You can never run out of reasons why your athletes should train their hamstrings. Today's Equipment Feature showcases a machine that enables hamstring training in multiple positions, at any intensity level desired. In this video, Executive Equipment Specialist Nate Harvey demonstrates use of the Westside Inverse Curl. He walks through each adjustment of the machine and explains how, when, and why to use various setups.


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The first thing to note is the placement of the footplate and the footpads. These should be adjusted according to the height of the athlete so that their knees are on the pad and they're physically able to perform the movement. You can then move the footplate and pads to increase or decrease difficulty. The closer the footplate is to the kneepad, the harder the movement will be. The farther away the footplate is, the easier it will be. The footpads allow the same type of adjustments: the higher the footpads, the harder the movement. The lower the footpads, the easier the movement.

So when you go lower and back, the movement gets easier. When you go higher and forward, the movement gets harder. You can use these adjustments to control intensity of the movement. You can also control intensity of the movement by altering how heavily you load the counterbalance. The more weight you use, the easier the movement is.

You can also adjust the counterbalance arm. For general training purposes, you want the arm to be high so that it's on the athlete's chest as they start the movement. You can then adjust it up or down to target different, more specific areas of the movement. For instance, if you put the arm lower, it will only assist the athlete at the bottom portion of the movement, forcing them to complete the top range of motion unassisted.

Entirely unlike the glute ham raise, the kneepad on the Westside Inverse Curl does not allow your knee to drop below the pad during the movement. This takes away a mechanical advantage of the movement and makes it a completely different exercise. This machine is more like a manual hamstring curl than a GHR.

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