Electromyographic comparison of the hamstring muscles during various exercises

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to compare muscle activation during various hamstring exercises using electromyography to determine which exercise activated the biceps femoris (BF) and semitendinosus (ST) to the greatest extent. Sixteen subjects performed five repetitions of the following exercises: seated leg curl, glute-ham raise with equipment, Romanian deadlift (RDL), stability ball leg curl, reverse hip raise, glute-ham raise without equipment, prone leg curl, kettleball swings, and single arm/single leg Romanian deadlifts. Electromyography between exercises was compared to the prone curl using a one-way ANOVA with repeated measures for each muscle. The seated leg-curl, glute-ham raise with equipment, RDL, stability ball leg curls, reverse hip raise, and glute-ham raise without equipment produced significantly lower activation than the prone leg curl ofr the BF. The stability ball leg curl, reverse hip raise, and glute-ham raise without equipment produced significantly greater activation than the prone leg curl for the ST. Based on these results it seems that the prone leg curl, kettleball swings, and single arm, single leg RDLs activate the BF and ST to the greatest extent, when collectively focusing on hamstring activation.