Seated Leg CurlMuscles Worked
Seated leg curls isolate your hamstrings through knee flexion, with no other group doing meaningful work. Sitting with your hips bent puts the hamstrings in a longer, more stretched position than a lying curl, so each rep starts from a deeper point.
PrimaryHamstrings
- Equipment
- Machine
- Level
- Beginner
- Type
- Isolation
- Force
- Pull
How to do it
- Adjust the seat so your knees line up with the machine's pivot and the leg pad sits just above your heels.
- Sit back against the backrest and lower the thigh pad so it holds your legs firmly just above the knees.
- Hold the handles and start with your legs straight out in front of you.
- Curl your heels down and back under the seat as far as you can, keeping your torso against the backrest.
- Pause briefly, then let the pad return slowly until your legs are straight again.
Form tips
- Lock the thigh pad down snugly so your legs can't lift and your hamstrings do all the work.
- Sit tall or lean slightly forward to increase the stretch on your hamstrings.
- Control the return instead of letting the weight stack yank your legs straight.
Why it made the list
No. 4 of 12
Best Hamstring Exercises
Better for the long head of the biceps femoris than lying curl, since hip flexion puts it on stretch. Growing in popularity.
More hamstring exercises
See it on your own body map
Log your Seated Leg Curl sets in KasMaker and watch your hamstrings fill in on the map, weighted by how much you did. Logging and the body map are free on iPhone.
