Intermediate

TRX Hamstring Curl

Lying on your back with your heels in the foot cradles, you curl the straps toward your glutes while holding a bridge, so the hamstrings work at both the knee and the hip at once. That combined action makes it one of the few bodyweight moves that loads the hamstrings hard through knee flexion. It is a great posterior-chain builder and a common tool for building hamstring resilience.

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

How to do it

  1. 1

    Lie on your back and set both heels into the foot cradles with straps short.

  2. 2

    Extend the legs and press through the heels to lift the hips into a bridge.

  3. 3

    Brace the core and keep the hips high throughout.

  4. 4

    Curl the heels toward your glutes by bending the knees.

  5. 5

    Pause with the knees bent and the hips still lifted.

  6. 6

    Straighten the legs under control without letting the hips drop.

Tips

  • Keep the hips lifted the entire set; dropping them turns off the hamstrings.
  • Curl and extend slowly rather than swinging the straps.
  • Drive the toes toward the shins to keep tension in the hamstrings.
  • Do a two-leg version first, then progress toward a single-leg curl.

Variations

Common mistakes

  • The straps are left long, so your heels start well ahead of the anchor and the cradles swing forward instead of the knees bending.
  • The arch of the foot sits in the cradle rather than the heel, and the strap slides toward the toes as soon as you start to curl.
  • The bridge gets pushed up from the neck and shoulders instead of the heels, which leaves the neck sore and the hamstrings barely touched.
  • The knees drift out to the sides as the heels come in, so the pull turns into an inner-thigh squeeze; keep the thighs parallel through the curl.
  • The hamstrings cramp on the way in and the set gets cut short, usually a sign the straps were set for more range than the legs can hold; shorten it and build up.

Frequently asked

How many sets and reps of the TRX hamstring curl should you do when you are new to the exercise?
Both feet in the cradles, 8 to 10 reps, three sets, with the hips coming down to the floor only between sets. Once 3 sets of 12 pass with the hips high the whole way, add a two-second hold with the knees bent, then work toward taking one foot out of the cradles for a few reps at a time. Twice a week fits, and it pairs well on the same day as a hinge, since the two load the hamstrings at different joints.
What can I use instead of a TRX for the hamstring curl?
Furniture sliders, a pair of towels on a smooth floor, or a stability ball under the heels all reproduce the same curl with the hips bridged. Gymnastic rings or any other suspension trainer work identically; a solid overhead anchor matters far more than the brand. In a gym, a glute-ham raise trains the same two jobs at once and is the closest match of all.
What is the TRX hamstring curl good for, and when is it a poor choice?
It is one of the few bodyweight exercises that loads the hamstrings at the knee as well as the hip, which makes it a good partner to deadlifts and Romanian deadlifts rather than a replacement, and a favorite for field-sport athletes and home training. It is a poor choice without a solid anchor overhead, and a poor first exercise for anyone who cannot hold a glute bridge for thirty seconds, since the hips will drop long before the hamstrings are trained.

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