Group: General Fitness & Exercise

General Fitness & Exercise
Created: 2011/12/31, Members: 383, Messages: 54581

Various general exercise related discussions. Find out what it takes to reach your fitness goals through daily effective exercise. With so many options we try to find out what works best.

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hamstings

Lilacdawn
Lilacdawn
Posts: 44
Joined: 2005/03/17
United States
2005/03/24, 01:58 PM
what is the difference between the machine you sit in and they one you lay down on? i can do 90 pounds sitting down, but 30 on the lay down one is hard.they dont have 20 pounds, so do 10lbs- 2 sets of 20, and 2 sets of 20 at 30 lbs. alternating

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Lilacdawn
Lilacdawn
Posts: 44
Joined: 2005/03/17
United States
2005/03/24, 01:59 PM
oops meant hamstRings ;)

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morpheus1
morpheus1
Posts: 67
Joined: 2005/01/06
United States
2005/03/24, 02:55 PM
That is normal. The one you sit down on a a leg extention machine and it works your quadraceps. The one you lay down on is a leg curl machine; that is the one that works your hams. The weight difference is because you are working different muscles.

Lilacdawn
Lilacdawn
Posts: 44
Joined: 2005/03/17
United States
2005/03/24, 03:22 PM
oh that makes sense..i have strong quads....so why does the picture show the hamstrings?..i was under the impression thats what it worked! i use the elliptical and dont do any outside quad work as i think it does enough!

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morpheus1
morpheus1
Posts: 67
Joined: 2005/01/06
United States
2005/03/24, 03:35 PM
You will use your hamstrings some for stabilization when lowering the weight. I do find it odd that the picture on the machine shows hams though. What brand is it?
Lilacdawn
Lilacdawn
Posts: 44
Joined: 2005/03/17
United States
2005/03/24, 03:43 PM
oh i dont know its at 24. maybe i didnt see that the "guy" in the pic was backwards? its not the up motion one, its the down.

i have lost 50 pounds since may (when i had a baby), and have alot of muscle (because i lost 92 before the baby, and worked out, i went from size 22 to 10!), i just want to define the muscle so when the 35 pounds of fat i have left is gone it will be nicer:)

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morpheus1
morpheus1
Posts: 67
Joined: 2005/01/06
United States
2005/03/24, 03:51 PM
Okay, hold on a second. So the machine you are talking about you sit down with your feet straight out in front of you and push a bar down? In that case, I was wrong. I thought you were talking about a different machine. the difference in weight in that case may be due to cheating (lifting your butt or something). I am not familiar with a seated hamstring mache. Sorry if I confused you.
nerraw
nerraw
Posts: 236
Joined: 2003/03/09
United States
2005/03/24, 03:59 PM
Sounds like you are describing two machines that both target the hamstrings and the glutes.

The first, you lie face down and curl the bar upward and toward your butt? The other you face forward, sitting with the bar under your heels, legs extended, then curl down and backward toward your butt? Right?

If that is the case, I wouldn't know why you are able to pull more than on the one than the other, should be able to achieve the same. Having said that, whichever, just ensure you do it with good form and remember to hold the squeeze at the end of each contraction, ie. Keep the weight at your buttocks for a second or three before releasing.

And if I may, one last comment, try and work your quads as well as your hammies, not only will you develop balanced legs, you'll also save yopurself from injury later.
Good luck:cool:
timmstar
timmstar
Posts: 426
Joined: 2003/12/08
Australia
2005/03/24, 09:59 PM
in strength weight balance i think the ration should be around 2 : 3 with hamstrings : quads
2005/03/25, 12:27 AM
both machines hit hamstrings....the reason for the strength disparity could be leverage or that your knees are held down (compressed)against a pad while sitting....allowing you to generate more force....I had similar experiences with these machines...
Lilacdawn
Lilacdawn
Posts: 44
Joined: 2005/03/17
United States
2005/03/25, 01:48 AM
yes it is the way nerraw described..i mean 90 and 20 are very different! i dont cheat..LOL i think it may well have to do with the knee support thats he suggested too, i hadnt thought about it.like i said i have strong quads that you dont use as much laying face down..i dont think, not as much anyway ;)

and i just dont want really bulky thighs! they already seem so strong,as well as my calves....i look very balanced...but cant post a picture..lOl

thanks everyone..

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