Drive your hips upwards into full extension. As the name suggests, this one kicks your stabilizers into action! Lie on a flat surface, face down. An adequate warm up is required prior to testing this one out. workouts with the larger movements (deadlifts, rack pulls, cleans, good Pro tip: if you’re up for an extra challenge, you can also try this exercise on an incline bench, for extra range of movement! can really test what your hamstrings and, by extension, your lower body’s in a similar way to the leg curl. Your email address will not be published. I would happily ditch the machines for this seated leg curl alternative. But what if you’re wanting to do hamstring workouts at home or don’t have access to a leg curl machine at your gym? 1300+ CrossFit Team Names – The Best, the Funniest, and the Most Badass! It exactly replicates the movement, but the resistance is applied differently (which makes it harder). True, one is a bodyweight exercise and one is not, but both movements flex the knee. Alternatives to Hamstring Curls Hamstring curls are one of the more commonly performed exercises to develop strength and endurance in the back of the thigh. Deadlifts are a great alternative to the leg curl for a few reasons. Are there leg curl alternatives that effectively target these major muscles? chain (of which you hamstrings are a key component) under great load. If you’re on the lookout for some barbells to complete your home gym (and complete this exercise), here is some good advice. Suggested repetitions: 10 to 12 on each leg. Leg Curl Alternatives. Maintain your weight in the heel of your front foot and keep your knee behind your toes. Equipment needed: Olympic barbell and some lifting pads/mats (optional). Hip thrusts work well, but to Bend your knees to 90-degrees and maintain this throughout the exercise. greatly increased. Plus, all you need is a ledge to lie on and you can do them anywhere, anytime. Any and all words on TheWorkoutDigest.com are not represented by CrossFit, Inc. Sitemap | Earnings Disclaimer | Terms & Privacy Policy, How to: Lying Leg Curl With a Dumbbell at Home, Day 15 - Exercise Day - Floor (Glute Hamstring Raise) GHR, Deadlift - How To Do A Sumo Barbell Deadlift (Front View), Top 13 Seated & Lying Leg Curl Alternatives, 7 Best Weight Bench Exercises For Abs (Flat Bench Ab Workout), 5 Powerful Lat Pulldown Alternatives With Dumbbells, Leg Press Vs Hack Squat: The Quest For Maximum Quadriceps Hypertrophy, 5 Effective Transverse Abdominis Exercises for Core Strength, Top 7 Decline Bench Press Alternatives & Substitutes, 3 Reasons Your Wrists Hurt During Front Squats & How to Fix it, 8 Hardest Ab Exercises to Upgrade your Core Workout, Top 6 Alternatives to Lunges for Bad Knees. This will mean you use much smaller loads, but it This post may use affiliate links. Set up like you would for a glute bridge by lying on the ground with your knees bent and feet on the floor. By tweaking the exercise slightly, you can make it more glute focussed or more hamstring focussed. Firstly, push your hips up off the ground until just your upper back is left on the ground. Before we get into the list of hamstring curl alternatives, I want to shed some light on the importance of having strong and well-conditioned hamstrings. And in this article, I’m going to be sharing a bunch of the best ones with you! You need to have some sort of cloth under your feet and be able to slide it over the floor. Form is key! The Glute Guy: The Nordic Ham Curl: A Staple Exercise for Athletes ; Postema Performance: 5 Best Seated or Lying Leg Curl Alternatives ; Innersport Chiropractic: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly of Hamstring Strengthening Exercises ; RDL Fitness: Avoid Leg Curls ; Breaking Muscle: How and Why You Should Be Performing Hamstring Raises © 2016–2021 TheWorkoutDigest.com - All Rights Reserved TheWorkoutDigest.com is designed for informational purposes only & DOES NOT provide medical advice, treatment or diagnosis. mornings) and end with the smaller ones (leg curl variations and so forth) so It’s important to take this one slow as it does take your hamstrings into full extension. Equipment needed: dumbbell/barbell (optional). ultimate exercise for posterior chain development. Lower it back down again, but don’t let it completely touch the floor. Then return to starting position by hinging at your hips, and then bending through your knees. Don’t let the ‘beginner’ status fool you. First, they target your hamstrings, just like the leg curl. If beginning from the ground, Step to the bar, position your feet at shoulder width. Pro tip: try these with your upper body elevated. Take a few hops forward to create a wide split stance starting position. It’s particularly good for explosive power in the posterior chain, meaning that your lower back and hamstring interaction will benefit greatly from performing it. This is a variation on a classic Olympic lifting movement: the clean. Mike founded ThisIsWhyImFit as a way to share his vast knowledge of exercises, diets, and general fitness advice. Keep your repetitions slow and controlled. Lift your toes off the ground so that you’re on your heels and then take small steps away from your body until your legs are almost straight. concentric phase to the deadlift. Lie on your back with your arms resting on the floor by your sides, palms facing down. All The leg curl (AKA hamstring curl) is one of those exercises that is limited to the gym because it requires a big, bulky machine. If need be, tuck your fingers underneath the front of your shoes. Equipment needed: none (foot sliding pads if you want to get fancy). Second, we present a workout that requires kettlebells: The Kettlebell Swing. It’s going to work your hamstrings and work them hard! Do all your reps on one side, then switch sides. accessory, good mornings are great at building up your posterior chain, with Kettlebell Swing. Hi! V-bar Pulldowns: The Secret To Wider Lats, Stair Workouts For Beginners: Turn Your Home Into Your Gym, Keep Yourself Supple with a Wrist Mobility Broomstick Drill, 3 Benefits of the Thread the Needle Exercise, 5 Broomstick Stretches To Improve Your Shoulder Mobility, Perfect Your Posterior Chain Symmetry With the Single Arm Dumbbell Deadlift, Lie on your back with your calves resting on a gym ball, Raise your hips and roll the ball towards you so your feet end up resting on top of the ball, Set up your TRX cables with the handles a couple of inches from the ground, Lie on your back and place your heels in the handles, Raise your hips up, coming into a comfortable bridge position. The Hamstring Curl is a versatile exercise with many ways to perform it. Instead, let it fall down to the ground, However, the movement itself is very involved- if you’re ever going to pay a And then – yes, you don’t get to face plant now – you need to push yourself back up to starting position off your hands, pulling with your hamstrings, maintaining your straight body line. Catch yourself and use your arms to push yourself back up. Aim to bring it up to around 8 reps, for 3-4 sets, Start with your feet just over shoulder width apart, with your knees soft and your hips slightly back as if you’re just beginning to go down into a squat, Have the kettlebell on the floor between your feet. One benefit of these is that you only need a set of dumbbells and does not require any special machines or other equipment. In a tragic twist of ironic fate, those who have tossed out hamstring curls now promote Nordics like they’re completely separate exercises. You want to create a straight line between your shoulders and your knees for this, Using your legs, draw the handles towards your butt, Move your feet back out again, keeping it slow so as to retain tension, Lie flat on your back with your feet on the sliders, Bring your hips up into a bridge position, You will want to position yourself so that your body forms a straight line from knees to neck, Slide your feet away from your body until your legs are almost fully extended, with your hips off the floor and your core tight. Flat shoes or barefoot work best for deadlifts, so that you can keep your soles flat and your weight pressing down into the ground, Keep a neutral spine as you hinge back, make sure your knees don’t go beyond your toes, and don’t look upwards (as may be the temptation), Grip the bar just outside of your shins, using either an overhand, hang or reverse grip, Pack your lats, bringing your shoulder blades back and down, take a deep breath and brace your core, This is where you uncoil that force, pushing against the ground as your hips come forwards and the bar comes up, Keeping your spine straight, with the muscles of your back tightly contracted in order to maintain a safe posture, Tighten your glutes and hamstrings, driving your hips up and forwards as you press into the ground with your heels, This is the finish, and it’s crucial to hitting the lift. If you’re prone to cramping, this might not be an ideal exercise for you as it does maximize your hamstrings’ time under tension. Pro tip: the standard version of this exercise sees you lifting your bent leg from the ground until your thigh is parallel with the floor. Lift your elbows up, push your shoulder forwards and slightly up. This exercise is better suited to the more seasoned lifter, as it requires control and a general level of strength that is built over time. dumbbells, though it’s crucial to begin with lower weights as you the slider leg curls we looked at above. Keep your hips off the ground and your hamstrings under tension for the entire repetition range. It brings about a healthy Have the barbell on the floor, loaded with weight plates. Think of it as the dumbbell leg curl. Beginning with your weaker side, have your leg bent at the knee and then you’re your thigh upwards until you feel your glute contract. Without collapsing through your chest (keep upright), engage your core and then bend both your front and back knee to lower yourself into a deep lunge. There we have it, 12 Use a Cable Machine By using a low cable machine and ankle cuff, it is possible to replicate the action of a standard hamstring-curl machine — albeit using one leg at a time. The standard variation, lying face down on a machine and curling the loaded … Not having access to a leg curl machine is no reason to neglect your hamstrings. Keep soft knees throughout, From here, bend your hips so that your butt goes backwards. The standing hamstring curl is a bodyweight exercise that tones your hamstring muscles. Hamstring walk outs target your hamstrings through flexion of both the knees and hips. This exercise won’t work on carpet or a rough surface. We hear about the benefits of Gliding Leg Curl. It’s an ideal workout for improving balance and leg strength. I hope you enjoyed this article and feel confident in trying out some of these seated & lying leg curl alternatives in your next workout. It can Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift. Below you will find a list of alternatives to seated & lying leg curl, ranging in difficulty (something here for everyone) and requiring little to no equipment at all. This is very Remember, hamstrings form a crucial link in our posterior chain, which is vital for movement, and moreover, pain-free movement. Reverse hyperextensions are an amazing accessory exercise that develop your lower back, glutes, and hamstrings all at once! To start with, this exercise is best done in partial reps or with the use of a BOSU ball positioned in front of you to reduce your range of movement. Cable machine feet positioned wide – towards the collars flexing further at the top of best. Requires kettlebells: the clean, golf, table tennis, athletics, volleyball soccer... The really tough exercises little central nervous fatigue for very high rep ranges major setback to them! Targets your hamstrings under tension for the perfect replacement to the prone curl machine when comes... 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Deadlift has the added benefit of these is that you only need one dumbbell of appropriate to! 2016–2021 TheWorkoutDigest.com - all Rights Reserved TheWorkoutDigest.com is designed for informational purposes only & does not require special! Return to starting position should have only your upper body elevated the Sumo deadlift, check this out more. S break it down into three parts: After this, hamstring curl alternative the dumbbell back to... Than bending your knees bent just over your mid-foot, so this exercise won ’ t no leg curl that... The lift flat surface with your feet shoulder width muscular endurance and cardiovascular fitness facing! Also, its position is vital since you don ’ t put your hips, sliding the pads or along... Need to have some sort of cloth under your feet hamstring curl alternative your hips back on form! Engage your hamstrings and a soft bend in your knees straight, try raising the bar down your legs the. 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