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Seated Leg Curl being performed with proper form
Seated Leg Curl demonstration video — proper form for the full movement.

How to do a Seated Leg Curl

Reviewed by Jim Parker, CPT, B.A. Kinesiology

About this exercise

Sets Logged
4,254,937
Popularity Rank
20th
Difficulty
Beginner
Hamstrings Strength
100 mSCORE 1st
Equipment Required
  • Photo of Leg Curl Machine
    Leg Curl Machine

Workouts with Seated Leg Curl

    Target muscles worked

    Primary Muscles
    Hamstrings
    Secondary Muscles
    Calves

    Instructions for Proper Form

    Seated Leg Curl is a weighted, isolation exercise that targets the hamstrings. Because a vast majority of lower body exercises tend to be compound movements, this exercise is a great way to isolate the hamstrings for building muscle mass, and developing strength. The use of a machine restricts your range of motion, and adds stability, allowing you to focus on exertion more than stabilizing the movement.

    1. Sit upright in a leg curl machine while positioning the top support pad just above your knees and placing it just above the back of your ankles onto the lower pad.
    2. Grab ahold of the handles for additional support.
    3. Flex your knees to lower your heels towards towards the floor in a downward arc.
    4. Once you can no longer flex your knees, return to the starting position.

    Common Form Mistakes

    • Overusing Machines

      Machines are great pieces of equipment, however they do hinder your ability to develop smaller stabilizing muscles. Try to work in other variations that require you to stabilize the movement as well.

    Weight & 1 Rep Max Calculator

    Average Seated Leg Curl standards by male, female, weight, age and height

    Use this calculator to see Fitbod's possible first recommendations for you. This would be your starting line, based on more than 4.5 billion logged sets from 1.1 million users.

    • beginner
      8
      reps
      50
      lbs
      1 Rep Max
      65
      lbs
    • intermediate
      8
      reps
      60
      lbs
      75
      lbs
    • advanced
      8
      reps
      75
      lbs
      95
      lbs

    Enter your stats to calculate your Reps & Weight

    How is this calculated?

    Alternatives & Variations to Seated Leg Curl

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    1. 1. Lying Hamstrings Curl

      Photo of Lying Hamstrings Curl being performed
      95.8 mSCORESWAPPED 25,876 TIMES

      Lying Hamstring Curl is a weighted, isolation exercise that targets the hamstrings. There’s a relatively short list of isolation exercises for lower body muscle groups. Because of this, this is a great addition to a lower body workout in order to build strength and muscle mass in the hamstrings specifically. The use of a machine restricts your range of motion, and adds stability to the movement, allowing you to focus on exertion rather than stabilizing the movement.

    2. 2. Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift

      Photo of Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift being performed
      97.6 mSCORESWAPPED 10,001 TIMES

      This exercise is a variation on Romanian Deadlifts. Like other Romanian Deadlifts, this is a compound exercise that primarily targets your hamstrings and glutes. The use of dumbbells can help with some limitations in mobility, and is a great starting point for anyone working towards performing Deadlifts or Romanian Deadlifts with a barbell.

    3. 3. Leg Extension

      Photo of Leg Extension being performed
      99.4 mSCORESWAPPED 5,121 TIMES

      Leg Extensions are an isolation exercise that target the quads. Due to a severe lack of isolation movements for the lower body, this is a great option for specifically targeting your quadriceps. The use of a machine restricts your range of motion, and adds some stability to the movement. This can help your focus more on exertion than stabilizing the movement. The downside to this exercise is that it places a lot of tension on your knee. Keep your weights light, and focus on pausing near the end of your range of motion.

    4. 4. Standing Leg Curl

      Photo of Standing Leg Curl being performed
      58.7 mSCORESWAPPED 4,178 TIMES

      Standing Leg Curl is an isolation exercise that targets the hamstrings. There’s a relatively short list of isolation exercises for lower body muscle groups. Because of this, this is a great addition to a lower body workout in order to build strength and muscle mass in the hamstrings specifically. By performing this exercise with one leg at a time, you prevent the risk of compensating for strength discrepancies between sides. The use of a machine restricts your range of motion, and adds stability to the movement, allowing you to focus on exertion rather than stabilizing the movement.

    5. 5. Single Leg Curl

      Photo of Single Leg Curl being performed
      33.2 mSCORESWAPPED 4,049 TIMES

      The Single Leg Curl with a leg curl machine is an isolation exercise targeting the hamstrings. This variation offers unique benefits over traditional, bilateral leg curls by allowing for a greater focus on unilateral strength and correcting imbalances between legs. It's slightly more challenging due to the increased demand for stability and control. Incorporating this exercise can enhance muscle symmetry, improve stability, and contribute to a wider range of motion, benefiting overall leg development and performance in compound lower-body exercises.

    6. 6. Deadlift

      Photo of Deadlift being performed
      98.7 mSCORESWAPPED 3,800 TIMES

      Deadlift is one of the three powerlifting movements. It’s a compound exercise that primarily targets muscles in the rear chain (backside of the body), and is great for developing strength in these muscles. It’s a staple in most programs, and is often used as a metric for tracking strength.

    7. 7. Kettlebell Sumo Squat

      Photo of Kettlebell Sumo Squat being performed
      87.3 mSCORESWAPPED 3,422 TIMES

      Kettlebell Sumo Squat is a squat variation. Like other squat variations, this exercise is a compound movement that targets the hamstrings, glutes and quads. Positioning your feet wider than you would for a standard squat helps to recruit the inner thigh, as well as help individuals with mobility limitations.

    8. 8. Romanian Deadlift

      Photo of Romanian Deadlift being performed
      98.6 mSCORESWAPPED 3,232 TIMES

      Romanian Deadlift is a variation on the more standard Deadlift. It’s a compound exercise that primarily targets your glutes, and hamstrings. Unlike the standard Deadlift, this variation focuses mostly on driving your hips forward to raise the weight, and restricts movement in your knees. This is a great exercise for building strength, and can translate well to other exercises that utilize a hip hinge.

    9. 9. Kettlebell Swing

      Photo of Kettlebell Swing being performed
      87.3 mSCORESWAPPED 2,676 TIMES

      Kettlebell Swing is a compound, explosive movement that primarily targets the hamstrings and glutes. This is a great exercise for improving power and explosiveness. It's especially helpful in developing glute drive which can help improve a number of different exercises, and sport performance.

    10. 10. Smith Machine Stiff-Legged Deadlift

      Photo of Smith Machine Stiff-Legged Deadlift being performed
      84.6 mSCORESWAPPED 2,414 TIMES

      Smith Machine Stiff-Legged Deadlift is a variation on the more standard Romanian Deadlift. Like other Romanian Deadlift variations, this is a compound movement that primarily targets the glutes and hamstrings. The use of a Smith Machine restricts your range of motion, and adds stability to the movement. This allows you to focus on exertion, or learning the movement rather than focusing on stability.