For hamstring growth
For hamstring growth, glute-ham raise rates well ahead on our research criteria: more of the work on the hamstrings, easier to progress.
Single-leg RDL gives more stretch.
Both are good choices, and they train the hamstrings differently. Using both across your week covers more of the muscle than either alone: in studies, varied exercises grew parts of a muscle that one exercise missed. (Fonseca et al., 2014; Costa et al., 2021)
The research score comes from these, scored by hand from the studies. Lifter scores appear once an exercise has 10 ratings. How scores work
Glute-Ham Raise. Trains the hamstrings at the knee and hip together, but bodyweight is a lot to start with and hard to add to.
For hamstring growth, glute-ham raise rates well ahead on our research criteria: more of the work on the hamstrings, easier to progress. Single-leg RDL gives more stretch. Both are good choices, and they train the hamstrings differently. Using both across your week covers more of the muscle than either alone: in studies, varied exercises grew parts of a muscle that one exercise missed.
About the same: both take some practice.
Glute-ham raise needs a GHD or back-extension bench, so for most people it’s a gym exercise. Single-leg RDL needs dumbbells, so a home gym covers it.
Glute-ham raise: it rates Strong for joint and recovery cost in our research rubric, against Good for single-leg RDL.