By: Jeremy Fox, CNC, CPT – Published: July 14, 2021

The Nordic hamstring curl is one of the best lower body exercises to build posterior leg strength, improve knee health, and prevent injury.

But you might not know how to set up a Nordic curl. Or how to progress from beginner to advanced.

So I’m going to walk you through how to do a Nordic hamstring curl. Including different setups and variations to fit your strength level.

What Is A Nordic Hamstring Curl?

The Nordic hamstring curl is a bodyweight exercise for developing the muscles of the back of the leg as well as the tendons in the knee joint. During this exercise, you kneel on the floor and lean forward using only your legs to hold you up.

But don’t let the lack of added weight fool you, this exercise is extremely challenging. One reason the Nordic curl is so difficult is that it works through knee flexion and extension with little or no hip movement. So the back of your legs do all the work.

Nordic Hamstring Curl Muscles Worked

As the name suggests, Nordic curls primarily target the hamstrings. This is the muscle group responsible for knee flexion or the bending of your leg. Think of hamstrings as your leg biceps.

In addition, Nordic curls strengthen the knee joint by putting controlled tension on the tendons and ligaments.

Nordic Hamstring Curl Benefits & Limitations

Pros

• No barbells, dumbbells, or machines required
• Strengthens hamstring muscles and knee joint
• Helps reduce the risk of pulled hamstrings and knee injuries
• Improves explosive power for running and jumping
• Strength increases relatively quickly with practice

Cons

• Requires a bit of setup
• Not the best exercise for muscle hypertrophy

How To Do A Nordic Hamstring Curl

1. Hook your heels under a sturdy object or have a partner hold them
2. Kneel on something padded and start with your body upright
3. Lean forward while keeping your hips and back straight
4. Use your hamstrings to slowly let your body descend to the floor
5. Be prepared to catch yourself when your hamstrings fail
6. Push off the ground and squeeze your hamstrings to get back to the starting position
7. Repeat for the desired number of reps

How To Setup A Nordic Hamstring Curl

Before you do a Nordic hamstring curl, it’s important to do some setup. This will ensure your feet don’t come off the floor and prevent knee discomfort. Below are some common methods to secure your feet and protect your knees.

Ways To Anchor Heels:

• Have a partner hold them
• Weighted barbell blocked so it doesn’t roll
• Smith machine bar locked in place
• Lat pulldown machine or glute-ham developer
• Under a couch or bed
• Any other sturdy object

Items To Kneel On:

• Rolled up yoga mat
• Foam padding
• Folded sheet or blanket
• Pillow
• Any other soft object

Keep in mind, these are just examples. You can get creative and use whatever you have available in your house or at the gym.

In this example, I used a weight plate rack to hold my feet and a rolled-up yoga mat for knee padding.

Nordic Hamstring Curl Progression

When you first attempt the Nordic curl exercise, you won’t be very good at it. So it’s important to modify the exercise as you progress from beginner to advanced.

Beginner

At first, you may only be able to do a very limited range of motion before your hamstrings give out. But that’s okay! Just catch yourself with your hands or use a box to shorten the range of motion.

Another option is to do an assisted Nordic hamstring curl. This is where you use resistance bands or cables to reduce your body weight and make it easier. Or you could have a partner hold your hands as you perform the exercise.

Also, don’t worry about perfect form at this point. Feel free to bend your hips a little if that helps you perform more reps. And focus on nice slow negatives or the lowering portion of the movement.

Intermediate

As you progress, you can use a smaller and smaller box to increase the range of motion. Or use less help on the assisted Nordic curls.

In addition, you can start focusing more on the concentric phase of the movement. This is the part where you lift your body back up.

Advanced

After several weeks, your hamstrings should be strong enough that you can do nearly the full range of motion. That is, lowering your body all the way to the floor using only your hamstrings.

At this point, you may also be able to lift your body back up with no assistance. And you can put your hands behind your back to make it more challenging.

Related: 7 Best Barbell Hamstring Exercises

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Nordic Hamstring Curl Variations

There are multiple Nordic curl variations including different resistance, body positions, and equipment. So you can make this exercise work no matter what skill level or equipment you have.

Nordic Hamstring Curl At Home

As I mentioned earlier, the main things you need to set up a Nordic curl are a heel anchor and knee pad. And you can use common household items instead of fancy gym equipment.

To do Nordic hamstring curl at home, simply secure your feet under a piece of furniture like a bed or couch. Then kneel on something soft like a blanket or pillow.

You can also use a basic resistance band to do a banded Nordic hamstring curl as demonstrated in the video below.

If you’re doing home workouts, check out these 17 resistance band exercises for legs.

Nordic Hamstring Curl Machine

Many gyms have what’s called a glute-ham developer machine or GHD. This apparatus provides footholds and padding to help you do exercises like hyperextensions. But it can also be used for Nordic curls.

If you’re really lucky, your gym might have a floor GHD. Sometimes called a Nordic hamstring curl machine since it’s perfectly designed for this exercise.

The first picture shows a standard glute-ham developer. And the second picture shows a floor GHD for Nordic curls.

Nordic Hamstring Curl On Lat Pulldown

If your gym doesn’t have a glute-ham developer or Nordic hamstring curl machine, that’s okay. You can improvise by using the lat pulldown machine instead.

For this variation, you kneel on the seat and hook your heels under the thigh pads. Then perform the Nordic hamstring curl off the back of the seat.

When doing this version, I find it easier to bend at the hips. This shifts your body mass closer to your knees and enables you to do repetitions without assistance. As you progress you can use less hip bend.

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Conclusion

The Nordic hamstring curl is a challenging yet rewarding leg exercise. With practice and consistency, you will see dramatic strength increases and boost performance while reducing the likelihood of injury.

And don’t be shy about being a beginner. We all have to start somewhere! By using the tips in this article, you can work your way up to become a Nordic curl master.

Check out the related articles below for more exercise tutorials and workout tips!