What you'll gain

• Loads the hamstrings eccentrically at the long lengths where strains occur.

• Needs only an ankle anchor, so it travels to any field, gym or garage.

• Progresses by range and tempo rather than by adding external load.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. 1

   Kneel on a pad with your knees bent and the tops of your feet flat on the floor.

2. 2

   Anchor your ankles under a loaded barbell, a fixed pad, or a partner's hands.

3. 3

   Stand tall through the hips so knees, hips and shoulders form one line.

4. 4

   Reach your arms forward and lower your torso slowly, keeping the hips extended.

5. 5

   Catch yourself on your hands once you can no longer control the descent.

6. 6

   Push back just enough to let the hamstrings pull you upright, then repeat.

Common Mistakes

• Breaking at the hips so the movement becomes a bow, which unloads the hamstrings.

• Dropping fast once it gets hard, which removes the eccentric stimulus the exercise exists for.

• Pushing hard off the floor every rep, so the arms do the work the hamstrings should.

• Starting at full range with no assistance, which usually ends in a cramp or a strain.

About This Exercise

The Nordic hamstring curl is a kneeling eccentric exercise. Your ankles are pinned, usually under a loaded barbell or a partner's hands, and you lower your torso toward the floor while holding the hips extended so the knee flexors alone control the descent. Most people run out of control partway down, catch themselves on their hands, then push back just enough to let the hamstrings finish the rep. Peak knee flexor force here is high, which is why it is studied so heavily as a hamstring strain intervention. In a catalog this is the flagship hamstring clip for field-sport and rehab audiences. It supports injury-prevention programs, preseason blocks, warm-up templates for running clubs, and content explaining eccentric training, where a loop of the slow descent says far more than a still photo.

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