Leg Curl

Lying Leg Curl, also called hamstring curls are very effective to develop and define muscles of the back of the thigh. It is one of the best hamstring exercises. Your hamstrings will be perfectly outlined if you perform this leg exercise correctly and on the regular basis. To do so you need an access to the leg curl machine, which is commonly available in any gym.

Lying Leg Curl Exercise Performing

The stance for this workout exercise is face down on the machine with your legs straight under the support pads. Grasp the handles, that are usually located under the headrest on the sides of the bench, or the lateral edge of the bench. Ready?

Then take a deep breath and curl your legs as far as possible, controlling your position on the bench. When you reach the upper point of exercise (leg perpendicular to the floor or rollers are almost touching the hips), stop for a couple of seconds and even more strain hamstrings. After that, exhale, slowly straighten your legs to the starting position and immediately proceed to the next repetition.

If you use a horizontal bench, you can feel that your hips are lifting during leg curls. This as a completely natural motion, which only strengthens the muscles in the back of the thigh, so don’t ask anybody to push your hips back, this is completely unnecessary.

If you need to stretch the muscles of the back of the thigh (hamstrings) at the lowest point, it’s better to use a bench with a step. To achieve such stretching on a flat bench, you have to lift the pelvis on the bench and bend at the waist, which can result in injury. This experiment is not recommended.

Performing lying legs curls (hamstring curls) you need to bend and unbend your feet in a moderate pace, without jerks. You also should go full range of motion, otherwise curls won’t be as effective as they could have. Work in moderate tempo so your muscles receive the best blast.