Hamstrings exercises.
17 exercises that put hamstrings first, and the weekly set targets Swole.fit uses to grow them.
How many sets a week for hamstrings?
Swole.fit plans 6 hard sets a week as the point where hamstrings starts to grow, 10 to 16 sets as the sweet spot for most lifters, and 20 as the most you can usually recover from. About 4 sets a week to keep what you built. Sets where hamstrings only helps count as half a set.
Compound hamstrings exercises
Multi-joint lifts. Heavier loads, more muscle per set, and the backbone of a plan.
- Barbell DeadliftBarbell, with traps, quadriceps
- Barbell Good MorningBarbell, with glutes
- Barbell Romanian DeadliftBarbell, with back
- Barbell Stiff-Leg DeadliftBarbell, with glutes, back
- Cable Pull-ThroughCable, with lower back
- Cable Romanian DeadliftCable, with lower back
- Dumbbell Romanian DeadliftDumbbell, with lower back
- Dumbbell Stiff-Leg DeadliftDumbbell, with glutes, lower back
- Glute Ham RaiseMachine, with lower back
- Kettlebell SwingKettlebell, band and specialty bar, with abs, back
- Single-Leg Romanian DeadliftBodyweight, with abs
- Trap Bar DeadliftKettlebell, band and specialty bar, with back, traps
Isolation hamstrings exercises
Single-joint moves. Less fatigue per set, so they fill the gap between growth and the recovery limit.
Lifts where hamstrings helps
Each set of these counts as half a set toward your weekly total.
- Band Hip Thrust
- Barbell Back Squat
- Barbell Bulgarian Split Squat
- Barbell Glute Bridge
- Barbell Hip Thrust
- Barbell Lunge
- Barbell Sumo Deadlift
- Bodyweight Lunges
- Bodyweight Squats
- Cable Squat
- Dumbbell Bulgarian Split Squat
- Dumbbell Lunge
- Dumbbell Reverse Lunge
- Dumbbell Step-Up
- Dumbbell Walking Lunge
- Glute Bridge
- Hack Squat
- Jump Squats
- Leg Press
- Pistol Squats
- Single-Leg Glute Bridge
- Smith Machine Squat
- Step-ups
Programs that bring up hamstrings
Free splits from the Swole.fit library with extra focus here.
- Athletic Power3 days a week
- Deadlift Religion3 days a week
- Full Body Power3 days a week
- Glute Lab3 days a week
- Leg Destroyer3 days a week
- Minimalist Gains3 days a week
- Old School Strong3 days a week
- Full Body Frequency4 days a week
- Functional Mass4 days a week
- Heavy Light4 days a week
- Leg Specialization4 days a week
- Squat Science4 days a week
- Timesaver Plus4 days a week
- Full Body Assault5 days a week
- Leg Destroyer5 days a week
- Leg Legends5 days a week
- Posterior Power5 days a week
- Cardio Hater6 days a week
- Deadlift Destroyer6 days a week
- Full Body Madness6 days a week
- Functional Athlete6 days a week
- Leg Apocalypse6 days a week
- Minimalist Beast6 days a week
- Old School Cool6 days a week
- Push Pull Legs6 days a week
- Squat University6 days a week
- Volume Psycho6 days a week
Let the app count your hamstrings sets.
Swole.fit tallies every set for hamstrings across the week, shows where you sit against these targets and adds volume as the cycle builds.