GHR - A Bodyweight Leg Curl

[Coach Sommer]

Much of an athlete's ability to jump explosively resides in his glutes and lower back. GHRs (glute ham raises) are an excellent movement for developing these two area simultaneously.

First however, be forewarned; that while GHRs are incredibly beneficial for the serious athlete, they are also tremendously difficult. Ultimately you will be leg curling your entire bodyweight with this exercise. And if over the years you have perhaps partaken a little too much of your favorite evening respite and perhaps exercised a little too little - your hamstrings may protest rather forcefully the new task being assigned to them. No matter, the hamstrings will adjust and improve in time; simply be patient and step back or rest as necessary.

Lying prone, secure your feet firmly behind you and then arrange yourself so that your hips are on the edge of whatever support you have chosen. This may be a GHR unit, a box, a bench or even a vaulting table as shown in the video demonstration below. It would be most helpful, especially in the beginning, if the support you have chosen will allow you to grip it somewhere nearby your waist. This will enable you to self-spot this movement until your strength improves to the point where you can perform GHRs unassisted.

Now allow your chest to drop forward until you are hanging vertically upside down and then, utilizing the lower back, lift the torso up to horizontal. Upon reaching horizontal begin to raise yourself to vertical by strongly contracting the hamstrings. Continue curling with the hamstrings until you are sitting completely upright. Pause and then descend back to the bottom to begin another repetition.

Alongside with your arms, the speed of your movement can also be a highly effective method of assistance. Adding a little speed or momentum will make the GHRs much easier initially. Simply be conscientious in reducing the amount of momentum used as your strength increases.

In addition, the more you pike the hips and bend forward during the ascent, the easier the leg curl will be. Over time strive to develop the ability to perform the leg curl portion of the GHR with a perfectly straight body.

Yours in Fitness,
Coach Sommer

[coreathlete]

neat, i'll try this in the morning.

[Valentin]

WARNING WARNING!!! this exercise it not conditioning its torture haha. I remember i used to do these...well i did them once (been to scared to try since) and i got carried away and tried a little to hard, and it took me like 10days for the DOMS to subside so that i could walk normally again. We used to have our kids do these, and i think it is time to bring them back into the plan.

Thanks for the exercises Coach Sommer. What does GHR stand for by the way?

[coreathlete]

thanks for the warning...I'll be sure to have all my clients do um!

[ed x]

so the only real difference between this and the bodyweight hamstring is the pike at the bottom of the movement. So Coach would you suggest performing the GHR over the Hamstring Curl?

[Gregor]

That is incredible exercise. Try it if you dare

[ed x]

GHR stands for glute ham raise.

A pointer for performing these or Bodyweight hamstring curls, don't anchor yourself by the toes otherwise you will experience spectacular calf cramps.

[Alex]

Been doing these for a couple of years now, nothing like em!

[shiftedShapes]

used to do these on a GHR machine with the calf plate, now I don't have access to it anymore. I worry though that this variation would put a lot of pressure on the knee caps.

Thanks for the new essay.

[Ortprod]

I did these during my Westside Barbell phase of training. I was surprised that, despite the fact I can pull 2.5x my bw in a deadlift, these were SOOOO difficult.

Awesome post Coach! I was wondering about the leg exercises you did with your group.

[coreathlete]

I was hugely excited this morning to see GHR's on the workout sheet we were to take the football team through. Then I found out that their version of a GHR was some pathetic regression my dead grandmother could do. I'll haveta introduce the real thing here soon and fix that gross error. Wouldn't want the guys missing out on the full experience!

[bthammer45]

There are progressions to everything from shoulder presses to this it all deals with leverage.

Start with this get a belt (make sure it can hold your weight) and tie it up to your ankles
to make this a progression have a knee bent position like in the begining and simple bend forward and slowly as you get stronger add more and more leverage (or you could hold a weight in your hands) and you can also use negatives as this is a really hard excerses if you try to take it on right away.

[Amebix138]

I dont know if this is already something people here are aware of, but if you get your feet pressed up against a wall or some other flat object it makes GHR alot easier.

"The knee flexion is completeable because the feet are blocked by the plate, enabling the calf muscles to contribute their proximal function to the knee flexion." - Starting Strength 2e, Mark Rippetoe.

[mikke85]

Is this ghr exercise a compound (2 or more joints are worked) movement or a isolated movement (one joint worked)? Just doing natural leg curl, it can not be compound movement. But in ghr you use your kneejoint and hip joint during movement. So is that movement still isolated (in this site, http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/Ham ... Raise.html , they say that it is isolated, but i cannot believe it(then it will not be functional movement ))???

Would i be better off doing something else for back muscles+glutes+hamstrings(and maybe, +calves)? Like with free weigths? Like Cleans, deadlifts, sandbag shouldering or dumbbell swings? Or do get very strong (like real life strong) with ghr?

What kind of eguipment i should buy/build for ghr exercise? Would it be big? I dount have room for very big "machine" in my home.

[Blairbob]

Mikke, you can do these with an adjustable doorframe pullup bar lowered close to the ground to hold the feet. I've also been able to put my feet underneath a couch and do it.