Alternative To The Best Exercise For Improving Your Speed

A few months ago, I had put together a video entitled The Best Exercise to Improve Speed and Run Faster. In the video, I discussed the glute ham machine which helps improve your hamstring strength. I also had mentioned it in a few newsletters I wrote that was focusing on developing hamstring strength.

The glute ham is a great piece of equipment, but the problem is that not many people can have access to it. You might be able to find it in a high school or collegiate weight room. If you don't have access to those two weight rooms, then you probably aren't going to be able to use it. Most commercial gyms don't have them and most equipment stores don't sell them.

Consequently, I decided to discuss an alternate exercise that you can do to help develop the necessary strength you need to run faster. That is where the manual hamstring curl will come into play. This is a pretty tough exercise and very demanding on the hamstrings. If you can get good at this exercise you will have some very strong hamstrings that can muster up some serious firepower for your speed development.

Here is how you do:

• You need to get on your knees and secure your feet with something. It can either be someone holding your ankles down, slide them under a platform that won't move, or recently I have seen someone use a plywood board and tie rope around it tight enough to hold your feel down securely.
• So you start with your body upright on your knees. You will look like a capital "L" with your shins being the bottom part of the "L."
• Then what you will do is lower your body at your knees as slow as you can so it starts falling to the ground. Really feel those hamstrings fighting to keep you in position.
• At the last instant, put your hands out to help cushion your fall and give a slight push off the ground to help you return to the starting position.
• Contract at the hamstrings to get you back to the top.
• To make the intensity harder, minimize how much you push off the ground. The more you push off, the easier it will be.
• Repeat for desired repetitions.

To picture this better, I did create a video demonstrating this exercise. You can click here to watch it. I think it is a great substitute for the glue ham machine and will really work those hamstrings to get you faster. Try it out and let me know what you think.