♪ Bob and Brad, the two most famous physical therapists ♪
♪ On the internet ♪
- Hi folks, I'm Bob Schrupp, physical therapist.
- Brad Heineck, physical therapist
- And we are the most famous physical therapists
on the internet. - In our opinion, of course,
Bob. - Today, we're gonna discuss
the top three hamstring exercises at home.
You don't need any expensive equipment.
- Exactly. - 'Cause as Brad and I
are cheap (murmurs). (both laughing)
- Bob, it's family show! - I know, I know.
I didn't say, I didn't say it! - Yes.
- So what we are doing here, Brad?
- We're gonna go on with the introduction.
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By the way, we'll always have
the giveaway going on every week.
And this week, we're giving away a foam roller.
Just go to the giveaway section or go to Bob and Brad.
But we're giving away three foam rollers from OPTP,
OPTP and this one is a really nice one.
- Yes. - It's a nice density.
And it's easy to clean.
It's really durable.
It's my favorite foam roller. - Yeah, it's top quality.
There's isn't anything better than that.
Bob, hamstrings, are we gonna carry on
to the hamstring exercises? - Yeah, let's do it.
- So to me, at home, to do hamstring exercise,
if you go to the gym, they have some really nice equipment.
You just sit in it, it's all well made.
It's made out of steel and you can lay on your stomach
and you put some, either you have a pulley system
or you have plates where you can put it on there,
the weighted plates, and usually you lay down
on your stomach and there'll be the weights,
weights around your ankle.
- And you've got electrodes on you too.
- Yes, I got the electrodes on from the previous video.
- Yeah. (chuckles) - Thanks, thanks, Bob.
I know-- - A little impromptu here!
- And so and then you do 'em that way,
and it works quite well.
Or you can do the machines with the cable
where you sit and you can pull in.
But at home, that's not an option.
I mean, most people are not gonna--
- Unless you're independently wealthy
- And you have a lot of space.
So I wanna show you an exercise system that works well,
you can do at home, takes minimal space,
and not very much money.
- I'm assuming people know what the hamstring muscles are.
They're the ones that run from the buttock here
down to the back of the knee.
So the muscles in the band.
- And those muscles are responsible for knee flexion,
but they're also really important for moving around,
for running and for squatting, et cetera.
So what we're going to use instead
of all the expensive equipment
is simply some bands. - Some exercise band.
- Yep, and we're going to go to using that
and a wall anchor.
Now you can do whatever you want,
how to attach the bands to the wall.
We used a wall anchor, as you'll see they work
very efficiently and they're very strong.
I wanna demonstrate, we got a wall anchor at the top there.
And I'm just gonna put all my body weight on there.
And there's no problems whatsoever.
I have zero anxiety about doing that
'cause I know they're strong. - Yeah, they hold 800 pounds
so they can take four Brads.
- You do have to put 'em on properly,
which there were good instructions,
into a wooden stud, there is no other option for those.
So I'm gonna take my bands.
I actually use this band for doing arm exercises.
I'm gonna leave the handle on there
'cause it really doesn't matter.
And I'm going to put the band right there very quickly
- [Bob] You can see he's got double bands there,
and you can put triple, even quadruple bands
on these things. - Right here.
- [Bob] Yeah, there you go, that's got all--
- Bob, you wanna pull me up a chair, please?
- [Bob] Sure.
- Now you do need to get these.
When you get the bands, they always
give these along with the bands,
particularly the Bodylastics, which,
if you're looking for good bands,
they are my favorite and this is the only way
I do resistance training is with the bands.
With the exception of body weight.
I don't use any iron, no steel.
Not that it's bad, I just don't
because I don't have a big workout room at home.
And it's-- - Yeah, and you can work out
absolutely every body part by using the bands.
- Yeah. - I mean--
- Okay. - It's easy on the joints, so.
- All right, so-- - So you were saying
you had a friend that came over
and she ended up liking this method.
- Right, yeah, 'cause she was very interested
in working her hamstrings.
I use the other method, which we're gonna
get into that just a minute.
Now if you're gonna do this in the seated position,
I like to go up to the anchor
that's at chest level, you get a better angle.
Now I've got a different color for each leg.
I normally only do one leg at a time.
But I just want to show the versatility there.
And I'm gonna do it here.
Straight knee, keep good posture in my body,
and hamstring, knee curls.
- There you go. - Oh, look at that.
That's very clever, Brad. - It works very nice.
It works very nice.
And if you want to it, if it's not quite enough weight
or resistance, you simply back up a little bit.
Now, we know that the anchor's
not gonna pull out of the wall.
You might say, "Well what if the bands break?"
And it's possible they do, but if you use the Bodylastics
they actually have a snap free or a snap--
- Anti-snap. - Anti-snap cord in it.
- [Bob] Yeah, so it'll start to fray
and you'll be able to see that.
At that point, you would go ahead and replace it.
- The other thing is...
Now I lost my train of thought.
Oh, repetitions, people always say, "How many reps?"
I like to go 10 to 12 repetitions.
By that time, it should be like fatigued
and you're ready to give it a break.
And then you can just sit there like this
and leave it relaxed, the muscles in a stretched position
a little bit, that works out nice.
Now-- - Or you could switch
back and forth. - One leg to the other.
- Yeah, one leg to the other. - Yeah, there's a lot
of options, you can really get creative with the bands.
The next way, I like this way a little bit better,
is we're going to do it prone.
You wanna move the chair, Bob? - Yep, I sure will.
- Now, I'm gonna use a nice little pad here.
And just so you can see it better,
I'm gonna do it on the other leg.
You can see the leg work better that way.
They got nice little straps and keeps you in good posture.
And you simply work it like this.
Now I'm gonna go out a little bit further
so I get more resistance.
And this is about as much as I'm gonna do.
I usually do three sets of 10 so that by the time
I get done with 10 it hurts. - Yeah, you can see
you're working already. - Oh yeah.
- That's really kicking it in. - Now I could put another band
on the other foot so I could do 10 here.
and then 10 on this leg without changing position at all.
And that's what I would do but for the video
I didn't wanna take the time to do it
just so you get the idea.
And then you relax, you know 60 to 90 seconds
and then do your second set of 10.
- [Bob] Yeah, again, this is very difficult
to do with free weights. - Yes, right, exactly.
- [Bob] You have to do some type of functional squat
or something to try to do-- - Yep, exactly.
So that's a real nice option
at home hamstring strengthening.
Now the other option, and this is what I do.
I've just started this because it works so well
with my friend that was interested in that.
But this is what I have been doing.
You wanna get me a ball, Bob? - Yeah, which one do you want?
- Well, what color, Liz?
- [Bob And Brad] Blue.
- It's really not that critical.
- It's just the right size for you, Brad,
I think, so. - Yep.
But for this exercise, this is a great way to,
with patients with hamstrings, I use the ball a lot.
And what we're gonna do is, if I go up like this,
and I push my heels down into the ball,
it's all hamstrings and I roll the ball towards me
as I keep my hips up, it's all hamstring.
And you can really feel those hamstrings being isolated
with this one, as well as the other exercises, it isolates.
- [Bob] You've mentioned before, Brad,
is that it's nice to wear shoes with this.
- Yes. - 'Cause they'll grip
onto the ball better. - Good point, Bob, thank you.
Now, as this gets, if you're rehabbing,
or you got weak hamstrings, you might just lift your butt
off the ground, just a half an inch, it's a little easier.
- [Bob] Or you might even start
not lifting your butt up at all, just push into the ball.
- Yep, that's an isometric, probably more
for someone who-- - Oh, I meant push
into the ball and pull it back, Brad.
- Oh, I see. - You know what I mean?
- Oh, right, yep. - You're getting
some resistance there if you're pushing down into the ball.
And you might think, well, how am I really
gonna get after it?
For those people who really wanna be aggressive.
I can guarantee you, you go up like this,
this is quite a bit more aggressive.
And then you can cross over, that's the next step up.
That's gonna work my left leg where I'm slapping.
And then if you go one leg there.
- [Bob] Yeah, you'll start, you're working core
and hamstring now. - Yep, and if you're really
a stud muffin, then you put a plate,
you know a 25-pound plate, on your stomach,
which I will not do it 'cause it's too much for me.
- Sure. - But it's a great way.
- [Bob] Yeah, in your younger days you'd have done it, Brad?
- Oh, yeah. (both laughing)
- Those days are long guy. - Yeah, I don't know.
I did have a gymnast that did that, it was incredible.
She was 16 years old, she's incredibly strong.
- [Bob] Like how much weight, do you remember?
- 25, no it was a 15 pound, yeah.
- [Bob] Oh, sure, you could take like a kettlebell or?
- It was a plate.
We just used-- - A plate, sure.
- My right hamstring is not as strong as my left.
- [Bob] And that's one thing you can point out here, Brad,
it's really a good way to gauge if one needs more strength
than the other, is if you do this.
And you'll be able to tell if one's stronger
than the other. - Exactly right.
- You may be able to tell on the bands too.
This is the one where it really shows up.
- Yep, I think so. - All right.
- So very good, work those hamstrings.
Just be careful about cramps.
And make sure you stretch 'em out
either before or after or both.
I just like to do this stretch, is one of my favorite.
We've got videos on hamstring stretches
that you can pick out what's gonna work best for you.
- All right. - Wow.
Very well done, Brad.
Thanks for watching. - And have fun.
(gentle music)