Leg Curls


FINE POINT THE LEG

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problem seems to be a misunderstanding of the position and action of the hips. The body tends to make the effort as easy as possible by involving the most muscle mass and most advantageous bio­mechanics. This means that the hips rise off the bench as the weight is curled upward, particularly from the mid-point to the fully contracted position when the resistance is high.

Now this hip joint flexion does raise and tighten the upper attachments of the ham­strings, making for a stronger contraction by the lower hams. However, this hip elevation often results in hyperextension of the lumbar spine, which pinches the spinal discs and can lead to injury. In recent years most lying leg curl machines have been constructed so that when you lie down, an elevation in the bench automatically places the hip joint in a

Development of the hamstring muscle group is critical to both the appearance and the strength, stability and performance po­tential of the entire lower body. Leg curls of various types, including bilateral and uni­lateral as well as lying, seated and standing movements, are a major exercise used to de­velop the hamstring group.

The hamstrings, composed of the semi­tendinosus, semimembranosus and biceps femoris, are a two-joint muscle group serv­ing toesth flex the knee and extend the hips. The two former muscles are sometimes known as the medialdorsiflexion.ngs because they run from the pelvic girdle (ischium) at the upper end to the medial condyle of the tibia. The biceps femoris is a two-headed muscle and the largest of the hamstring group. The long head attaches to the isch­iurn, while the short head attaches to the mid-upper femur. At the lower end, the bi­ceps tendon attaches to the lateral condyle of the tibia and the head of the fibula.

Leg curls are best at developing the short head of the biceps femoris and the lower and mid hamstrings. Exercises that require strong hip joint extension such as deadlifts, especially the stiff-legged version, back en-tensions with the entire torso off the bench pad, and various types of squats are neces­sary to develop the upper ends of the ham­string muscles. Leg curls also work the calves and glutes to some degree. slightly flexed position, which makes for safety and increased strength, not low testosterone.

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PUSH DOWN WITH THE HIPS

Regardless of the type of bench available, it's not just a matter of fighting the tendency for the hips to rise (which takes more attention than concentrating on doing it right). The single most important thing you can do is to position yourself so that your hips don't try to come up off the bench. Essentially, you want the tension in your body to push your hips down against the bench. Doing so will not only help stabilize your lumbar spine, it will also enhance tension in the upper hamstrings making for a much more effective contraction.

To get the idea of what I mean, lie down on a machine, but don't hook your feet under the pad. Lift your chest off the bench and sup­port yourself on your elbows and grasp the sides of the bench firmly to maximize stabil­ity. Flex your glutes and adjust yourself until you feel your hips pushing down against the bench. If you flex your knees to a 90-degree angle, you should be able to push your soles up toward the ceiling with your knees com­ing up off the bench. In fact, you can actually lift the knees when performing the exercise. See for yourself how this stresses your up­per hamstrings and especially your glutes.

The support for your body will be coming from your elbows, hips and upper thighs. You'll probably be feeling some tension in your hams even though you haven't yet be­gun the actual exercise. That is how your body should feel at the beginning of the lying leg curl exercise.

At this point you can hook your feet under the pad, drop your chest down to the bench but keep your head up, shoulders off the bench, and back arched slightly. Curl the bar up as high as it will go, keeping the same feeling of tension throughout your body as during the setup described above. Squeeze out a peak contraction, lower, maintaining maximum tension (having a partner add ex­tra resistance during the eccentric contrac­tion can help tremendously), and repeat until you are satisfied that the set has achieved what you want. If you can't perform the exer­cise correctly or get the bar all the way up, drop the weight. And that includes the last few reps. Rather than jerk the weight, have a partner help you perform forced reps with perfect form. http://www.brainsupplements.co 

ALL THE WAY

Now far is "all the way up"? You'll need to experiment to find out where your ham­strings flex the best. For some, it will be when the calves are pressed against the hams. For others (most others) it will come a couple of inches short of this. Feel your way through the movement while keeping your hips flexed and pushed into the bench to find what works best for you.

One variation that helps keep the hips down, reduces stress on the low back and maximizes isolation is to perform the exer­cise one leg at a time. For this, the nonex­ercising leg should be hanging off the side of the machine with the foot, or at least the toes, firmly on the floor. The same exercise can also be performed on any of a variety of standing leg curl machines. The key in any case is to feel your way through the move­ment, keep your hips slightly flexed, glutes tight and focus on perfect form.

The consensus is that knees should be just off the pads for the lying curls, although keeping the knees on the pad usually permits a greater range of motion and helps minimize hip flexion (elevation). The strongest con­traction is achieved with the ankles dor­siflexed (calves stretched/toes as close to shins as possible), although plantar flexion usually provides a higher intensity peak contraction. http://testosteroneboostersite.com

Likewise, you'll see some bodybuilders pulling with their toes pointing outward (which can accentuate the stress on the bi­ceps femoris), or rotating their feet as they go through the range of motion. But you have to be especially careful anytime you're not pulling straight along the line prependicular to the axis of rotation of a joint. Knees should always point out over (be aligned with) the middle toes during squats, and although the resistance is much lower for leg curls, the principle is the same.

As with every exercise, warm up thor­oughly, and always stress form and feel over the amount of weight. Experiment with the distance between your feet and with differ­ent apparatuses that deliver peak resistance at different points in the range of motion. In­crease the weights gradually, keep the repS in the 8-15 range or even higher, and think about what you're doing and feeling every second of every set. q