Q: I train at home and don’t have cables or a leg curl machine. Is the stiff-legged deadlift enough to get me good hamstring development?
A: Semi-stiff-legged deadlifts do a decent job of stretching the hamstrings under load. More and more studies are showing that’s key for quickest development; however…
You’re not getting any hamstring movement, or contraction. You’re basically just stretching the hamstrings…
That’s why in Old Man, Young Muscle, when I was training with only a 50-pound PowerBlock dumbbell set and an adjustable bench, I added torso floor rolls…
Granted, you don’t get any resistance on the negative stroke—you’re basically pushing yourself back to the legs-straight position…
But the positive stroke, from stretch to contraction, is all hams. You’ll feel it, especially at the top of each rep when you flex your hamstrings.
Researchers are beginning to confirm that contraction yields development in different areas of the muscle than elongation…
So for best hamstring development, fullness from origin to insertion, I suggest you use both the semi-stiff-legged deadlift and the floor rolls…
Bonus: The foam roller will give you a nice back massage on each set.
Latest Release: Get the ideal exercise for each muscle, the best add-on moves for ultimate mass, complete 35-minute workouts, exercise start/finish photos and details on building muscle fast and efficiently in Old Man, Young Muscle.
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Till next time, train hard—and smart—for BIG results.
—Steve Holman
Former Editor in Chief, Iron Man Magazine
www.X-Rep.com
“[Arnold’s] just a fat f#@k” — say what?
Iron Man Publisher John Balik worked at Vince’s Gym in Studio City back in the ’60s. He has great memories—and funny stories—like when Arnold walked in for the first time…
“I am Arnold Schwarzenegger, Mr. Universe,” the Oak proclaimed proudly…
Vince looked up over his glasses, paused and said, “You look like just a fat f#@k to me.” And looked back down.
It brought Arnold down to earth and made him realize he needed to be more polished, more ripped, to be the greatest of all time…
And that’s what he did, winning the Mr.Olympia seven times…
We can say from experience that Vince was unique in his approach to both people and training…
We’ve got the over-300-page e-book anthology on Vince and all of his methods, and it’s a treasure trove of mass-building, physique-etching info. You’ll definitely want this in your mass-building library for sure…
–> Check out Vince Gironda: Legend & Myth HERE
It will blow your mind and blow up our muscles—everything from Train 21 Rest 7 to 10-8-6-15 to Vince’s Stone Age Nutrition to Failure vs. 60-80 and much, much more (remember, it’s over 300 pages!).