Nordic Hamstring Curl
Lowering your body forward from kneeling under hamstring control — the best-evidenced exercise for reducing hamstring-strain risk.
Also called: nordic curl, nordics, nordic hamstring exercise
Illustrations: Exercise data by RepDB (repdb.co)
Setup
Kneel on a pad with your ankles anchored (partner, bar, or heavy furniture). Body upright, hips extended.
How to do the Nordic Hamstring Curl
- Keep a straight line from knees to shoulders — no hinging at the hips.
- Lower forward as SLOWLY as the hamstrings allow.
- When you can no longer control it, catch yourself with your hands and push back up lightly.
- A few quality reps beat many collapsing ones.
Nordic Hamstring Curl muscles worked
The Nordic Hamstring Curl works the hamstrings.
Common Nordic Hamstring Curl mistakes
- Breaking at the hips so the hamstrings never load.
- Free-falling past the controllable range.
- Doing too many too soon — this exercise causes legendary soreness; start with 2–3 reps.
Scale it
Easier: Limit the range with a band assist or lower to a raised pad.
Harder: Full-range lowering, then add a partial push back up with minimal hand help.
Pairs well with
Back Squat
The barbell squat — the heaviest-loadable lower-body strength lift, building quads, glutes, and trunk strength together.
Deadlift
Lifting a barbell from the floor by hinging at the hips — the fundamental full-body strength lift for the posterior chain.
Downward Dog
An inverted V hold on hands and feet - lengthens the calves, hamstrings and spine while opening the shoulders; a staple runner cool-down pose.
Foam Roll: Hamstrings
Rolling the back of the thigh over a foam roller to release tightness in the hamstrings.