretch wastes the best part of the movement. Feel the stretch, then drive out of it with control.
Glute Ham Raise Workout Tips
- The glute ham raise is one of the best exercises for training the hamstrings through both of their jobs at once. It builds serious strength that carries over to sprinting and every hinge.
- Use a slow eccentric of 2 to 3 seconds. Owning the lowering phase is where most of the strength and size come from, so never just drop.
- If you cannot do a full rep yet, use a band for assistance. Looping a band to help you back up lets you train the full range while you build strength.
- Start by just controlling the descent. Even lowering slowly and using your hands to push back up builds the strength for full reps.
- Keep your body in one straight line from knees to head. A rigid, hinging body is what keeps the tension on your hamstrings.
- Squeeze your glutes to keep your hips locked. Stable hips stop you from turning the raise into a back bend.
- Drive up by curling your heels into the foot pads. That cue helps your hamstrings do the pulling on the way up.
- Program these on a leg or posterior chain day after your heavy hinges. They are a great hamstring builder to finish the job.
- For strength and size, work in the 6 to 10 rep range for 3 to 4 sets. This lift is hard, so quality reps matter more than big numbers.
- Progress by adding reps, then range, then holding a light plate to your chest. There are many ways to overload before you need heavy weight.
- Feel the deep stretch at the bottom and drive out of it under control. That stretch is a big part of why this exercise works.
- Keep your core braced throughout. A tight trunk protects your spine on a lift that tempts you to round.
- Film a set from the side. Video shows whether you are hinging cleanly or breaking at the waist, which is hard to feel.
- Warm up your hamstrings well first. This is a demanding movement, so prepare the tissue before you load it.
- Do not train to failure on every set. Hamstrings are prone to strains, so leave a rep or two in the tank.
- Try slowing the tempo further before adding weight. A longer descent makes bodyweight reps plenty hard.
- Be patient. Full glute ham raises are a real strength milestone, and they come with months of consistent work.
Questions & Comments
Be the first to ask a question about this exercise.