Glute-Ham Raise

Learn glute-ham raise technique on the GHD, how to control the eccentric knee-flexion phase, and band or eccentric-only regressions for beginners.

Quick answer: Lock your ankles into the GHD pads, keep your hips extended, lower your torso by slowly straightening the knees, then pull yourself back up using the hamstrings and glutes.

Glute-ham developer (GHD) advanced Hamstrings, Glutes, Lower Back

How to Do It

  1. Set the GHD pad height so your knees rest just behind the pad's edge, with your ankles secured under the footplate or roller.
  2. Start in a kneeling position with your hips extended and your torso vertical, glutes and hamstrings lightly braced.
  3. Lower your torso toward the floor by slowly extending your knees, keeping your hips extended throughout the descent.
  4. Control the descent all the way until your torso is close to horizontal or your hamstrings reach their end range.
  5. Pull yourself back up to the starting position by flexing the knees, driving through the hamstrings and glutes rather than jerking with the hips.

Technique

  1. Treat hip extension as a fixed checkpoint; the knees, not the hips, should produce the visible movement.
  2. Use a slower eccentric than concentric phase, since the eccentric portion is the part most lifters cannot yet control.
  3. Brace the glutes throughout the movement to help keep the hips extended and support the lower back.

Key Cues

  • Hips locked, knees do the work.
  • Lower slower than you rise.
  • Pull with the hamstrings, not a hip jerk.

Common Mistakes

  • Letting the hips flex during the descent, which turns the movement into a back extension instead of a knee-flexion exercise.
  • Dropping quickly through the eccentric phase instead of controlling the descent with the hamstrings.
  • Using momentum or a bounce at the bottom to help start the ascent, rather than initiating the pull with muscular effort.
  • Setting the pad too high or too low, which changes the leverage and can make the ankles or knees uncomfortable.
  • Attempting a full-range repetition before building enough eccentric strength, resulting in an uncontrolled fall forward.

The glute-ham raise is a compound hamstring and glute exercise performed on a glute-ham developer (GHD), where the hips stay extended and the knees produce the visible movement. It is distinct from hip-hinge exercises such as the Romanian deadlift and good morning, which train the hamstrings primarily through hip flexion and extension rather than knee flexion. This page covers GHD setup, the eccentric control that most lifters need to build first, and regressions using bands or eccentric-only reps.

How to Do a Glute-Ham Raise

  1. Set the GHD. Adjust the pad so your knees rest just behind its edge, with your ankles secured under the footplate or roller. An incorrect pad height changes the leverage and can make the position uncomfortable.[1][2][3]
  2. Start extended. Kneel with your hips extended and your torso vertical, bracing the glutes and hamstrings lightly before you begin moving.[1][2][3]
  3. Lower with control. Extend the knees slowly to lower your torso toward the floor, keeping the hips extended throughout so the movement comes from the knees, not a hip hinge.[1][2][3]
  4. Reach your controlled end range. Continue the descent until your torso approaches horizontal or until you reach the point where you can no longer control the lowering phase.[1][2][3]
  5. Pull back up. Flex the knees to return to the starting position, driving the movement with the hamstrings and glutes rather than jerking with the hips.[1][2][3]

GHD Setup and Ankle Position

The apparatus setup determines whether the glute-ham raise trains the intended knee-flexion pattern. The ankles need to be secured firmly enough that they do not shift during the movement, and the pad height should let the knees hinge freely just past the pad’s edge. If the pad sits too high, the hips are forced into flexion during the descent, turning the exercise into something closer to a back extension. If it sits too low, the knees may not have enough clearance to flex through a full range.

Take time to find a pad height and ankle position that let you keep the hips extended throughout the set before adding load or chasing a longer range.[1][2][3]

Controlling the Eccentric Phase

The lowering phase of the glute-ham raise is an eccentric hamstring contraction, and it is usually the limiting factor for lifters new to the movement. Unlike a leg curl machine, where a cable or weight stack controls the resistance, the GHD relies entirely on your own hamstring strength to control the descent. Most people cannot control a full-range eccentric lowering phase the first time they try the movement, which is why regressions that isolate this phase are the standard entry point rather than a shortcut.

Practical checkpoints for the eccentric phase:[1][2][3]

  • Descent speed: The torso should lower at a speed you control, not a speed dictated by gravity. If you feel yourself losing control and falling forward, the range or load needs to be reduced.[1][2][3]
  • Hip position: The hips should stay extended throughout the descent. If you notice yourself folding at the hips to reduce hamstring demand, that is a sign the range has exceeded your current eccentric strength.[1][2][3]
  • Range before load: Build a full, controlled range of motion with bodyweight before adding external load such as a held plate.[1][2][3]

Hip Extension: Glute and Hamstring Integration

The glute-ham raise integrates two roles: the hamstrings produce the knee-flexion movement, while the glutes work to keep the hips extended and stable throughout. This is different from an isolated hamstring curl machine, where the hips are fixed by the seat and only the knee moves. On a GHD, if the glutes fail to hold hip extension, the movement pattern breaks down into hip flexion, reducing the demand on the hamstrings and changing what the exercise trains.

Bracing the glutes at the start of each repetition, and maintaining that brace through the full set, is a useful cue for keeping the hip-extension role intact while the hamstrings handle the knee-flexion work.[1][2][3]

Regressions for Beginners

Very few lifters can perform a full-range glute-ham raise on their first attempt, and that is expected rather than a sign of inadequate strength. Two regressions build the necessary eccentric capacity:

  • Band-assisted glute-ham raise: Anchor a resistance band in front of the GHD and loop it around your torso or chest, so the band reduces the load through the hardest part of the range. Reduce band assistance as control improves.[1][2][3]
  • Eccentric-only glute-ham raise: Focus entirely on a slow, controlled lowering phase, then use your arms or a partner to help you return to the top rather than pulling yourself up with the hamstrings. This isolates the phase most lifters need to build first.[1][2][3]

Progress from these regressions to a full bodyweight glute-ham raise, and only add external load such as a held plate once the full range is controlled for your target rep count.[1][2][3]

Programming and Alternatives

For strength-focused training, 3-4 sets of 4-8 controlled repetitions is a reasonable target once the full range is available. Beginners using band assistance or an eccentric-only pattern should prioritise consistent control across every rep over reaching a specific number.

Pair the glute-ham raise with hip-hinge work such as the Romanian deadlift or good morning for a complete hamstring programme that trains both knee flexion and hip extension. Visit the hamstrings hub for a broader selection of hamstring-focused exercises, or the glutes hub for exercises that complement the hip-extension demand of this movement. Stop the set if you feel sharp or unusual pain, and seek qualified clinical advice for persistent symptoms or questions about whether this exercise suits you.

Regressions

  • Band-assisted glute-ham raise: A band anchored in front of the GHD reduces the load through the sticking point, letting you build eccentric control before removing assistance.
  • Eccentric-only glute-ham raise: Use a partner or your arms to return to the top, focusing effort only on controlling the slow lowering phase until that strength develops.
  • Nordic curl with support: A kneeling hamstring curl with a partner holding the ankles trains the same eccentric knee-flexion pattern without the GHD apparatus.

Progressions

  • Full-range glute-ham raise: Increase the range toward a horizontal torso position once the partial range is fully controlled on every rep.
  • Weighted glute-ham raise: Hold a plate against the chest once bodyweight reps are controlled through a full range for the target rep count.

Alternatives

  • Romanian deadlift: Choose the Romanian deadlift when you want a hip-hinge-dominant hamstring exercise with external load instead of a knee-flexion pattern on a GHD.
  • Good morning: Use the good morning for a barbell hip-hinge pattern that loads the hamstrings and lower back through hip flexion and extension rather than knee flexion.
  • Nordic hamstring curl: Use a supported Nordic curl when a GHD is unavailable but you still want to train the same eccentric knee-flexion pattern.

References

  1. National Strength and Conditioning Association. Anaerobic and Muscle Endurance Development: Lifting Guidelines. National Strength and Conditioning Association (2017)Back to claim
  2. Brad S Currier, Alysha C D'Souza, Maria A Fiatarone Singh, Caroline V Lowisz, Eric S Rawson, Brad J Schoenfeld, Abbie E Smith-Ryan, Jeremy P Steen, Gwendolyn A Thomas, N Travis Triplett, Tyrone A Washington, Timothy J Werner, Stuart M Phillips. American College of Sports Medicine Position Stand. Resistance Training Prescription for Muscle Function, Hypertrophy, and Physical Performance in Healthy Adults: An Overview of Reviews. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise (2026)Back to claim
  3. Deborah Riebe, Barry A Franklin, Paul D Thompson, Carol E Garber, George P Whitfield, Melissa Magal, Linda S Pescatello. Updating ACSM's Recommendations for Exercise Preparticipation Health Screening. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise (2015)Back to claim
  4. American College of Sports Medicine. ACSM’s Guidelines for Exercise Testing and Prescription. Wolters Kluwer / American College of Sports Medicine (2021)Back to claim
  5. Brad J Schoenfeld, Jozo Grgic, Dan Ogborn, James W Krieger. Strength and Hypertrophy Adaptations Between Low- versus High-Load Resistance Training: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research (2017)Back to claim
  6. Brad J Schoenfeld. The mechanisms of muscle hypertrophy and their application to resistance training. Sports Medicine (2016)Back to claim

See our exercise methodology for how this evidence is applied and its limits.

Frequently Asked Questions

What muscles does the glute-ham raise work?
The glute-ham raise trains the hamstrings through knee flexion, with the glutes assisting to keep the hips extended throughout the movement. The lower back also works isometrically to help stabilise the torso, making this a compound posterior-chain exercise rather than an isolated hamstring curl.
How is the glute-ham raise different from the Romanian deadlift or good morning?
The glute-ham raise trains the hamstrings primarily through knee flexion with the hips held in a fixed extended position. The Romanian deadlift and good morning are hip-hinge exercises that train the hamstrings through hip flexion and extension while the knees stay relatively fixed. Both movement patterns work the hamstrings, but through different joint actions, which is why they are complementary rather than interchangeable.
What if I can't do a full glute-ham raise yet?
Most lifters cannot control a full-range glute-ham raise without first building eccentric hamstring strength. Start with a band-assisted version or an eccentric-only pattern, where you focus only on slowly lowering the torso and use your arms or a partner to return to the top, and progress the range as control improves.
Do I need a GHD machine to train this movement?
A glute-ham developer is the standard apparatus because it secures the ankles and allows the knees to hinge independently of the hips. If a GHD is unavailable, a supported Nordic hamstring curl, where a partner holds your ankles while you kneel, trains a similar eccentric knee-flexion pattern without the machine.
How many glute-ham raises should I do?
For strength-focused work, 3-4 sets of 4-8 controlled repetitions is a reasonable starting point once you can perform the movement through a useful range. Beginners building eccentric control should prioritise quality over volume, using band assistance or a partial range until the descent is fully controlled before adding repetitions.