For hamstring growth
For hamstring growth, standing leg curl rates higher on our research criteria: more of the work on the hamstrings, easier to progress.
B-stance Romanian deadlift gives more stretch.
Both are good choices, and they train the hamstrings differently. Using both across your week covers more of the muscle than either alone: in studies, varied exercises grew parts of a muscle that one exercise missed. (Fonseca et al., 2014; Costa et al., 2021)
The research score comes from these, scored by hand from the studies. Lifter scores appear once an exercise has 10 ratings. How scores work
B-Stance Romanian Deadlift. Most of the load on one leg gives each hamstring a deep stretch with half the weight a regular RDL needs.
Standing Leg Curl. Isolates the hamstrings one leg at a time. The hips stay straight, so the stretch is smaller than in a seated curl.
For hamstring growth, standing leg curl rates higher on our research criteria: more of the work on the hamstrings, easier to progress. B-stance Romanian deadlift gives more stretch. Both are good choices, and they train the hamstrings differently. Using both across your week covers more of the muscle than either alone: in studies, varied exercises grew parts of a muscle that one exercise missed.
About the same: both are easy to learn.
B-stance Romanian deadlift needs dumbbells, so a home gym covers it. Standing leg curl needs a machine, so for most people it’s a gym exercise.
Standing leg curl: it rates Excellent for joint and recovery cost in our research rubric, against Strong for B-stance Romanian deadlift.