Glute/Hamstring Solo Training

If you're training with no partner and can not do glute ham raises, is there any other alternative exercise that's just as effective for them?

I do pistols in my leg routines, but know that GHR would be nice to throw in. However not having a partner to hold my ga damn legs down kinda halts this.

I was thinking of just doing Pistols and Senders and I'm sure everything will be sound. I'll be rejoining a gym soon too so I guess I could always just throw in some kettlebell work. Regardless, any suggestions? =]

Here are good options. You can add quite some weight when doing hip thrusts with a barbell.

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If you have access to a barbell and enough plates, you can always use that to hold you down. Be sure to pad it though.

Erik said:

If you have access to a barbell and enough plates, you can always use that to hold you down. Be sure to pad it though.

That's what I do. Barbell sitting on a couple of besser blocks (cinder blocks I think in other areas?), the bar and the blanket box on which it all sits, padded with sleeping bags.

If you have access to a gym you can use the lat pulldown as a glute-ham raise. You can use a stick to help push yourself up if you get stuck. Here's a youtube vid of what it looks like pjqGCHWLN5U

The cushion under a weighted barbell is a good trick too.

Edit: Found a better vid.

Skippy said:

If you're training with no partner and can not do glute ham raises, is there any other alternative exercise that's just as effective for them?

I do pistols in my leg routines, but know that GHR would be nice to throw in. However not having a partner to hold my ga damn legs down kinda halts this.

I was thinking of just doing Pistols and Senders and I'm sure everything will be sound. I'll be rejoining a gym soon too so I guess I could always just throw in some kettlebell work. Regardless, any suggestions? =]

I have found that single leg stiff leg deadlifts with heavy weight have a lot of carryover to GHR and NLC strength.

The easiest way to do NLC alone is to buy two eye lags, bury them into wall studs about 6" off the ground, and then run a strap of some sort through the eye in a loop. Truck ratchet straps are cheap and work great. Now you have something to hold your heels! Fold up a few towels for knee comfort and you have made your very own one man NLC paradise for about $15 USD.

Another homemade option:

http://rosstraining.com/blog/2011/03/10/hamstring-exercise-tutorial/

Is the only difference between a GHR and NLC the range of motion?

A GHR (as performed by one of Coach Sommer's athletes on youtube) seems that you bend at the hips and, depending on your strength, you use the momentum generated by straightening your back to help the leg curl part of the exercise

For a NLC, the range of motion seems to be a controlled descent and contraction without bending at the hips, keeping a straight line between the knees and shoulders.

Am I all messed up or do I have it right?

You can think of a full GHR as a NLC plus a back extension or arch up. It's the same as an NLC down to horizontal, and from horizontal back up to the starting position, but there is a full back extension in the middle. It's pretty brutal. When done with momentum it isn't as bad as full NLC, but it's harder if you try to do the whole thing without extra momentum.

I can imagine it being pretty brutal. I tried NLCs for the first time a few days ago and couldn't walk properly for the next couple days due to DOMS. I don't have access to a proper bench for them, building supplies to make my own or proper elastics to reduce the weight, so I did it by wedging my feet under one side of a cable crossover machine and using the rope attachment above me to provide some assistance. It worked pretty well, but I would like to get an elastic setup when I get back home just for the variable tension it provides. It helps you more where you need it most, which would be nice.

I avoided the NLC's for a long time due to the anchoring issue aswell. Was surprisingly easy to fix once the penny dropped for me though. I just tuck a climbing harness underneath a door, thread a stick through the loop at the other side and close the door. I use a kickpad for my knees but I'm sure a thickly rolled up towel would work just as well. I imagine you could use a thick belt as the anchor in just the same way, I'd think about padding it though. I just use the harness because I had it handy and it's more comfortable. Here's a couple of picks:

HAHAHA!! That's awesome. I love it, cheap and effective!

I thought of something a long time ago but never really thought about it until yesterday when I tried it. Of course I couldn't lol

What if you did a hindu squat upside down on a bar? Stick the heels over a thin pull up bar, pull up with your upper body facing straight down. It's pretty hard for me, but I think it's very doable to someone stronger. I can't even GHR lol

Seiji said:

What if you did a hindu squat upside down on a bar? Stick the heels over a thin pull up bar, pull up with your upper body facing straight down. It's pretty hard for me, but I think it's very doable to someone stronger. I can't even GHR lol

I used to do that and hold it as an isometric before I started NLC negatives. I hung the same harness off the bar and slotted my feet though that as it's more comfortable. It's good but a lot easier than NLC's, and only really becomes hard at about 90degrees so i used to just hold that angle.

Thanks for the complement Slizz. Cost was definitely the prime motivator for this invention, as I'm not ashamed to admit I am as tight as a duck's arse! lol.