Leg Curl

How to perform Lying leg Curl

1.    Adjust the machine lever to fit your height and lie face down on the leg curl machine with the pad of the lever on the back of your legs (just a few inches under the calves). Tip: Preferably use a leg curl machine that is angled as opposed to flat since an angled position is more favorable for hamstrings recruitment.
2.    Keeping the torso flat on the bench, ensure your legs are fully stretched and grab the side handles of the machine. Position your toes straight (or you can also use any of the other two stances described on the foot positioning section). This will be your starting position.
3.    As you exhale, curl your legs up as far as possible without lifting the upper legs from the pad. Once you hit the fully contracted position, hold it for a second.
4.    As you inhale, bring the legs back to the initial position. Repeat for the recommended amount of repetitions.

Video: Lying Leg Curl

Muscles Targeted: Hamstrings

Points to Remember

Avoid arching your back.
Do not ever use so much weight on the exercise that you start using swinging and jerking as you can risk both lower back injury and also a hamstring injury.
Common mistakes with the leg curl are moving the weight up and down too fast and not using a full range of motion. Always control the weight throughout the set, don’t use momentum to move the weight up, and don’t allow it to drop back down quickly. And always use a full range of motion by curling the weight up as far as possible and lowering it as far as possible without the weight dropping on the stack.

Video: Standing Leg Curl

Variations: Leg Curl

Seated Leg Curl
Lying Leg Curl
Standing Leg Curl
Since you have three foot positions you have in reality three exercises. The movement can also be performed with a dumbbell held in between your feet (a partner needs to place it properly). This latter exercise though is only suitable for advanced trainees. Finally, it is also possible to just use one leg at a time for better isolation.

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