Richardson shares his ham training secrets and a typical hamstrings routine

September 20, 2011

FLEXONLINE.COM

He’s been competing for 20 years and he’s been a pro for nine, and yet New Jersey’s Craig Richardson only turned 37 on July 25, and he’s still making notable improvements. Assuming he can at least match the conditioning that nabbed him a third at the New York Pro and a win at the Toronto Pro this spring, he’s headed to his fifth Mr. Olympia this September 16-17 with his best shot yet of landing in the top 10. Going back to his winning the NPC Teen Nationals in 1994, one thing Richardson has always had is wheels. So we got him to share his ham training secrets and a typical hamstrings routine.

CRAIG’S LIST

  • “I like to train train hams separate from quads to give both their maximum focus.”
  • “I use a variety of exercises and rep schemes to keep my hamstrings guessing and growing.”
  • “A lot of guys just don’t do enough work for hamstrings. They’re a relatively big muscle group. If you do 15 sets for biceps you should be doing at least that many for hamstrings, because your hams are a lot bigger and more complex area than your bi’s.”

CRAIG RICHARDSON’S HAMSTRINGS ROUTINE

EXERCISE SETS REPS
Lying leg curls (heavy) 3 6-8
Lying leg curls (lighter) 3 12-15
Seated leg curls 4 8-12
Standing one-leg curls 3 6-10
Stiff-leg deadlifts 3 12-15