Lying Prone Leg Curl
The lying leg curl is the basic hamstring isolation exercise: face down with your ankles under the pad, you bend the knees against the load to strengthen the back of the thigh.
HAMSTRINGS · LOWER BODY
How it is executed
- Lie face down on the leg curl machine, with ankles under the pad.
- Curl your legs toward your glutes, squeezing at the top, then lower slowly.
- Keep your hips on the pad and move in a controlled manner.
- Muscles worked
- Hamstrings
- Primary muscle
- Hamstrings
- Equipment
- Machine
- Movement pattern
- Lower body
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
- What it is for
- StrengthHypertrophy
- Also known as
- Lying leg curlProne hamstring curl
Common mistakes
- Lifting the hips off the pad as you curl. It is the most common compensation: the pelvis tilts so the heel gets closer to the glute and the work shifts from the hamstring to the lower back. Keep the hips pinned and finish the rep where the knee stops bending.
- Placing the roller on the calf. The lever shortens, the resistance feels different and the ankle ends up taking the load. Set the roller just above the heel and line up the machine's pivot with the knee.
- Dropping the weight on the way down. The eccentric is where the hamstring gets the most tension and also where control is easiest to lose. Lower in two to three seconds with a load that allows it.
- Pulling on the handles and arching the back. The handles are there to steady you, not to help lift the weight. Keep your chest on the pad, brace your core and lower the load if you need to pull.
Frequently asked questions
- Which muscles does the lying leg curl work?
- The main muscle is the hamstring group, the back of the thigh that bends the knee. The calves assist the flexion, especially if you pull your toes toward your shin, and the glutes work isometrically to keep the hips pinned to the pad. The quads and lower back barely take part as long as the hips stay still.
- How do the lying leg curl and the other leg curl variations differ?
- The lying machine curl is the standard: hips flat, both legs at once. The lying cable curl gives constant tension with an ankle strap, one leg at a time. The seated curl flexes the hip, so the hamstring works longer and more stretched. The standing curl is single-leg and upright, with more hip stability. The single-leg lying curl exposes imbalances. The Nordic curl and the TRX curl use bodyweight: one as an eccentric, the other from a glute bridge.
- How much weight and how many reps should you do on the lying leg curl?
- A common range is 8 to 15 reps with a load that lets you curl without lifting the hips and lower in two to three seconds. If the hips rise or the weight drops back fast, the load is too high. Many coaches program it after a hinge exercise such as the Romanian deadlift, to finish the hamstring work through its role as a knee flexor.
- How do you set up the lying leg curl machine?
- Line up the machine's pivot with the center of your knee and place the roller just above the heel, over the Achilles tendon, not on the calf. The thigh pad should be snug so the hips cannot rise. Hold the handles only to steady yourself and keep your chest on the pad for the whole set.
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