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Every exercise ranked by research, by lifters and by results. Find what’s S-tier for your goal, then train it.

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Explore/Hamstrings

Nordic Curl

Also called Nordic hamstring curl

BodyweightIsolationTakes some practice
Front
Back
Primary Secondary

Works

Hamstrings

Also glutes

You need

Nothing but the floor

How to do itPictures · 3 steps
1Start
2Lower slowly
Main musclesAlso working
  1. 1Kneel with your heels anchored
  2. 2Lower your body as slowly as you can
  3. 3Catch yourself and push back up

Most common mistake

Breaking at the hips to shorten the lever.

Watch a demo

Good for

  • Ranked #1 for American football and #2 for soccer
  • Keeps the work on the target muscle
  • Helps prevent common American football injuries

Compare with

vs Glute-Ham Raisevs 45° Back Extensionvs Good Morning
B
For hamstrings
#11 of 18
See the full list →
Research
69
Scored by hand
Results
Soon
From the app
How lifters rate itBe the first
S
A
B
C
D
F
Why research scores it 691 study
Target tensionExcellent
Loaded stretchStrong
ProgressionFair
Low costGood

A brutal eccentric. Great for resilience; hard to progress for growth.

  • Bourne et al., 2017 · Trial: Both exercises lengthened the biceps femoris fascicles and grew the semitendinosus; 45° hip extensions grew the biceps femoris long head more than Nordics. (30 recreational male athletes; 10 weeks.)

Research behind these criteria

  • Target tension: Zabaleta-Korta et al., 2021 · Kinoshita et al., 2023
  • Loaded stretch: Maeo et al., 2021 · Maeo et al., 2023 · Pedrosa et al., 2022 · Kassiano et al., 2023
  • Progression: Plotkin et al., 2022 · Pelland et al., 2026
  • Low cost: Schoenfeld et al., 2021 · Refalo et al., 2023
How scores work

Machine taken? Swap to

  • SSeated Leg CurlMachine
  • SStanding Leg CurlMachine
  • ALying Leg CurlMachine
  • A45° Back ExtensionBodyweight

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