The GHD Machine (Glute Ham Developer) is a niche piece of kit but a very diverse and useful one.

It was initially developed by Soviet weightlifters in the 1970’s to develop strength specific to the first pull of the clean and snatch, through the glute ham machine hip extension, but is often adopted and adapted by other disciplines. 

Best GHD Machine Exercises

GHD Hip Extensions

This isolates hip extension, hence the name, whereas most lower body movements use both hip and knee extension, by anchoring the knees in a fully extended position while you move around the hips.

This exercise strengthens the glutes and erector spinae, two commonly weak and neglected muscles. With the glutes the prime movers in most sporting skills, like sprinting or jumping, strengthening them is essential; strong glutes and powerful athletes are somewhat synonymous.

How to Do It

• Anchor your feet under the foot pad with you legs straight and your hips comfortably past the main pad, so your low back can stay straight throughout the movement and not bend around the pad.

• From there, simply think about trying to touch the floor with your chest to bring your body into hip flexion.

• Then simply complete the extension part of the movement by thinking about trying to touch the sky with your shoulders, until they are in line with your hips.

GHD Russian Twists

Upper body rotational function is an often neglected and a somewhat misunderstood concept. While we want the spine to stay rigid during lifts like the back squat, the thoracic portion of the spine (upper back) is made to rotate; we want it to be able to rotate in certain actions (e.g. a golf swing or looking behind you as you reverse a car).

As a general rule, we want to be strong in ranges of motion that we encounter in daily life and sport, hence the phrase ‘functional’. So being strong in a rotational movement, like the GHD Russian Twist, is essential.

How to Do It

• Anchor yourself to the foot pad as if in an upside-down hip extension; facing the sky instead of the floor.

• Hold your chest up in line with your knees and simply rotate left and right with your shoulders, making sure not to over rotate, putting your low back through rotation (we only want the upper back to rotate).

GHD Nordics

The Nordic is a fantastic and commonly used exercise for exposing the hamstring to high eccentric load, as a precursor to successful sprint performance, avoiding injury.

However, it requires a strong anchor for the feet, of which is very hard to come by in a gym, which is why it often gets neglected, despite the extensive literature supporting its use. Enter the glute machine.

• In a similar position to the GHD Hip Extension except with the foot pad closer to the main pad, your knees bent and starting with your upper body at a right angle to the floor.

• From there, simply lower yourself as slowly as you can until your chest is parallel to the floor, driving your feet up into the foot pad as hard as you can.

• The slower the better here to exaggerate eccentric hamstring loading, which is a precursor for injury free running.

Mirafit GHD Machine Benefits

Resistance Band Hook

A Unique feature of the Mirafit GHD Machine, which allows you to use a resistance band, otherwise known as variable resistance training, for your Glute Machine Hip Extensions. This has consistently been shown to be an effective method of improving strength and power, on its own or alongside traditional weights.

The band gets progressively harder as it is stretched, making the movement even more challenging towards full extension.

Quick Release Adjustments

This is an essential feature for a GHD machine and what gives the machine so much exercise flexibility; different exercises will require your feet to be anchored closer or further from the pad, for instance, the hip extension may need the foot pad to be closer than for glute machine Nordics.

Strong Anchor

The glute ham raise machine relies solely on having a strong anchor for your feet; it secures part of your body while another part of your body moves around it. However, this is a quality that GHD’s do not always possess.

The Anti-Slip Foot Plate, Wide Base and Strong Foot Pad provide such a thing, giving you the confidence to load up the exercises so that you can continue to progressively overload, instead of stagnating once you have mastered exercises with your bodyweight.

So, is the Mirafit GHD Machine worth it? Absolutely.

Written by guest author Ewan Hammond.

For more content, follow us on Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and on our official Mirafit Facebook page.

Tags: Equipment > GHD Machine