A smart hamstring workout for women does much more than sculpt the back of your legs. Strong, flexible hamstrings support your hips and knees, protect your lower back, and help you move more powerfully in everything from walking to sprinting to heavy squats. When you train this area with intent, you feel the difference every time you stand up, climb stairs, or pick something up off the floor.
Below, you will learn why your hamstrings matter so much, the best hamstring exercises for women at home and in the gym, and how to put them together into simple, effective workouts that fit your week.
Understand your hamstrings
Your hamstrings are a group of muscles that run along the back of each thigh from your hip to just below your knee. They control knee bending and hip extension, which means they help you straighten your hip and bend your knee as you walk, run, jump, sit, and stand. Physical therapist Jared Hoffmann explains that these muscles are essential for everyday movements like walking, running, sitting, and standing, and they help protect your knees, hips, and lower back when you bend forward.
When your hamstrings are strong, they support your back anytime you hinge forward, such as picking up a laundry basket or deadlifting a barbell, and they reduce the risk of poor posture and lower back pain. When they are undertrained or tight, your quads tend to take over, your pelvis can tilt out of alignment, and your risk of injury during running or weight training goes up.
An effective hamstring workout for women should target all three primary muscles, the biceps femoris, semitendinosus, and semimembranosus, through both compound and isolation movements. This balanced approach builds strength, improves stability, and helps you feel more powerful in daily life and in sport.
Key benefits of hamstring training
A focused hamstring routine pays off in several ways:
You move better in everyday life. Strong hamstrings make it easier to stand up from a chair, climb stairs, and bend to pick things up without straining your lower back. Trainers Kristina Earnest and Roxie Jones note that hamstrings are critical for walking, running, jumping, and standing up, so strengthening them improves many of your daily movements.
Your athletic performance improves. Whether you like running, HIIT, cycling, or lifting, strong hamstrings help you generate more power in squats, lunges, and sprints. Surrey Physio highlights that improving hamstring strength enhances performance in activities like running, jumping, and squatting, and reduces the risk of injury.
You protect your joints and spine. When your hamstrings help control hip and knee movements, they share the workload with your quads and glutes. This balance can protect your knees and lower back from excessive stress and reduce the chance of pain over time.
You lower injury risk. Both weak and very tight hamstrings increase the chance of muscle strains, especially if you run or do explosive training. A mix of strength work and stretching gives your muscles the resilience and range of motion they need.
How often to train your hamstrings
Many women unintentionally undertrain their hamstrings. You might devote most of your lower body time to squats and leg presses, which are more quad dominant, and only add a few light sets of curls at the end. Some bodybuilders even perform fewer total sets for hamstrings than for smaller muscles like biceps.
For better results, aim to train your hamstrings at least 1 to 2 times per week. The updated 2024 Gymshark guidance notes that training hamstring exercises at least twice weekly, especially when you combine big compound lifts early in the workout and isolation curls later, is ideal for strength and size gains.
You do not need marathon sessions. Short focused workouts work very well. For example, you might:
- Choose 3 to 4 hamstring-focused exercises
- Perform 3 to 4 sets of 8 to 12 controlled reps each
- Train them in 15 to 30 minutes, once or twice per week
Over time, use progressive overload to keep improving. That means gradually increasing your total reps or sets, the weight you use, your training density by shortening rest, or how often you train your hamstrings each week.
Warm up properly before you start
Warming up is not optional if you want strong, healthy hamstrings. Experts recommend beginning with light aerobic activity and mobility, followed by specific dynamic stretches before you lift.
A simple warmup might look like this:
- 3 to 5 minutes of easy cardio, such as brisk walking, stationary cycling, or light jogging
- Dynamic leg movements, such as leg swings front to back, walking lunges, or gentle bodyweight good mornings
Physical therapists Taylor Pfeifer and Theresa Shoemaker recommend using dynamic hamstring stretches like leg swings or walking lunges before workouts to increase blood flow and muscle temperature. Save static stretches, where you hold a position for 15 to 30 seconds, for after your workout to improve flexibility and range of motion.
Best hamstring exercises for women at home
You can build strong hamstrings at home with minimal equipment. Dumbbells, a kettlebell, a resistance band, or a stability ball are helpful but not required.
Good mornings
Good mornings are a hip hinge exercise that target your hamstrings and lower back.
How to do them:
- Stand with feet hip width apart. Place a light bar, broomstick, or even just your hands behind your head.
- Keep a soft bend in your knees, brace your core, and hinge at your hips, sending them back as your torso leans forward.
- Lower until you feel a strong stretch in the back of your thighs, then drive through your heels to stand tall again.
Focus on a slow, controlled movement and avoid rounding your back. Start with bodyweight and only add load when you can maintain great form.
Glute bridges
Glute bridges are often used for glutes, but they also work your hamstrings, especially when you place your feet a little farther from your hips.
- Lie on your back with knees bent and feet flat on the floor, hip width apart.
- Press your entire foot into the ground, squeeze your glutes, and lift your hips until your body forms a straight line from shoulders to knees.
- Hold briefly, then lower with control.
To progress this, you can add a weight across your hips or move into single leg bridges, which also challenge your core and balance.
Single leg Romanian deadlifts
Single leg Romanian deadlifts are one of the most effective hamstring exercises. The Gymshark guide notes that the single leg Romanian deadlift is among the best moves for activating the biceps femoris muscle.
- Stand tall holding a dumbbell or kettlebell in one hand, or no weight at first.
- Shift weight to one leg, keep a soft bend in the knee, and hinge at your hip as your free leg extends behind you.
- Lower the weight toward the floor while keeping your back flat, then drive through your standing heel to return to upright.
Move slowly and focus on balance and hamstring tension. This exercise is excellent for evening out strength differences between legs.
Fitball leg curls
If you have a stability ball, leg curls are a powerful hamstring isolation move.
- Lie on your back with your heels on top of the ball and arms on the floor for balance.
- Lift your hips into a bridge so your body forms a straight line.
- Bend your knees and pull the ball toward your hips, then extend your legs back out with control.
You can start with two legs and, as you get stronger, experiment with single leg curls to increase difficulty.
Best hamstring exercises for women in the gym
Gym access opens up more options and heavier loads, which is helpful if you want to focus on strength and muscle building.
Romanian deadlifts and straight leg deadlifts
Romanian deadlifts are a cornerstone hamstring move. Surrey Physio recommends starting with the bar at knee height and using a wide stance, with 3 sets of 10 to 12 repetitions.
- Stand with feet about hip width apart, holding a barbell or dumbbells in front of your thighs.
- Keep your knees slightly bent, brace your core, and hinge at your hips, lowering the weight along your legs.
- When you feel a stretch in your hamstrings, squeeze your glutes and push your hips forward to stand.
Keep the bar or dumbbells close to your body, move slowly, and avoid turning this into a squat. Straight leg deadlifts are similar but with less knee bend, which can increase hamstring stretch and should be done with lighter loads and careful form.
Conventional and sumo deadlifts
Conventional deadlifts and sumo deadlifts both work your hamstrings along with glutes, back, and core. These heavy compound lifts are ideal to place early in your workout when you are fresh.
For conventional deadlifts, your stance is roughly hip width, and you bend at hips and knees to grip the bar. For sumo deadlifts, your feet are wider and toes turned out, which changes the emphasis slightly and may feel better for your hips.
Use a weight that allows you to maintain a flat back and strong brace throughout the set.
Hamstring curls (machine or bands)
Curl variations directly target your hamstrings and are perfect later in your session. You can use:
- Prone leg curl machines, lying face down
- Seated leg curl machines
- Resistance band curls anchored to a fixed object
Surrey Physio describes resistance band hamstring curls done lying face down with a band tied around your ankle and attached to something sturdy, with 3 sets of 10 to 14 repetitions. If you experience cramping, reduce range of motion or stop and stretch.
Hip thrusts and barbell glute bridges
While these primarily target the glutes, they also recruit the hamstrings strongly, especially as weights increase.
- Sit on the floor with your upper back against a bench and a barbell across your hips.
- Plant your feet, brace your core, and thrust your hips upward until your body forms a straight line from shoulders to knees.
- Pause, then lower under control.
Start with a lighter weight and make sure you are not arching your lower back at the top. Feel the work in your glutes and hamstrings, not your spine.
Sample hamstring workout circuits
You can organize the exercises above into simple circuits or traditional sets. Here are two sample hamstring workouts for women, one for home and one for the gym.
Adjust weights and reps so your last 2 reps of each set feel challenging but doable with good form.
At home: 20 minute hamstring circuit
Perform each exercise for 10 to 12 reps, then move to the next. Rest 60 seconds between rounds. Complete 3 to 4 rounds.
- Good mornings
- Glute bridges or single leg bridges
- Single leg Romanian deadlifts
- Fitball leg curls or banded hamstring curls
This format reflects the expert suggestion to select 3 to 4 exercises, perform 10 to 12 reps each, and repeat for 15 to 20 minutes.
In the gym: Strength focused hamstring day
Work through each exercise for 3 to 4 sets. Rest 60 to 90 seconds between sets.
- Romanian deadlifts, 3 to 4 sets of 8 to 10 reps
- Conventional or sumo deadlifts, 3 sets of 5 to 8 reps
- Seated or prone leg curls, 3 to 4 sets of 10 to 12 reps
- Barbell hip thrusts or glute bridges, 3 sets of 8 to 12 reps
If you are more advanced and want additional volume, you could follow the Gymshark style recommendation of 4 sets each of Romanian deadlifts, lying leg curls, and seated leg curls, totaling around 12 sets for your hamstrings.
Stretching and recovery for healthy hamstrings
Strength is only half of a good hamstring plan. Tight hamstrings are common, especially if you sit much of the day or run, lift, or do HIIT regularly. Trainers note that sitting keeps your knees bent and hips flexed, which restricts blood flow and can leave your hamstrings weak and tight.
Experts often recommend spending about 10 minutes per day on hamstring stretches. Dynamic stretches come before workouts, and static holds fit best after workouts or at any time of day.
Helpful options include:
- A classic seated hamstring stretch, sitting on the floor with one leg extended and reaching toward your toes without rounding your back
- Standing hamstring stretches
- Supine wall hamstring stretches
- The walking hamstring stretch before cardio or strength training
Peloton experts highlight nine effective hamstring stretches for women, including the hamstring stretch with a twist, pyramid stretch, and walking hamstring stretch, and note that Nordic hamstring curls also build eccentric strength and core engagement. Instructor Hannah Corbin suggests using props like yoga blocks and straps to support proper alignment and reduce nervous system stress, especially if you are a beginner.
Foam rolling your hamstrings and occasionally taking a warm Epsom salt bath can also ease tension, but baths should not replace stretching. When you soak with your legs in a shortened position, you still need active stretches afterward to restore length.
Aim to stretch your hamstrings 2 to 3 times per week, holding each static stretch for 15 to 30 seconds without pain, as recommended by physical therapy experts at Banner Health.
Putting it all together
A well designed hamstring workout for women blends strength, control, and flexibility. If you:
- Train your hamstrings 1 to 2 times per week
- Use a mix of hip hinge exercises like deadlifts and good mornings plus isolation moves like curls
- Progress your weights, sets, or reps gradually over time
- Warm up dynamically and stretch regularly
you will build stronger, more resilient hamstrings that support your back, knees, and hips and boost your performance in whatever activities you enjoy most.
Start with one small change, such as adding Romanian deadlifts to your next leg day or doing a 10 minute hamstring stretch session this evening. As you build the habit, you will feel the difference every time you move.
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