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

It’s in your greatest curiosity to maintain your leg muscle tissues in proportion. To do this, that you must present your hammies some particular TLC, and hamstring isolation workout routines are the way in which to go. Arguably, there’s no higher approach to goal these muscle tissues than the mendacity hamstring curl.

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

The way to do a mendacity hamstring curl with excellent 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 absolutely. Place the curler pad a number of inches above your heels in your decrease calves. Maintain the handgrips on either side of the machine for help.
3. Exhale and bend your knees, pulling your ft as near your butt as you may. Maintain 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 ft to the beginning place.

Mendacity hamstring curls: muscle tissues labored

Because the identify 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 Therapies in San Diego.

However additionally they work different large muscle teams within the posterior chain, says Brooke Van Paris, CPT, a private coach at Life Time Boca Raton. These embody 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 in the event you’re trying to enhance:

• Muscular steadiness
• Pace
• Steadiness
• Motion patterns
• Vary of movement
• Damage prevention
• High quality of life

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

That stated, mendacity hamstring curls might be tough (or perhaps a tad troublesome) for sure individuals, in response to Dr. Lane and Van Paris. Avoid the curl machine in the event you fall into any of those teams:

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

Nonetheless undecided whether or not it’s secure so that you can crank out mendacity leg curls? Seek the advice of an expert. “Speaking together with your physician earlier than beginning a weight coaching program is greatest,” Dr. Lane says. Likewise, “in the event you work with a bodily therapist or coach, test with them for steering 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 here are 5 strong causes to place them into rotation.

1. Stronger, extra versatile hamstrings

This one’s fairly apparent given the identify of the train. Nonetheless, it bears mentioning as a result of, truthfully, you may’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 below fixed load, focusing on these muscle tissues in two methods. First, “the concentric contraction (pull) helps promote muscle hypertrophy,” which means it makes the muscle larger, 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 means of their full vary of movement. By bettering flexibility, you additionally allow your hammies to activate by means of their total vary, she says.

That’s a giant bonus: Most individuals wrestle with “chronically shortened” hamstrings due to “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 might probably 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 courtroom? 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 route, and deceleration,” she says. Just about all of the issues that you must up your recreation whether or not you run, cycle, play tennis, soccer, pickleball, or every other sport.

Hamstring energy can be essential to maintain you sidelined from a sports activities harm. “Having robust and versatile hamstrings helps to stop harm by slowing the leg in its eccentric motion part of strolling and operating,” Van Paris says. Basically, this “prepares the joints for contact with the bottom,” she says. So at any time when that you must 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

Information: If you wish to keep regular in your ft, you want robust, wholesome hamstrings.

Steadiness might not be tremendous horny, but it surely is tremendous vital, particularly as you become older and falls turn out to be extra possible (yearly, one in 4 older of us will take a tumble, and one-fifth of those falls will trigger a critical harm, similar 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 adjustments 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 may “create extra limb symmetry and stability” and “complement common quad-dominant workout routines similar to leg presses and squats,” she says.

4. Improved posture

In case you sit at a desk all day, odds are your posture wants a bit 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 unhealthy information for posture (to not contributes point out aches and pains).

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

For higher posture (and fewer ache), it’s additionally a clever 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, robust, limber hammies may also help forestall you from getting harm. 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 manner, you “cut back the chance of soppy tissue harm whereas accelerating, operating, and decelerating at greater speeds,” Dr. Lane says. “Particularly, the lateral hamstring, [the] biceps femoris, helps to scale back the chance of ACL accidents, knee shearing forces, and twisting,” Van Paris provides.

Outdated knee and hip ache and accidents can crop up as we become older, so that you may wish 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 treatment.

3 widespread errors when doing mendacity hamstring curls

Mendacity leg curls may also help you construct lengthy, robust hamstrings, however provided that you carry out them with correct kind. In case you don’t do the train appropriately, it gained’t be as efficient. “With out good kind, you can be working a totally totally different muscle group than supposed,” Van Paris says. Plus, you may find yourself in ache (and even injured).

Keep away from these widespread errors once you use the mendacity hamstring curl machine.

1. Leg pad too excessive

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

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

To make sure you’ve got the fitting positioning, you may at all times ask a health professional like a coach or bodily therapist at your health club. They may also help modify the pad if wanted.

2. Pointed toes

In case you skilled in ballet or typically do barre lessons, you most likely generally tend to level your toes. However this behavior gained’t show you how to throughout mendacity leg curls. Whereas pointed toes aren’t a foul factor, per se, this toe place will work your calves greater than your hamstrings, Van Paris says. For the total hamstring impact, maintain your toes flexed, she says.

3. Incorrect weight selection

“Probably the most widespread errors individuals 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 below load.” It’d even result in decrease again ache.

“In case you can not attain 8 reps with good, managed kind, then you’ve got gone manner too heavy.”—Brooke Van Paris, CPT

So how heavy is too heavy? Van Paris recommends selecting a weight that you may elevate for 8 to 12 reps per set. “In case you can not attain 8 reps with good, managed kind, then you’ve got gone manner too heavy,” she says.

Then again, “in the event 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’ve got gone too gentle with the burden,” Van Paris says.

Alternate options for mendacity hamstring curls

Whereas the mendacity hamstring curl is a very glorious hamstring train, it’s not advisable for sure peeps (like these with knee, hip, again, or neck issues and pregnant individuals). Even in the event you don’t fall into these teams, you may not love mendacity hamstring curls (hey, totally different strokes, proper) or perhaps you merely don’t have entry to a machine. Fortunately, there are loads different choices that concentrate on your hammies simply tremendous. Strive certainly one of these options.

1. Stability Ball Hamstring Curl

Balancing on a stability ball requires loads of hip and core stability. Translation: Each your hammies and abs shall be on hearth.

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 ft shoulder-width aside and maintain a dumbbell in every hand at your sides.
2. Begin by bending your knees barely. Maintain your chest tall as you attain your hips again behind you. It is best to really feel a stretch in your hamstrings. Maintain the dumbbells near your legs.
3. Attain your hips again so far as you may with out rounding your low again or your shoulders.
4. Push by means of your ft 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 may isolate one leg at a time, which improves energy and steadiness.

1. Begin together with your ft collectively, holding a dumbbell in every hand in entrance of your thighs.
2. Step your proper foot a number of inches again in order that your proper toes are in keeping with your left heel however just some inches to the fitting. You’ll use these toes for steadiness.
3. Preserving 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. Preserving your again flat, brace your core and push by means 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

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

1. Sit within the leg curl machine together with your ft 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 doable with out arching your decrease again.
3. Reverse the motion slowly, returning to the beginning place.

Incessantly requested questions

Is the seated hamstring curl higher than mendacity?

“No possibility 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 intention is to construct muscle, chances are you’ll 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 Medication & 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 every 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 means 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 some 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 provide extra trunk stability and help, so that they’re a more sensible choice for individuals 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 throughout the eccentric part of the motion (once 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, kind of sport you’re coaching for, and your physique composition,” Dr. Lane says. As an example, in the event you’re a health club beginner, you may begin with a lighter load. But when you have already got baseline energy in your legs, you may go heavier. Both manner, discovering the fitting weight could “take some trial and error,” she says.

Whereas everybody’s candy spot shall be totally different, listed here are a number of tips that can assist you calculate how a lot you need to elevate on the mendacity leg curl machine, per Dr. Lane:

• To develop your muscle measurement (hypertrophy): You wish to do 2 to three units of 8 to 12 repetitions at 60 to 80 p.c of your 1 repetition max (1RM), with the final 1 to 2 reps being near failure.
• If you’re an endurance athlete (operating, biking, swimming, and so forth.): You wish to do 2 to three units of 12 to fifteen reps beneath 60 p.c of your 1RM, with the final 1 to 2 reps being near failure.

However how a lot you elevate is just a part of the equation. “It doesn’t matter what the burden,” the bottom line is “retaining good kind your entire manner by means of” the train, Van Paris says. “In case you can not preserve good kind and mind-to-muscle connection,” that you must drop a number of plates, she says.

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

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