The Nordic hamstring curl is a kneeling exercise in which someone holds your ankles while you lower your body forward as slowly as you can, using the hamstrings as a brake, then catch yourself with your hands. It loads the hamstrings hard while they lengthen, which is why it appears in late-stage hamstring strain rehab and in team warm-up programs aimed at reducing hamstring injuries. It is demanding, so treat this page as general education and let a therapist decide when you are ready and how much to do.
Last updated By the Monon Therapy Collective editorial team
- Main muscles
- Hamstrings, working as they lengthen
- Equipment
- A pad for the knees and a partner or secure anchor
- Stage it usually appears
- Later rehab, once running is comfortable
- Often used for
- Hamstring strain, return to sport
Why is the Nordic curl so much harder than a machine hamstring curl?
It is harder because you are lowering most of your body weight on a long lever, and the hamstrings have to resist that load while they lengthen. That lengthening work, called eccentric loading, is the same job the hamstrings do late in each running stride as they slow the swinging leg.
A seated or lying machine curl lets you choose a light weight and mostly trains the muscle as it shortens. The Nordic gives you only body weight, so even the first repetition is heavy, and most people find their hamstrings give out well before their chest nears the floor.
Where does the Nordic curl fit after a hamstring strain?
It usually fits near the end of hamstring strain rehab, after walking, easy running and lighter strength work are comfortable. Starting it too early, when the muscle is still tender, risks provoking the injury it is meant to protect against.
Typical earlier steps include bridge holds, long-lever bridges and hip hinges, and the glute bridge guide shows that sequence. How long a strain takes to reach this stage varies with its severity; the answer on how long a pulled hamstring takes to heal gives typical ranges, and return-to-sport testing describes how readiness for sprinting is judged.
How do sports teams use Nordic curls to protect hamstrings?
Teams use them as a preventive strength exercise, and the Nordic hamstring exercise is one of the strength exercises in FIFA’s 11+ injury prevention warm-up for soccer. Programs usually build the volume gradually over several weeks instead of starting with many repetitions.
For local families, that matters most in soccer and other sprint sports that fill the fields at Grand Park in Westfield from spring through fall. The physical therapy for soccer players page covers the other injuries those players tend to bring in, and why strength work belongs in the off-season as well as during it. Injured players can start with the matching questionnaire.
Nordic curl faults that take the load off the hamstrings
The fault that takes the most load off the hamstrings is bending at the hips, because the body then folds forward instead of lowering as one straight piece. Fix that first, even if it means a shorter range.
- Hips bending and seat sticking out as you lower.
- Dropping fast in the last part of the range instead of catching early.
- An anchor or partner that lets the feet lift.
- Kneeling on a hard floor without padding.
- Doing many repetitions on the first day, which can leave you very sore for days.
Easier Nordic regressions and harder progressions
The easiest way to scale it is to limit the range or support part of your weight with a band. Progress by lowering more slowly, going farther or adding a pause.
- Easier: a band anchored high in front of you and looped across your chest for support.
- Easier: lower only through the first part of the range, then push back with the hands.
- Easier: a hold at a fixed angle for a few seconds.
- Harder: a slower descent through a longer range.
- Harder: pause briefly partway down before continuing.
- Harder still: hold a light weight plate at the chest.
Nordic hamstring curl, step by step
Expect only a short controlled range at first. Lowering slowly through a small range is more useful than falling through a big one.
Anchor the ankles
Kneel on a thick pad with a partner kneeling behind you and holding both ankles firmly, or hook your heels under a padded bar or strap that cannot move.
Kneel tall
Line up knees, hips and shoulders, with the hips straight and arms ready in front of your chest. Brace the trunk and squeeze the glutes so you hinge only at the knees.
Lower as slowly as you can
Let your body tip forward as one straight piece, resisting with the hamstrings the whole way. Aim for a smooth, slow descent; breathe steadily rather than holding your breath.
Catch yourself
When you can no longer control the fall, drop into a push-up position with your hands to land softly.
Push back to the start
Use your hands to push yourself back up to kneeling, helping only a little with the hamstrings. Rest fully between repetitions; your therapist sets how many.
Stop Nordic curls and get assessed if...
- You feel a sudden sharp pain, pop or tearing sensation in the back of the thigh.
- Bruising appears on the back of the thigh in the days after.
- Pain sits deep at the sit bone or makes sitting painful.
- A cramp turns into pain that lasts after the cramp lets go.
- You have a recent hamstring strain that a therapist has not yet cleared for this level of loading.
If you think it is an emergency, call 911.
