How to do a Seated Leg Curl

Reviewed by JP Michelsen, CPT, B.A. Kinesiology

About Seated Leg Curl

Sets Logged
3,535,105
Popularity Rank
28th
Difficulty
Beginner
Hamstrings Strength
100 mSCORE 1st
Equipment Required
  • Photo of Leg Curl Machine
    Leg Curl Machine

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?

Alternative Exercises to Seated Leg Curl

Filter By

  1. 1. Lying Hamstrings Curl

    Photo of Lying Hamstrings Curl being performed
    95.8 mSCORESWAPPED 17,651 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 7,415 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 3,647 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.

    • Beginner
    • Quads
    • Leg Extension Machine

  4. 4. Single Leg Curl

    Photo of Single Leg Curl being performed
    33.2 mSCORESWAPPED 3,242 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.

  5. 5. Kettlebell Sumo Squat

    Photo of Kettlebell Sumo Squat being performed
    87.3 mSCORESWAPPED 2,573 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.

  6. 6. Deadlift

    Photo of Deadlift being performed
    98.7 mSCORESWAPPED 2,295 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. Romanian Deadlift

    Photo of Romanian Deadlift being performed
    98.6 mSCORESWAPPED 2,290 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.

  8. 8. Standing Leg Curl

    Photo of Standing Leg Curl being performed
    58.7 mSCORESWAPPED 2,234 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.

  9. 9. Kettlebell Swing

    Photo of Kettlebell Swing being performed
    87.3 mSCORESWAPPED 2,207 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 1,807 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.