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.
Dumbbell 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
Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift. The same deep hamstring stretch with dumbbells: less tiring than the barbell version, though the weight jumps are bigger.
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. Dumbbell 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.
Dumbbell 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 dumbbell Romanian deadlift.