Beginner

Lying Leg Curl

The lying leg curl strips the hamstrings down to their knee-flexion job, letting you train them directly without loading the spine. It is a staple accessory for balancing quad-heavy programs and protecting the knees. Simple to set up and easy to push close to failure safely.

Equipment
Machine
Body part
Hamstring
Type
Strength
Browse by movement
Knee Flexion
Muscles worked
Target
Biceps Femoris, Semitendinosus
Secondary
Gastrocnemius Medial Head, Gastrocnemius Lateral Head

How to do it

  1. 1

    Lie face down with the pad resting just above your heels.

  2. 2

    Align your knees with the machine's pivot and grip the handles.

  3. 3

    Curl your heels toward your glutes by flexing the knees.

  4. 4

    Squeeze at the top without letting your hips lift off the pad.

  5. 5

    Lower the pad slowly back to the start under control.

  6. 6

    Keep the movement smooth and avoid swinging.

Tips

  • Press your hips down into the bench to keep tension on the hamstrings.
  • Point the toes slightly to shift a bit more work to the hamstring belly.
  • Control the eccentric; a slow lowering keeps the hamstrings under tension for the whole rep.

Variations

Common mistakes

  • Setting the roller up on the calf instead of just above the heels lets it slide down your leg as the knee bends and makes the stack feel lighter than it is. Place it across the Achilles.
  • Craning your neck up to watch the mirror while lying face down leaves you stiff by the end of the set. Rest your forehead on the bench or look at the floor just in front of it.
  • Curling only to halfway because the last part is hard skips the range where the hamstrings shorten most. Bring the heels close to your glutes, or lighten the stack until you can.
  • Letting the plates settle onto the stack at the bottom unloads the hamstrings on every rep. Stop a finger's width short and begin the next rep from tension.
  • Pointing the toes hard on a heavy set is the classic way to cramp a hamstring. If the muscle starts to grip, straighten the leg, wait it out, and finish with the feet relaxed.

Frequently asked

How many sets and reps of the lying leg curl should a beginner do?
Three sets of 8 to 12, twice a week, is a solid dose alongside squats and hinges. Choose a weight where rep 10 slows down but your hips stay flat on the pad. Build to 12 on all three sets, then move up one plate. If you also do seated leg curls, split your weekly hamstring sets between the two rather than doubling up: they train the same muscle at different hip angles and both count toward the same total.
What can I do instead of the lying leg curl if there is no machine?
A swiss-ball leg curl is the closest bodyweight match, and a banded prone leg curl reproduces the same face-down knee flexion with a band anchored behind you. A Nordic curl, even the assisted version where your hands catch you, is the strongest option and needs only a partner or something solid to hook your heels under. A lying dumbbell leg curl with a light dumbbell pinched between the feet also works, though the balance takes practice.
What is the lying leg curl for and when is it not the right choice?
It trains the hamstrings through knee flexion without loading the spine, which makes it a useful accessory in a quad-heavy program and a way to add hamstring work on a day when your back is tired from deadlifts. It is a poor choice as your only hamstring exercise, because the hamstrings also extend the hip and that job needs a Romanian deadlift or another hinge. If you want them trained in a stretched position, the seated curl does that better, since the hips stay bent.

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