Glute Ham Raise: How to Do It, Muscles Worked and Tips

By Alex Lawrence · Updated 4 November 2026

Primary muscles: Hamstrings
Secondary muscles: Glutes, Calves, Lower back
Equipment: Bodyweight

The glute ham raise (GHR) is a bodyweight exercise on a glute ham developer, where you lower your body forward from your knees and pull yourself back up using your hamstrings. It trains the hamstrings at both of their jobs, bending the knee and straightening the hip, with the glutes and calves helping.

What muscles does the glute ham raise work?

The glute ham raise mainly works your hamstrings, with your glutes, calves and lower back helping. Your hamstrings cross both the hip and the knee: they extend the hip and bend (flex) the knee. Most hamstring exercises train only one of those jobs. The GHR trains both in one rep.

Your gluteus maximus helps keep your hips straight, your calves press into the footplate and help bend the knee, and your lower back holds your body in a straight line.

Most hamstring exercises are like a phone that only makes calls or only takes photos. The GHR does both, which is why it’s worth the effort of finding the machine.

How to do a glute ham raise

Lock your ankles into the glute ham developer with your knees just behind the pad, lower your body forward under control, then pull yourself back up with your hamstrings.

Set the machine. Adjust the footplate so your knees sit just behind the pad (on the back of the pad, not on top of your kneecaps). Lock your ankles under the rollers.
Start upright. Kneel tall with your body straight from knees to head, hands crossed on your chest or behind your head.
Lower forward. Keep your hips straight and lower your body forward slowly by straightening your knees.
Hinge if you need to. When your body is roughly parallel to the floor, you can bend at the hips to finish the lowering.
Pull back up. Press your toes into the footplate and curl yourself back up using your hamstrings until you’re kneeling upright again.

Form cues that help

The best GHR cue is “straight line from knees to head”: if your hips bend early, your back does the work your hamstrings should be doing.

Squeeze your glutes. It keeps your hips straight on the way down.
Toes into the footplate. Pushing through the balls of your feet brings the calves in to help.
Slow on the way down. Three seconds is a good target. Lowering is where most of the strength comes from at first.
Use your hands if you need to. A light push off the floor or a band is fine while you build up.

It’s a bit like a drawbridge: lowered slowly on a cable, raised back up by the same cable. If the cable (your hamstrings) isn’t strong enough yet, a helping hand is better than letting it crash.

How to make the GHR easier or harder

The glute ham raise is hard, and most people can’t do a full rep at first, so start with an easier version and build up.

Level	Version	How
Easier	Band-assisted GHR	Loop a band from the machine to your chest
Easier	Hand-assisted GHR	Push off the floor at the bottom with your hands
Easier	Eccentric-only	Lower slowly, then use your hands to get back up
Standard	Full GHR	Arms crossed on your chest
Harder	Arms overhead	Moves your centre of mass further from your knees
Harder	Weighted	Hold a plate to your chest

Common glute ham raise mistakes

The most common GHR mistake is bending at the hips straight away, which turns it into a back extension.

Mistake	What it looks like	Fix
Hinging too early	Bum sticks out at the start	Squeeze your glutes; lower from the knees first
Knees on the pad	Kneecaps pressing into the pad	Move the footplate so the pad is just above your knees
Dropping down	Falling the last half	Use a band or your hands; lower more slowly
Arching the back	Head and chest thrown back	Keep a straight line from knees to head

Safety: hamstring strains typically follow sudden changes in speed or the muscle being stretched too far. Build up slowly, start with assisted reps, and stop if you feel a sharp pull at the back of your thigh.

Sets and reps

Start with 3 sets of 3–8 reps of whichever version lets you control the lowering. Add reps first, then move to a harder version. The ACSM position stand supports progressing one variable at a time like this.

Glute ham raise alternatives

If your gym doesn’t have a glute ham developer, these exercises train the same muscles.

Nordic hamstring curl: kneel on a mat with your ankles held (by a partner or under a fixed bar) and lower forward. Very hard on the hamstrings.
Lying or seated leg curl: trains the knee-bending job of the hamstrings.
Romanian deadlift: trains the hip job of the hamstrings.
Hip thrust: glutes first, hamstrings second.
Back extension: use the same machine with your hips on the pad.

For heavier hip hinges, see the rack pull. For more leg options, see our leg press alternatives.