Glute-Ham Raise
The glute-ham raise is unique in loading the hamstrings across both of their jobs in a single rep, curling the knee while extending the hip against your bodyweight. It builds serious hamstring strength and resilience and is a favorite for sprinters and field athletes. Demanding to control, so scale the range and add assistance until you own the full movement.
- Equipment
- Machine
- Type
- Strength
- Browse by muscle
- Biceps Femoris, Semitendinosus, Gluteus Maximus
- Browse by movement
- Knee Flexion
- Target
- Biceps Femoris, Semitendinosus, Gluteus Maximus
- Secondary
- Erector Spinae
- Tertiary
- Gastrocnemius Medial Head, Gastrocnemius Lateral Head
How to do it
- 1
Set the foot plate and pad so your knees sit just behind the pad and feet press the platform.
- 2
Anchor your feet and start with your torso upright and body in a straight line.
- 3
Lower your torso forward by straightening the knees under control.
- 4
Descend until your body is roughly parallel to the floor.
- 5
Curl the knees and squeeze the hamstrings and glutes to pull yourself back up.
- 6
Finish tall with the hips extended and repeat smoothly.
Tips
- Keep a straight line from knees to head; do not hinge at the hips to cheat.
- Push the toes into the plate to fire the calves and stabilize the curl.
- Add a band or a light push off the floor if you cannot yet raise up unassisted.
Variations
Common mistakes
- The pad sits too low against the thighs instead of just above the kneecaps, so the legs pop out of position and lose leverage partway through the movement.
- The descent speeds up in the last third instead of staying controlled, since gravity takes over quickly once the torso passes about forty-five degrees forward.
- The head and chest lead the pull back up while the hips lag behind, breaking the straight line and shifting work from the hamstrings onto the lower back.
- Grinding out extra reps past true failure with a fast, uncontrolled drop instead of stopping the set turns a hamstring builder into a fall the hamstrings cannot control.
Frequently asked
- What is a sensible starting point for the glute-ham raise, and what should you build first?
- Start with 2 to 3 sets of 3 to 5 reps using a band looped over the machine for assistance, or a light push off the floor at the bottom, since most people cannot yet pull their full bodyweight through this range. You should already have solid hamstring strength from deadlifts or leg curls and be able to hold a straight body line before attempting it unassisted. Reduce the assistance in small steps as reps get easier rather than jumping straight to bodyweight.
- What can replace the glute-ham raise without a glute-ham developer machine?
- A Nordic hamstring curl with a partner or a strap anchoring your ankles trains the same knee-flexion, hip-extension pattern. Lying leg curls combined with hip thrusts or Romanian deadlifts cover the same hamstring and glute roles separately if no GHD-style setup is available at all.
- Who is the glute-ham raise for, and who should build up to it first?
- It builds serious hamstring strength through both of their functions in one rep, valued by sprinters and field-sport athletes for injury resilience. It's a poor choice for a hamstring beginner with no leg-curl or deadlift base, since the demand on the hamstrings here is higher than almost any other exercise.
Related exercises
Other movements among FitRay's 2,000+ exercises that load the same target muscle — same equipment and level first.