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Nordic Hamstring Curl

The Nordic hamstring curl uses your own body as the load, resisting a forward fall with the hamstrings working eccentrically. It is one of the most effective tools for building hamstring strength and reducing strain risk in sprinters. Extremely demanding, so scale the range and add reps gradually.

Equipment
Body Weight
Body part
Hamstring
Type
Strength
Browse by movement
Knee Flexion
Muscles worked
Target
Biceps Femoris, Semitendinosus
Secondary
Gluteus Maximus
Tertiary
Erector Spinae, Gastrocnemius Medial Head

How to do it

  1. 1

    Kneel upright with your ankles anchored under a pad or held by a partner.

  2. 2

    Cross your arms or hold your hands ready to catch yourself.

  3. 3

    Keep a straight line from knees to head and brace your core.

  4. 4

    Lower your torso toward the floor as slowly as you can.

  5. 5

    Fight the descent with your hamstrings for as long as possible.

  6. 6

    Push off lightly with your hands and use your hamstrings to return up.

Tips

  • Keep your hips extended; do not let them bend and cheat the lowering.
  • Only descend as far as you can control, then build range over weeks.
  • Add a gentle hand push to assist the concentric until you get stronger.

Variations

Common mistakes

  • The anchor is a couch or a bar that lifts when you load it, and the first honest rep pulls it off the floor; use a fixed anchor or have a partner hold your ankles.
  • Knees rest on a bare floor, so the set ends because of the kneecaps rather than the hamstrings; kneel on a folded mat or a pad.
  • Arms stay crossed on the chest past the point where the descent is under control, and nothing is left to catch you; bring the hands out as soon as the lowering runs away.
  • The first session ends with five hard sets and the hamstrings are wrecked for a week; two or three sets of three to five reps is a full first day.
  • The descent turns into a fall a few degrees in, so the rep is a controlled inch plus a drop; a band from a high point on a rack behind you to your chest takes off enough weight to keep the whole range honest.

Frequently asked

How many sets and reps of the Nordic hamstring curl should you do when you are new to the exercise?
Two sets of 3 to 5 reps, once or twice a week, stopping well short of failure for the first month. This exercise causes more soreness than almost anything else, so the first session should feel too easy on the day itself. Progress by adding a rep or a set, then by controlling a few more degrees of range, before you think about folding the arms. Six to eight hard reps in a session is plenty even for strong athletes.
How do I make the Nordic hamstring curl easier or harder?
To make it easier, loop a band from a high point on a rack behind you around your chest so it carries part of your weight, set a bench under you to cut the range, or push more of the way back up with your hands. To make it harder, slow the descent, use less hand assistance on the way up, pause partway down, or eventually hold a plate against your chest. More range under control is the progression that matters most.
What is the Nordic hamstring curl good for, and who should skip it?
It loads the hamstrings eccentrically at long muscle lengths, which is why sprinters and field-sport athletes keep it in their programs through preseason and into the season. It is a poor first hamstring exercise, since it starts at a difficulty most people cannot control, and a poor pick the week before a competition because of the soreness it leaves. If you have a current hamstring problem or knee pain when kneeling, get that looked at before trying it.

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