Hamstring exercise advice

For some reason hamstring exercise are often the poor cousin of leg workouts.

Whether it's because they are so much less visible that the quads, or maybe because they can handle less weight, hamstring exercises are often ignored, or at least given short shrift, in people's strength programs.

However, they are in fact a crucial part of any athlete's program - indeed, given the high incidence of injury to this area, they should probably be something you always pay heed to.

So what are the best hamstring exercises? If you think of how the muscle works - they are responsible for pulling your leg back towards your body - you will understand how to work them.

While there are a huge variety of exercises to choose from, the most popular are:

• Stiff legged deadlifts
• Leg curls
• Swiss ball hammys

Bear in mind also that many quad exercises will put some stress on this area - for example squats, leg presses and lunges all involve all the muscle of the upper leg - so it is usually only necessary to do one or two that work only the backs of the legs.

When performing these exercises, don't strain too hard - this area is prone to injury - and be sure to include lots of stretching in your program.