10 Best Natural Glute Ham Raise Alternatives for Limited Equipment

If you can’t perform a Natural Glute Ham Raise, use movements that preserve hamstring eccentric loading and hip-extension demand. Effective swaps include Nordic hamstring curls, Romanian deadlifts, slider curls, single-leg Romanian deadlifts, and hip-dominant bridges. For a Nordic curl cue: keep a rigid hip-to-shoulder line and lower under control to feel deep hamstring activation.

Original Exercise: Natural Glute Ham Raise

Natural Glute Ham Raise
Primary Muscle
Hamstrings
Equipment
Body-weight
Difficulty
Advanced
Type
Compound
Secondary Muscles: Calves, Glutes, Lower Back
How to Perform Natural Glute Ham Raise
  1. Using the leg pad of a lat pulldown machine or a preacher bench, position yourself so that your ankles are under the pads, knees on the seat, and you are facing away from the machine. You should be upright and maintaining good posture.
  2. This will be your starting position. Lower yourself under control until your knees are almost completely straight.
  3. Remaining in control, raise yourself back up to the starting position.
  4. If you are unable to complete a rep, use a band, a partner, or push off of a box to aid in completing a repetition.
Pro Tips
  • Category: Strength
  • Force: Pull
  • Movement type: Compound

Best Natural Glute Ham Raise Alternatives

Best Match
Ball Leg Curl

1. Ball Leg Curl

77.4% Match
Hamstrings Stability-ball Intermediate Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Begin on the floor laying on your back with your feet on top of the ball.
  2. Position the ball so that when your legs are extended your ankles are on top of the ball. This will be your starting position.
  3. Raise your hips off of the ground, keeping your weight on the shoulder blades and your feet.
  4. Flex the knees, pulling the ball as close to you as you can, contracting the hamstrings.
  5. After a brief pause, return to the starting position.
Band Good Morning (Pull Through)

2. Band Good Morning (Pull Through)

74.6% Match
Hamstrings Band Intermediate Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Loop the band around a post. Standing a little ways away, loop the opposite end around the neck. Your hands can help hold the band in position.
  2. Begin by bending at the hips, getting your butt back as far as possible. Keep your back flat and bend forward to about 90 degrees. Your knees should be only slightly bent.
  3. Return to the starting position be driving through with the hips to come back to a standing position.
Band Good Morning

3. Band Good Morning

67.2% Match
Hamstrings Band Intermediate Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Using a 41 inch band, stand on one end, spreading your feet a small amount. Bend at the hips to loop the end of the band behind your neck. This will be your starting position.
  2. Keeping your legs straight, extend through the hips to come to a near vertical position.
  3. Ensure that you do not round your back as you go down back to the starting position.
Band Straight Leg Deadlift

4. Band Straight Leg Deadlift

65.1% Match
Hamstrings Band Intermediate Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and place the band around your feet.
  2. Hold the band with both hands, palms facing your body, and keep your arms straight.
  3. Engage your core and maintain a slight bend in your knees.
  4. Slowly hinge forward at your hips, keeping your back straight and chest lifted.
  5. Lower the band towards the ground while keeping your legs straight.
Cable Deadlifts

5. Cable Deadlifts

63.8% Match
Hamstrings Cable Intermediate Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Move the cables to the bottom of the towers and select an appropriate weight. Stand directly in between the uprights.
  2. To begin, squat down be flexing your hips and knees until you can reach the handles.
  3. After grasping them, begin your ascent. Driving through your heels extend your hips and knees keeping your hands hanging at your side. Keep your head and chest up throughout the movement.
  4. After reaching a full standing position, Return to the starting position and repeat.
Barbell Good Morning

6. Barbell Good Morning

62.2% Match
Hamstrings Barbell Advanced Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Start by standing with your feet shoulder-width apart and the barbell resting on your upper back.
  2. Keeping your back straight and your core engaged, hinge forward at the hips, pushing your buttocks back as if you were trying to touch the wall behind you with your glutes.
  3. Lower your torso until it is parallel to the ground, feeling a stretch in your hamstrings.
  4. Pause for a moment, then return to the starting position by squeezing your glutes and pushing your hips forward.
  5. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.
Bench Hip Extension

7. Bench Hip Extension

61.9% Match
Glutes Body-weight Beginner Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Sit on a bench with your back against the bench and your feet flat on the ground.
  2. Place your hands on the bench for support.
  3. Engage your glutes and hamstrings, then lift your hips off the bench until your body forms a straight line from your knees to your shoulders.
  4. Pause for a moment at the top, then slowly lower your hips back down to the starting position.
  5. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.
Butt Lift (Bridge)

8. Butt Lift (Bridge)

61.9% Match
Glutes Body-weight Beginner Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Lie flat on the floor on your back with the hands by your side and your knees bent. Your feet should be placed around shoulder width. This will be your starting position.
  2. Pushing mainly with your heels, lift your hips off the floor while keeping your back straight. Breathe out as you perform this part of the motion and hold at the top for a second.
  3. Slowly go back to the starting position as you breathe in.
Barbell Straight Leg Deadlift

9. Barbell Straight Leg Deadlift

61.4% Match
Hamstrings Barbell Intermediate Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and your toes pointing forward.
  2. Hold the barbell with an overhand grip, hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart.
  3. Bend at your hips and lower the barbell towards the ground, keeping your back straight and your knees slightly bent.
  4. Lower the barbell until you feel a stretch in your hamstrings.
  5. Engage your hamstrings and glutes to lift the barbell back up to the starting position.
Clean Deadlift

10. Clean Deadlift

61.1% Match
Hamstrings Barbell Intermediate Isolation
How to perform this exercise
  1. Begin standing with a barbell close to your shins. Your feet should be directly under your hips with your feet turned out slightly. Grip the bar with a double overhand grip or hook grip, about shoulder width apart. Squat down to the bar. Your spine should be in full extension, with a back angle that places your shoulders in front of the bar and your back as vertical as possible.
  2. Begin by driving through the floor through the front of your heels. As the bar travels upward, maintain a constant back angle. Flare your knees out to the side to help keep them out of the bar's path.
  3. After the bar crosses the knees, complete the lift by driving the hips into the bar until your hips and knees are extended.

Why You Might Need a Natural Glute Ham Raise Alternative

You may need substitutes because you lack a partner or GHD, have knee or low-back pain, or need a progression step. The Natural Glute Ham Raise loads hamstrings eccentrically through knee flexion and hip extension; some people find the required stabilization or ankle anchor unavailable. Choose alternatives that replicate eccentric loading or prioritize hip extension depending on your limitation. For example, Romanian deadlifts let you load the hamstrings via hip hinge—brace your core, keep a neutral spine, and push hips back to maximize posterior-chain activation while minimizing knee strain.

How to Choose the Right Substitute

Pick a substitute based on movement pattern (knee- versus hip-dominant), available equipment, and your training goal. If you want eccentric hamstring strength, prefer Nordic curls or slow slider curls and use a 3–5 second descent to increase time under tension. If you need hip-extension strength or heavier loading choose Romanian deadlifts or single-leg RDLs—maintain a neutral pelvis and hinge at the hips to shift load into the hamstrings and glutes. Also consider unilateral options to correct side-to-side strength imbalances and reduce spinal loading.

Frequently Asked Questions

What muscles does Natural Glute Ham Raise work?

The Natural Glute Ham Raise primarily targets the hamstrings across both knee flexion and hip extension, with secondary load on the gluteus maximus and spinal erectors. It emphasizes eccentric control of the hamstrings, so keep a neutral pelvis and tall chest to maximize posterior-chain activation.

What is the best bodyweight alternative to Natural Glute Ham Raise?

The Nordic hamstring curl is the best pure bodyweight alternative because it reproduces heavy eccentric hamstring demand. Anchor your ankles, keep the hips extended, and lower slowly for 3–5 seconds to load the hamstrings effectively.

Can I build muscle without doing Natural Glute Ham Raise?

Yes. You can hypertrophy the hamstrings with progressive overload using Romanian deadlifts, single-leg RDLs, slow eccentrics on slider or Nordic curls, and weighted hip-hinge variations. Increase load or time under tension and track progressive sets and reps to drive muscle growth.

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