Secret
Training Tip #961 - Hanging Dumbell Leg Curls
Need a new hamstring and inner thigh exercise?
Have I got one for you! This unique hamstring
exercise will give you an extremely intense contraction.
It's the perfect exercise to finish off your legs.
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If
you've ever done concentration curls for your biceps,
you know exactly how intense the contraction can be.
If you've ever done them without your arm braced against
your leg, you know that the contraction can be even
stronger. This exercise gives you this kind of intense
contraction for the hamstrings. The execution of the
exercise also provides a great inner thigh workout!
To
do this exercise, you will need either a chin-up bar
(if your grip is strong) or a hanging abdominal chair
(the one that has a back-rest and two padded arm rests
but no seat - used to do leg raises). Your legs will
be hanging free as you're doing the exercise (there
will be a link with pictures of this exercise at the
end of this article). The Ab Chair variation will eliminate
grip strength as a factor, allowing you to concentrate
completely on your hamstrings. The chin-up bar hanging,
however, will help to greatly improve your grip strength.
There
will be a link to pictures of this set-up at the end
of the article.
Start
with a fairly light dumbell to get an idea of how the
exercise works and what amount of weight you can use
for it.
Set
a dumbell horizontally between your ankles with the
front plates at the top of your feet and the handle
directly between your ankles and pinch your feet together
to support it. It is this pinching that will really
hit the inner thighs hard.
Now
comes the tricky part. You will need to reach up and
hang from the chin-up bar or set yourself in the Ab
Chair while keeping the dumbell pinched in between your
feet. You can stand on a bench or box to do this exercise
or you can also do this in reverse order. Set the dumbell
on the bench or box, get into hanging position/ab chair
position, then reach out with your legs and pinch the
dumbell between your ankles. You will need to stand
the dumbell on end in order to accomplish this. You
won't be able to get your feet under the dumbell plates
otherwise. Alternatively, you can have a spotter set
the dumbell between your feet while you're hanging.
Be
sure you have a good grip on the bar/chair then leg
curl the dumbell up behind you. Squeeze your hamstrings
as hard as you can at the top (you most likely won't
have a choice at this point!) then lower the dumbell
back down slowly. The movement is an exact duplicate
of the bent-over, free-hanging dumbell concentration
curl for the biceps of your arm. You should feel a strong
contraction in your hamstrings from the curl movement
and a good burn starting in your inner thighs from the
effort of keeping the dumbell pinched and supported.
To
prevent forward motion of your knees, have a spotter
brace your thighs so you don't swing forward during
the movement. Keeping your thighs from swinging forward
(and your hips from flexing) also serves to keep the
hip extended throughout the movement, which will increase
the contraction.
If
you don't have a partner available to brace your thighs,
you can accomplish this in the power rack. Set another
bar at thigh level in the rack so you can use that to
brace against.
A
good variation of the Hanging Dumbell Leg Curl is to
almost do a hanging knee raise with a dumbell between
your feet. Your knees will come slightly up in front
and you'll pull the dumbell straight up, not in an arc
like in the regular version.
This
version involves your hip flexors so you must concentrate
on pulling the dumbell straight up to your butt as high
as you can, pulling up with your hamstrings rather than
with your hip flexors. The hip flexor assistance and
improved leverage will allow you to use much heavier
weight for this version of the exercise.
Give
the Hanging Dumbell Leg Curl a try on your next leg
training day. It's certain to give you one of the strongest
contractions you've ever felt in your hamstrings.
#1 - Where to Place the Dumbell
- Set
the dumbell directly between your
ankles.
- The
front plates will be on top of your
feet.
- The
back plates will be directly behind
your heels.
- This
set-up anchors the dumbells effectively
- be sure to squeeze your feet together
hard to anchor the dumbell (and work
the inner thighs).
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#2 - Execution of the Hanging Dumbell Leg
Curl
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Start
the movement in a hanging position.
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Curl
the dumbell up as high as you can and
squeeze hard.
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#3 - Getting the Dumbell Off a Bench
- This
technique is used when the bar or
hanging chair you're using is too
high off the ground to get the dumbell
easily into positon.
- Set
the dumbell on end on a bench in front
of the bar.
- Hang
from the bar then pinch the dumbell
between your feet.
- Swing
the dumbell down off the bench and
begin.
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