Posted on February 22, 2013 by Jenny Cromack

The quads and the hamstrings are the two largest group of muscles in the lower limbs, providing the ability to extend and flex the knee joint.  However according to multiple pieces of research the quads are commonly overdeveloped in relation to the hamstrings, this can lead to injuries and adversely affect the joints performance. However as the quads are a larger muscle group than the hamstrings we are not looking to make them equal, instead we are looking to make them balanced. That is the key point, so how do we do it?

Step 1- Train the muscles at the same time, even if you are doing isolation work, make sure that for every quad exercise you include a hamstring exercise, research shows that training both muscle groups together can prevent overtraining.

Step 2- Use compound movements that effectively train both muscle groups together, this builds in excellent  ratios of strength in the legs which prevents injurys and promotes excellent performance, the king exercises are full range squats, lunges and the clean variation of the deadlift.

Step 3- Focus on stretching both muscle groups after each session, often the hamstrings are neglected, this leads to a shortening of the muscle fibre and ultimately reduced range of motion and injury.