Standing Leg Curl
Standing Leg Curl is a beginner-friendly isolation exercise for the hamstrings, done with machine. Step-by-step instructions are below; the plain-English guide, common mistakes and sets and reps ranges for this page are still being written.
- Primary musclesHamstrings
- Secondary musclesnone listed
- EquipmentMachine
- LevelBeginner · isolation
How to do it
- Adjust the machine lever to fit your height and lie with your torso bent at the waist facing forward around 30 to 45 degrees (since an angled position is more favorable for hamstrings recruitment) with the pad of the lever on the back of your right leg (just a few inches under the calves) and the front of the right leg on top of the machine pad.
- Keeping the torso bent forward, ensure your leg is fully stretched and grab the side handles of the machine. Position your toes straight. This will be your starting position.
- As you exhale, curl your right leg up as far as possible without lifting the upper leg from the pad. Once you hit the fully contracted position, hold it for a second.
- As you inhale, bring the legs back to the initial position. Repeat for the recommended amount of repetitions.
- Perform the same exercise now for the left leg.
In the app: this exercise is one of 873 in GymPilot's library, with the same photos, form cues and a link back to the moment in an imported video it came from.
