Exercise Profile
  • Target Muscle Group
  • Exercise TypeStrength
  • Equipment RequiredMachine
  • MechanicsIsolation
  • Force TypePull
  • Experience LevelBeginner
  • Secondary Muscles
    None
Target Muscle Group

Hamstrings

Hamstrings Muscle Anatomy Diagram

Single Leg Curl Instructions

  1. Set up for the single leg curl by selecting the weight you want to use on the stack and adjusting the padding to suit your leg length.
  2. Lay face down on the machine. The padding should be positioned just above the back of your ankles. If it's higher than that, adjust the length.
  3. Tense up the hamstrings by taking the weight slightly off the stack. This is the starting position for the exercise.
  4. Squeeze the hamstrings and curl the weight up as far as possible using your left leg only.
  5. Squeeze the hamstring hard, and then slowly lower the weight back to the starting position.
  6. Repeat for desired reps and then repeat with your right leg.

Exercise Tips:

  1. Common mistakes with the leg curl are; moving the weight up and down too fast and not using a full range of motion.
  2. Always control the weight throughout the set. Don't use momentum to move the weight up, and don't allow it to drop back down quickly.
  3. Always use a full range of motion by curling the weight up as far as possible and lowering it as far as possible without the weight dropping on the stack.
2 Comments
Patrick
Posted on: Tue, 10/09/2012 - 11:17

Whats a good alternative to this excerise? I need another hamstring excerise on my leg day as i start with Stiff-Leg Deadlifts and would like another to complment it and i dont have this machine at my center...

John
Posted on: Tue, 11/27/2012 - 18:46

You could do a hamstring curl similar to this with a cable and a handle behind your heel. Standing or lying on a bench, lying down will probably give your more resistance throughout range of motion.