Glute Ham Raise
The glute ham raise is done on a GHD bench, where you lower your torso forward from the knees and curl yourself back up. It trains the hamstrings and glutes, with the lower back holding position. It hits the hamstrings at both the knee and hip, making it one of the toughest hamstring builders.
Muscles worked
The glute ham raise trains the hamstrings and glutes, with lower back helping.
Primary
Helpers
- Lower Back
Weekly sets for hamstrings
Hard sets per week that Swole.fit plans for hamstrings, counting every exercise that trains it. Start a cycle near the growth line and climb toward the recovery limit before a deload.
How to do the glute ham raise
- 01Set the foot plate so your knees rest just behind the pad and your feet press firmly against the plate.
- 02Start upright with your torso vertical, hips extended, and glutes squeezed.
- 03Lower your body forward by straightening your knees slowly, keeping a straight line from knees to head.
- 04Go as low as you can control, ideally until your torso is near horizontal.
- 05Pull yourself back up by digging your toes into the plate and curling your heels.
Coaching cues
- Squeeze the glutes, body like a plank
- Pull with the heels
- Lower as slowly as you can
Common mistakes
- Bending at the hips turns it into a back extension, so keep your glutes tight and body straight.
- Setting the pad too far behind your knees removes the hamstring curl, so adjust until your kneecaps sit just off it.
- Dropping fast through the bottom loses control, so use a band or hand push assist until you can lower slowly.
How Swole.fit programs it
Log it once and the app plans the next session for you.
- Most sets land between 8 and 15 reps, the range the plan steers compound lifts toward for size.
- Week one starts around 2 to 3 reps in reserve. Each week you train a little closer to failure, ending around 0 to 1 in reserve before a deload week.
- Hit the top of the range on every set and the next session adds the smallest real jump in weight, rounded to the plates, dumbbells or stack you actually have.
- Sets for this exercise count toward your weekly volume for every muscle it trains: a full set for the primary muscles, half a set for the helpers.
The full method, with the maths, is in how mesocycles work.
Glute Ham Raise alternatives
Same muscles, different tool. Swap in one of these when the equipment is taken or your joints want a change.
- Cable Pull-ThroughCable, glutes, hamstrings
- Cable Romanian DeadliftCable, hamstrings, glutes
- Dumbbell Romanian DeadliftDumbbell, hamstrings, glutes
- Barbell DeadliftBarbell, back, glutes, hamstrings
- Barbell Romanian DeadliftBarbell, hamstrings, glutes
- Kettlebell SwingKettlebell, band and specialty bar, glutes, hamstrings
Log it. Let the app plan the next one.
Track your glute ham raise free. Swole.fit picks the next weight, counts your weekly sets and tells you when to deload.