LYING LEG CURLS
Hamstring Isolation Machine Exercise
Primary Muscles
Exercise Description
Lying leg curls isolate the hamstrings through knee flexion. The prone position stabilizes your body, allowing you to focus entirely on contracting your hamstrings without lower back involvement.
How To Perform
Lie face down on the leg curl machine with knees just off the edge of the pad.
Position the ankle pad just above your heels on your lower calves.
Grasp the handles and keep your hips pressed into the pad.
Curl your heels toward your glutes by contracting your hamstrings.
Squeeze hard at peak contraction for 1 second.
Lower the weight slowly and with control until legs are fully extended.
Expert Tips
Keep hips down - Don't let hips lift off the pad. This reduces hamstring isolation and can strain lower back.
Full range of motion - Curl all the way up until pad touches hamstrings, extend fully at bottom.
Control the negative - Slow eccentric for 2-3 seconds builds more hamstring strength and size.
Point toes - Pointing toes down slightly reduces calf involvement and increases hamstring focus.
Common Mistakes
Hips rising - Most common mistake. Keep hips glued to pad throughout the movement.
Using momentum - No jerking or swinging. Control the weight with your hamstrings.
Incomplete range - Full curl to hamstrings, full extension at bottom. Partial reps reduce effectiveness.
Too much weight - If hips lift, weight is too heavy. Use weight you can control perfectly.
Video Guide – Lying Leg Curls
Lying leg curls are the gold standard for isolated hamstring development. While compound movements like Romanian deadlifts train the hamstrings through hip extension, leg curls target them through knee flexion—the other primary hamstring function. This makes leg curls essential for complete hamstring development. The prone (face-down) position stabilizes your body completely, eliminating any ability to use momentum or recruit other muscle groups. Your hamstrings must do all the work, making this one of the purest isolation exercises for the posterior chain.
What makes lying leg curls particularly valuable is how they address a common weakness. Most people's hamstrings are significantly weaker than their quads, creating muscle imbalances that can lead to knee issues and reduced athletic performance. Direct hamstring isolation with leg curls helps correct this imbalance while building hamstring mass and strength. The machine's fixed path ensures perfect form even when fatigued, and the ability to easily adjust weight makes progressive overload straightforward.
Watch the demonstration video carefully. Notice how the hips stay pressed firmly into the pad throughout the entire movement—they never lift. The curl is smooth and controlled, bringing heels all the way to glutes while squeezing hamstrings hard at the top. There's a brief pause at peak contraction before a slow, controlled descent taking 2-3 seconds. The legs fully extend at the bottom without the weight plates clanging—continuous tension is maintained throughout the set.
Program lying leg curls 2 times per week as part of your leg training. They work excellently after compound leg exercises like squats or deadlifts (3 sets of 12-15 reps) when your hamstrings are pre-fatigued. You can also use them as a primary hamstring exercise on lighter training days. Progress by gradually increasing weight while maintaining perfect form—if your hips start lifting, the weight is too heavy. For an intense finisher, try 1-2 sets of 21s: 7 reps bottom half, 7 reps top half, 7 full reps.
Equipment Required
- • Lying leg curl machine