Your Lower Body Is Begging You to Do More Lying Hamstring Curls

It’s in your finest curiosity to maintain your leg muscle tissues in proportion. To do this, it’s essential present your hammies some particular TLC, and hamstring isolation workouts are the way in which to go. Arguably, there’s no higher option to goal these muscle tissues than the mendacity hamstring curl.

We all know it’s a bit old-fashioned, however belief us: it really works. Here is how mendacity leg curls can stage up your lagging hamstrings (and your total health).

Tips on how to do a mendacity hamstring curl with good kind each time

1. Load the machine with a weight that is going to be difficult however doable for 8 to 10 reps.
2. Lie face down on the machine together with your legs stretched out totally. Place the curler pad just a few inches above your heels in your decrease calves. Maintain the handgrips on all sides of the machine for assist.
3. Exhale and bend your knees, pulling your toes as near your butt as you’ll be able to. Hold your hips sq. and glued to the bench.
4. Maintain on the prime of the motion, squeezing your hamstrings briefly, then inhale as you slowly decrease your toes to the beginning place.

Mendacity hamstring curls: muscle tissues labored

Because the title implies, the mendacity hamstring curl primarily strengthens the hamstrings, the group of muscle tissues that run alongside again of your thigh out of your hip to your knee, says Julianne Lane, PT, DPT, CSCS, a bodily therapist at Bespoke Remedies in San Diego.

However additionally they work different huge muscle teams within the posterior chain, says Brooke Van Paris, CPT, a private coach at Life Time Boca Raton. These embrace the:

• Gastrocnemius and soleus (aka your calves): when contracting (or lifting up the burden)
• Gluteus maximus (aka your butt): when decreasing the burden

Who ought to (and shouldn’t) do mendacity hamstring curls

Mendacity hamstring curls are for you should you’re seeking to enhance:

• Muscular steadiness
• Pace
• Stability
• Motion patterns
• Vary of movement
• Harm prevention
• High quality of life

In different phrases, nearly anybody—from energy athletes to physique builders and weekend warriors—may gain advantage from repping out mendacity leg curls, Dr. Lane and Van Paris agree.

That stated, mendacity hamstring curls could be tough (or perhaps a tad troublesome) for sure folks, in line with Dr. Lane and Van Paris. Keep away from the curl machine should you fall into any of those teams:

• Individuals with ache, harm, or a current surgical procedure within the knees, hips, again, or neck
• Pregnant folks

Nonetheless unsure whether or not it’s protected so that you can crank out mendacity leg curls? Seek the advice of knowledgeable. “Speaking together with your physician earlier than beginning a weight coaching program is finest,” Dr. Lane says. Likewise, “should you work with a bodily therapist or coach, verify with them for steerage on utilizing the mendacity hamstring curl machine.”

5 advantages of mendacity hamstring curls

If mendacity leg curls aren’t already a part of your weekly exercise routine, listed below are 5 strong causes to place them into rotation.

1. Stronger, extra versatile hamstrings

This one’s fairly apparent given the title of the train. Nonetheless, it bears mentioning as a result of, actually, you’ll be able to’t overstate the significance of wholesome hamstrings. You want them to stroll, climb stairs, do squats, and execute numerous different actions.

Mendacity hamstring curls put your hamstrings beneath fixed load, focusing on these muscle tissues in two methods. First, “the concentric contraction (pull) helps promote muscle hypertrophy,” that means it makes the muscle greater, Dr. Lane says. Secondly, “the eccentric contraction (stretch) helps promote tissue lengthening,” she says. In different phrases, it builds lengthy, limber, versatile muscle tissues.

Van Paris agrees: The mendacity hamstring curl is a good way to elongate and stretch the hamstrings, because it takes the muscle tissues by way of their full vary of movement. By enhancing flexibility, you additionally allow your hammies to activate by way of their complete vary, she says.

That’s an enormous bonus: Most individuals wrestle with “chronically shortened” hamstrings because of “extended sitting and lack of motion in our day-to-day lives,” Van Paris says. And when your hamstring muscle tissues keep in a tightened, quick place, it may possibly result in muscular imbalances, weaknesses, and, down the road, harm.

2. Enhanced sports activities efficiency

Need extra pace and agility on the sphere or the court docket? Begin cranking out mendacity hamstring curls.

“The hamstring muscle tissues are essential for explosive energy,” Dr. Lane says. That’s as a result of they “assist with sprinting acceleration, leaping, change of path, and deceleration,” she says. Just about all of the issues it’s essential up your recreation whether or not you run, cycle, play tennis, soccer, pickleball, or some other sport.

Hamstring energy can also be essential to maintain you sidelined from a sports activities harm. “Having sturdy and versatile hamstrings helps to forestall harm by slowing the leg in its eccentric motion section of strolling and working,” Van Paris says. Primarily, this “prepares the joints for contact with the bottom,” she says. So each time it’s essential pivot on a dime or cease quick, you are able to do it with out stressing out your joints or muscle tissues.

3. Higher steadiness

Details: If you wish to keep regular in your toes, you want sturdy, wholesome hamstrings.

Stability might not be tremendous attractive, but it surely is tremendous vital, particularly as you grow old and falls turn out to be extra doubtless (yearly, one in 4 older of us will take a tumble, and one-fifth of those falls will trigger a severe harm, equivalent to damaged bones or a head trauma, per the Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention).

So what’s the hyperlink between steadiness and hammies? “Hamstring energy aids in stabilizing the lower-body joints and improves response to fast modifications within the setting,” Van Paris says.

Particularly, “the hamstrings assist to enhance steadiness by working synergistically with the quadricep muscle tissues,” Dr. Lane says. By constructing your hammies with mendacity leg curls, you’ll be able to “create extra limb symmetry and stability” and “complement well-liked quad-dominant workouts equivalent to leg presses and squats,” she says.

4. Improved posture

When you sit at a desk all day, odds are your posture wants somewhat love (no judgment, we’re in the identical boat). Sitting for prolonged durations (particularly if slouched or slumped) tends to place pressure in your neck and again. Plus, it shortens your hip flexors. All of that is dangerous information for posture (to not contributes point out aches and pains).

Having wholesome hamstrings can assist offset a few of these postural issues. Hamstring energy “aids in enhancing posture by growing the alignment of the pelvis and backbone,” Van Paris says.

For higher posture (and fewer ache), it’s additionally a smart concept to face, stretch, and take a fast stroll each half hour—your physique will thanks.

5. Fewer knee and hip accidents

As we talked about, sturdy, limber hammies can assist forestall you from getting damage. Along with the quadriceps, the hamstrings work to “assist considerably stabilize the hip and knee joints,” Van Paris says.

By defending your joints on this approach, you “cut back the danger of soppy tissue harm whereas accelerating, working, and decelerating at larger speeds,” Dr. Lane says. “Specifically, the lateral hamstring, [the] biceps femoris, helps to cut back the danger of ACL accidents, knee shearing forces, and twisting,” Van Paris provides.

Previous knee and hip ache and accidents can crop up as we grow old, so that you may need to begin strengthening these hamstrings now by doing mendacity leg curls to nip future points within the bud. As they are saying, an oz of prevention is price a pound of remedy.

3 frequent errors when doing mendacity hamstring curls

Mendacity leg curls can assist you construct lengthy, sturdy hamstrings, however provided that you carry out them with correct kind. When you don’t do the train appropriately, it received’t be as efficient. “With out good kind, you might be working a totally completely different muscle group than supposed,” Van Paris says. Plus, you’ll be able to find yourself in ache (and even injured).

Keep away from these frequent errors whenever you use the mendacity hamstring curl machine.

1. Leg pad too excessive

When the machine’s ankle pad or curler is simply too excessive in your calves, “it would improve stress on the Achilles tendon and cut back your vary of movement,” Dr. Lane says. In different phrases, it would really feel uncomfortable and received’t work your muscle tissues of their full vary. A double no-no.

So what’s the optimum place for the ankle pad? It needs to be “resting on the calf muscle tissues just a few inches above the heels,” she says.

To make sure you might have the fitting positioning, you’ll be able to all the time ask a health professional like a coach or bodily therapist at your fitness center. They can assist alter the pad if wanted.

2. Pointed toes

When you educated in ballet or typically do barre courses, you in all probability tend to level your toes. However this behavior received’t assist you throughout mendacity leg curls. Whereas pointed toes aren’t a nasty factor, per se, this toe place will work your calves greater than your hamstrings, Van Paris says. For the complete hamstring impact, hold your toes flexed, she says.

3. Incorrect weight alternative

“One of the frequent errors folks make is utilizing too heavy of a weight,” Dr. Lane says. “This can trigger the individual to compensate by lifting their hips and probably arching their again beneath load.” It’d even result in decrease again ache.

“When you can’t attain 8 reps with good, managed kind, then you might have gone approach too heavy.”—Brooke Van Paris, CPT

So how heavy is too heavy? Van Paris recommends selecting a weight you could raise for 8 to 12 reps per set. “When you can’t attain 8 reps with good, managed kind, then you might have gone approach too heavy,” she says.

Then again, “should you attain 12 to fifteen reps, and you are feeling prefer it was fairly simple, and you’ve got extra fuel nonetheless within the tank, you might have gone too gentle with the burden,” Van Paris says.

Alternate options for mendacity hamstring curls

Whereas the mendacity hamstring curl is a really wonderful hamstring train, it’s not advisable for sure peeps (like these with knee, hip, again, or neck issues and pregnant folks). Even should you don’t fall into these teams, you may not love mendacity hamstring curls (hey, completely different strokes, proper) or perhaps you merely don’t have entry to a machine. Fortunately, there are a lot different choices that concentrate on your hammies simply superb. Strive considered one of these options.

1. Stability Ball Hamstring Curl

Balancing on a stability ball requires quite a bit of hip and core stability. Translation: Each your hammies and abs will likely be on fireplace.

1. Lie in your again on a mat, putting your heels about hip-width aside on the soundness ball and your toes pointing towards the ceiling.
2. Brace your core muscle tissues and lengthen your arms out to your sides with palms turned to the ground to assist stabilize your physique.
3. Gently exhale and press your hips up off the ground, squeezing your glutes, till your legs and hips are in a straight line. On the similar time, press your heels into the ball for extra stability.
4. Exhale as you slowly transfer your heels towards your hips and lift your hips farther off the ground, pulling the ball towards you.
5. Inhale and slowly reverse the motion, decreasing your self again towards your beginning place.

2. Romanian Deadlift

Not solely do RDLs hit your hamstrings, additionally they construct again, core, and grip energy.

1. Stand upright together with your toes shoulder-width aside and maintain a dumbbell in every hand at your sides.
2. Begin by bending your knees barely. Hold your chest tall as you attain your hips again behind you. You need to really feel a stretch in your hamstrings. Hold the dumbbells near your legs.
3. Attain your hips again so far as you’ll be able to with out rounding your low again or your shoulders.
4. Push by way of your toes and squeeze your glutes as return to the beginning place.

3. Kickstand Deadlift

On this place, also referred to as a single-leg deadlift, you’ll be able to isolate one leg at a time, which improves energy and steadiness.

1. Begin together with your toes collectively, holding a dumbbell in every hand in entrance of your thighs.
2. Step your proper foot just a few inches again in order that your proper toes are in step with your left heel however only a few inches to the fitting. You’ll use these toes for steadiness.
3. Protecting your left knee barely bent, hinge ahead, pushing your hips backward.
4. Proceed decreasing the dumbbells till your higher physique is nearly parallel to the ground.
5. Protecting your again flat, brace your core and push by way of your left foot to return to standing.
6. Do all of your reps on one leg, then repeat on the alternative aspect.

4. Seated Hamstring Curl

Received again points? The seated hamstring curl machine helps your lumbar backbone and core a lot better than mendacity leg curls, Dr. Lane says.

1. Sit within the leg curl machine together with your toes hip-width aside and the ankle pad resting in your decrease calves.
2. Brace your core and lock your shoulder blades again and down, then squeeze the again of your legs as you drive your heels down so far as attainable with out arching your decrease again.
3. Reverse the motion slowly, returning to the beginning place.

Regularly requested questions

Is the seated hamstring curl higher than mendacity?

“No choice is best or worse than one other—each isolate the hamstrings and permit for knee flexion—however every have their advantages,” Van Paris says. It simply will depend on your objectives. For instance, in case your purpose is to construct muscle, you might desire seated leg curls.

“Analysis reveals that for muscle hypertrophy (muscle development), the seated hamstring curl reigns king,” Van Paris says. Dr. Lane agrees, citing an April 2021 research¹ in Drugs & Science in Sports activities & Train: The researchers “in contrast 20 wholesome adults, who accomplished seated leg curls with one leg and mendacity leg curls with the opposite leg. The people carried out 5 units of 10 reps, twice per week for 12 weeks.” After the 12 weeks, they concluded that seated leg curls produced larger will increase in muscle quantity.

OK, however why are seated curls superior for muscle development? “The seated hamstring curl machine trains the hamstring in a [more] lengthened place,” Dr. Lane says. “This places the hamstring on stretch, which permits the muscle to contract by way of a bigger vary of movement.” The larger the vary of movement, the larger the muscle activation, recruitment, and development.

Nonetheless, Van Paris factors to a couple drawbacks of sitting: “Within the seated place, the hip flexors are in that very same chronically shortened place that we see in day-to-day life.” Whereas with mendacity leg curls, “the muscle tissues and physique can transfer extra freely and naturally,” she says. Mendacity hamstring curls additionally supply extra trunk stability and assist, in order that they’re a more sensible choice for folks with low again points, Dr. Lane provides.

Do mendacity hamstring curls hit the glutes?

Certain do. Whereas inclined leg curls primarily strengthen the hammies, additionally they put your butt muscle tissues to work. Particularly, your gluteus maximus kicks in in the course of the eccentric section of the motion (whenever you decrease the burden), Van Paris says.

What is an effective weight for the mendacity hamstring curl?

This “will fluctuate drastically relying in your athletic historical past, sort of sport you’re coaching for, and your physique composition,” Dr. Lane says. As an illustration, should you’re a fitness center beginner, you may begin with a lighter load. But when you have already got baseline energy in your legs, you may go heavier. Both approach, discovering the fitting weight could “take some trial and error,” she says.

Whereas everybody’s candy spot will likely be completely different, listed below are just a few tips that can assist you calculate how a lot it is best to raise on the mendacity leg curl machine, per Dr. Lane:

• To develop your muscle dimension (hypertrophy): You need to do 2 to three units of 8 to 12 repetitions at 60 to 80 % of your 1 repetition max (1RM), with the final 1 to 2 reps being near failure.
• In case you are an endurance athlete (working, biking, swimming, and so forth.): You need to do 2 to three units of 12 to fifteen reps beneath 60 % of your 1RM, with the final 1 to 2 reps being near failure.

However how a lot you raise is simply a part of the equation. “It doesn’t matter what the burden,” the bottom line is “maintaining good kind the complete approach by way of” the train, Van Paris says. “When you can’t preserve good kind and mind-to-muscle connection,” it’s essential drop just a few plates, she says.

Right here’s a fast option to assess whether or not you’re lifting the correct quantity, per Van Paris:

• When you can’t attain 8 reps with managed kind, your weight is simply too heavy.
• When you attain 12 to 55 reps and assume, “piece of cake,” your weight is simply too gentle.