For hamstring growth
For hamstring growth, seated leg curl rates well ahead on our research criteria: more of the work on the hamstrings, easier to progress.
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
Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift. The same deep hamstring stretch with dumbbells: less tiring than the barbell version, though the weight jumps are bigger.
Seated Leg Curl. Seated curls grew the hamstrings more than lying curls (+14% vs +9%) in a 12-week study.
For hamstring growth, seated leg curl rates well ahead on our research criteria: more of the work on the hamstrings, easier to progress. 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.
Dumbbell Romanian deadlift needs dumbbells, so a home gym covers it. Seated leg curl needs a machine, so for most people it’s a gym exercise.
About the same: both rate Strong for joint and recovery cost in our research rubric.