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Would it be visible to swap Straight Leg Deadlifts with either Leg Curl or Standing Cable Hamstring Curl on THT 02 Leg day?

I know Mark says do not swap a isolation for a compound and people keep telling me Straight Leg Deadlifts are the king for adding mass to hamstrings, but I feel too many other body parts let me down on this movement.

First lower back and grip gives out way before I feel my hams have been totally fatigued. My lower back gets enough work on leg day by doing Squats and also on back day with regular Deadlifts. Also the Straight Leg Deadlift is a stretching exercise while leg curls works the muscle along the path of its function muscle! So in theory the leg curl or Standing Cable hamstring curl maximizes muscle fiber recruitment and more thoroughly stimulates those same fibers to grow so would it make more sense for me personally to change as I am not totally comfortable with SLDL.

stickupkid wrote:Would it be visible to swap Straight Leg Deadlifts with either Leg Curl or Standing Cable Hamstring Curl on THT 02 Leg day?

I know Mark says do not swap a isolation for a compound and people keep telling me Straight Leg Deadlifts are the king for adding mass to hamstrings, but I feel too many other body parts let me down on this movement.

First lower back and grip gives out way before I feel my hams have been totally fatigued. My lower back gets enough work on leg day by doing Squats and also on back day with regular Deadlifts. Also the Straight Leg Deadlift is a stretching exercise while leg curls works the muscle along the path of its function muscle! So in theory the leg curl or Standing Cable hamstring curl maximizes muscle fiber recruitment and more thoroughly stimulates those same fibers to grow so would it make more sense for me personally to change as I am not totally comfortable with SLDL.

You could, but I wouldn't recommend it. I'd suggest you correct your issue with SLDLs first.

On the grip thing - get you a snazzy pair of hooks and that's that. Grip issue gone away. Might want to think about a belt for your back, too, but really if you're doing this right you shouldn't be getting strain on your lumbar - those muscles should be minimally taxed. Done correctly, SLDLs aren't a true stretching exercise, but form is crucial on these. The two things I keep in mind to keep me from screwing it up are to not bend over at all, but just drive the hips backward, and second, drive the movement through the heels, not the spine. It feels bizarre, weird and unnatural at first, but if you do it right you can feel your glutes and hams tighten at the top of the rep. You might want to have a trainer at your gym check your form, or look up some videos (you'll also see them called Romanian Dead Lifts).

If it's not a form thing, and the accessories don't help or are for whatever reason unobtainable, then go ahead and swap it out for whatever form of curl your heart desires, but know now the weight is at the end of a significantly shorter lever (your lower leg as opposed to your entire body), as such will result in less functional stress on the muscle, and inferior results. Still better to swap out the exercise than hurt yourself or not do anything at all, just want to make sure you know what you're doing to yourself - and of course encourage you not to give up on SLDLs just yet.

Thanks for reply JoH I think I wont give up yet on SLDL,s will give another go wearing some straps and belt.

Did leg workout today THT2 style and did the following

2x Leg Press
2x Squats
2x Stiff Leg Deadlifts
1x Standing Calf Raise
1x Seated Calf Press

Still had same issue with Stiff Leg Deadlift, so I lightened the load and for my second set I did Barbell Straight-back Straight-leg Deadlift
with the bar going just below my knees felt much better on back also felt more stimulation in hams so will strat doing this style for now on.

http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/Ham ... dlift.html