ProgreviaNordic curl: proper form, muscles worked and common mistakes
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How to do it
Kneeling with the ankles anchored, lower the torso forward as slowly as possible resisting with the hamstrings; catch yourself with the hands at the bottom. A very demanding eccentric drill.
Muscles worked
Main muscle: hamstrings. When it plans weekly volume, every set of this exercise counts in full for hamstrings: the generator does not split it with other muscles.
Nordic curl: why it isn't like a band leg curl even though it trains the same muscle
The band leg curl and the nordic curl share the hamstrings and not much else. With the band you pull against a resistance that grows as it stretches, and you can tune the difficulty by changing bands. In the nordic curl, the resistance is your own body falling forward, and the lever is very long: the hardest moment comes as your torso nears horizontal, with the hamstring well stretched. It is an almost purely eccentric exercise: most people can't come back up without pushing off with their hands. You can't divide it into small weights, which is why it's so demanding.
Choose it when you already have a solid hamstring base, for example from curls and Romanian deadlifts. A few reps, three to eight, is enough. Expect strong soreness in the first few days: start with one or two sets and build slowly. If you can't slow down the fall, that's a sign you need assistance, not a reason to force yourself all the way to the floor.
Keep your body aligned from knees to head without folding at the hips, and rest your knees on a soft surface. To progress, hold an elastic band from above that helps you, then reduce that assistance, or start with a short range and lengthen it week by week; use your hands only for the last stretch of the descent.
Technical sheet
- Movement pattern
- Isolation
- Minimum level
- Advanced
- Technical demand
- Advanced
- Fatigue it generates
- Moderate (0.9 out of 2.2)
- Risk if technique breaks down
- Medium
- Peak tension in the stretched position
These are the values the generator uses to decide where the exercise goes within the session.
Recommended sets and reps
As an isolation exercise, it works best in 3–4 sets of 10–15 reps with 0–2 RIR. Use it at the end of the session to add volume without systemic fatigue.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Bending at the hips on the way down: your body should fall in a straight line from the knees so the hamstrings do the braking.
- Sticking with the same version once you can do more than 20 reps: move to a harder variation or add load.
- Cutting short the part of the range where the muscle is stretched: that is exactly where this exercise gives the most stimulus.
What the research says
This is an isolation exercise. For beginners, adding it on top of compound lifts does not always help: in the trial by Gentil and colleagues (2013), people who only did lat pulldowns gained as much arm size as those who also did curls. It earns its place with experience, and for muscles the big lifts leave short.
It loads the muscle in the stretched position, which is where several trials find more growth: more hypertrophy from seated than lying leg curls (Maeo and colleagues, 2021) and better quad results from training the long part of the range (Pedrosa and colleagues, 2022). So do not cut the bottom of the rep short.
You do not need to reach failure on every set: according to the meta-analysis by Refalo and colleagues (2023), stopping one or two reps short gives very similar growth. The generator prescribes it with RIR for that reason.
- Gentil P, Soares SR, Pereira MC, et al. Effect of adding single-joint exercises to a multi-joint exercise resistance-training program on strength and hypertrophy in untrained subjects. Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism. 2013;38(3):341-344.
- Maeo S, Huang M, Wu Y, et al. Greater hamstrings muscle hypertrophy but similar damage protection after training at long versus short muscle lengths. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. 2021;53(4):825-837.
- Pedrosa GF, Lima FV, Schoenfeld BJ, et al. Partial range of motion training elicits favorable improvements in muscular adaptations when carried out at long muscle lengths. European Journal of Sport Science. 2022;22(8):1250-1260.
- Refalo MC, Helms ER, Trexler ET, Hamilton DL, Fyfe JJ. Influence of resistance training proximity-to-failure on skeletal muscle hypertrophy: a systematic review with meta-analysis. Sports Medicine. 2023;53(3):649-665.
How Nordic curl compares with other hamstrings exercises
Of the 9 hamstrings exercises in the catalogue, ranked from least to most fatiguing by the values the generator uses, Nordic curl is number 5 (tied with one other).
It sits in the middle of its group: it works as the day's main exercise or as a second or third one.
With different equipment, the same movement pattern offers 4 alternatives, such as Band leg curl, Standing cable leg curl and Seated leg curl.
| Exercise | Equipment | Fatigue | Technique |
|---|---|---|---|
| Band leg curl | resistance band | Low (0.4 out of 2.2) | Basic |
| Standing cable leg curl | cable | Low (0.5 out of 2.2) | Basic |
| Seated leg curl | machine | Low (0.6 out of 2.2) | Basic |
| Lying leg curl | machine | Low (0.6 out of 2.2) | Basic |
| Nordic curl | bodyweight | Moderate (0.9 out of 2.2) | Advanced |
Tension with the muscle stretched. Nordic curl loads the muscle when it is longest. In the review by Kassiano et al. (2023), across eleven studies, full range of motion and partials performed in the initial part of the movement — with the muscle long — produced more growth than partials performed at the end.
Bodyweight. In the trial by Kotarsky et al. (2018), four weeks of progressively harder push-ups significantly improved bench press 1RM, just like training the bench press itself. It is a strength result, not a hypertrophy one, and the condition is the word progressive: the exercise has to keep getting harder.
An isolation exercise. In the trial by Gentil et al. (2015), with untrained young men over ten weeks, the biceps curl and the lat pulldown were equally effective for gaining strength and size in the elbow flexors: isolation is not filler.
- Kassiano W, Costa B, Nunes JP, Ribeiro AS, Schoenfeld BJ, Cyrino ES. Which ROMs lead to Rome? A systematic review of the effects of range of motion on muscle hypertrophy. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. 2023;37(5):1135-1144.
- Kotarsky CJ, Christensen BK, Miller JS, Hackney KJ. Effect of progressive calisthenic push-up training on muscle strength and thickness. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. 2018;32(3):651-659.
- Gentil P, Soares S, Bottaro M. Single vs. multi-joint resistance exercises: effects on muscle strength and hypertrophy. Asian Journal of Sports Medicine. 2015;6(2):e24057.
Related guide
Best leg exercises for the gym and at home
Alternative exercises
More isolation exercises
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Frequently asked questions
What muscles does Nordic curl work?
Nordic curl mainly works the hamstrings muscle group, plus synergist and stabilizer muscles depending on the variation.
How many sets of Nordic curl should I do?
Between 3 and 5 sets per session, adjusting the total weekly volume for hamstrings to your level (about 10–20 sets per muscle per week).
How do I start nordic curls if I can't slow the descent?
Shorten the range: lower only as far as you can control, then use your hands to cushion the rest and push back up. An elastic band anchored overhead that supports your chest also helps. Over the weeks, lengthen the range gradually. It's normal not to get very low on day one.
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