How does your hamstring strength compare to your quads (e.g. leg curl vs leg extension)?

[hwfa]

@yttrium From exrx.net:

Hamstrings Weakness
Increased risk of knee injury (instability) occurs during knee extension activities, specifically when knees are flexed more than 90°. When hip and knee are simultaneously extending during a compound movement, hamstrings counter the anteriorly directed forces of Quadriceps. Also see Knee Stability and Angle of Pull for force vector explanation. Hamstrings / Quadriceps strength ratios should be greater than 56% to 80%, depending on the population tested.

Examples of affected exercises:
Deadlift
Squat
Leg Press

Example preventative/corrective exercises:
Leg Curls
Straight Leg Deadlift

So, if we take the average of 56% and 80%, and given that your gym's machines are sort of equal in their physics, you'd want your leg curl to be 44,2 kg. Sounds like you're almost there already, so I've no idea why your PT is trying to give you anxiety about a non-existing problem. Oh right, it's because PT's pretend to be physios all the time.

Forget about them, you're more more than likely fine. If you still wanna strengthen your hammies you can just do a little more volume for them per week than you have used to

 

[yttrium]

@hwfa Thank you tbf he wasn't pointing it out as a problem, just an observation. Appreciate your input

 

[judimma]

@yttrium Quad-dominant here and I hear this is pretty common. Recently I’ve been working on single- and double-leg hamstring curls and RDLs as part of my post-ACL reconstruction rehab, I find that that’s helped me strengthen my hamstrings as well as understand how it feels like to really activate the muscles.

 

[skovc]

@yttrium So your PT said that and didn't offer advice on how to balance it out?

 

[hiskid8883]

@yttrium It's pretty common for people to have stronger quads over stronger hamstrings/equal strength in both. Personally, I don't think just doing RDLs will help. Adding in more: stretching, yoga, and hamstring exercises will. Reducing the weight on some of the hamstring exercises so you can make sure you are engaging your hammies and not letting your quads take over will also help

 

[cozicup]

@hiskid8883 I don't have experience with this exact situation, butni do know when you're dealing with am imbalance like L/R you want to deload on the stronger side and work what the weaker side can handle until it catches up. I don't know that you need them exactly balanced but it seems reasonable to scale back on quad focused exercises and focus more on hamstrings until they're a little more balanced.

But all that aside, is the imbalance causing you any issues? How big of a deal is it really?

 

[yttrium]

@cozicup No you're right, I'm not so worried about the mismatch but I do feel like strengthening my hamstrings will help in yoga and other exercises.

 

[meritfromgrace]

@yttrium Quite lower, I don’t know one person who is hamsting dominant including my female trainer and mle friend who is also a trainer..

 

[sami47x]

@meritfromgrace I'm hamstring dominant, confirmed by a PT. I was shocked too but was told it contributes to my lower back pain. I can deadlift and leg curl with no problem and usually get more doms in my quads than my hamstrings.

 

[steve1225]

@sami47x Me too, according to my physical therapist. It never occurred to me that it was uncommon until this thread! Especially for women, I assumed our posterior chain would be relatively strong compared to men. I can deadlift more than twice my body weight, but I can only squat with minimal weight on the bar. I think my quads are basically asleep . I also have (chronic) lower back pain.

 

[mimi1990]

@meritfromgrace I thought I was as I feel every lower body exercise in my hamstrings. Until I re-introduced leg-curls. Those suckers fooled me