Skip to main content
Single Leg Curl being performed with proper form
Single Leg Curl demonstration video — proper form for the full movement.

How to do a Single Leg Curl

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

About this exercise

Sets Logged
303,975
Popularity Rank
352nd
Difficulty
Beginner
Hamstrings Strength
85 mSCORE 39th
Equipment Required
  • Photo of Leg Curl Machine
    Leg Curl Machine

Workouts with Single Leg Curl

    Target muscles worked

    Primary Muscles
    Hamstrings
    Secondary Muscles
    None

    Instructions for Proper Form

    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.

    1. Sit upright in a single 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 right knee to lower your heel towards towards the floor in a downward arc.
    4. Once you can no longer flex your knee, return to the starting position and repeat with opposite leg.

    Weight & 1 Rep Max Calculator

    Average Single 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
      25
      lbs
      1 Rep Max
      30
      lbs
    • intermediate
      8
      reps
      30
      lbs
      40
      lbs
    • advanced
      8
      reps
      35
      lbs
      45
      lbs

    Enter your stats to calculate your Reps & Weight

    How is this calculated?

    Alternatives & Variations to Single Leg Curl

    Filter By

    1. 1. Seated Leg Curl

      Photo of Seated Leg Curl being performed
      98.8 mSCORESWAPPED 1,416 TIMES

      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.

    2. 2. Lying Hamstrings Curl

      Photo of Lying Hamstrings Curl being performed
      95.8 mSCORESWAPPED 551 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.

    3. 3. Standing Leg Curl

      Photo of Standing Leg Curl being performed
      58.7 mSCORESWAPPED 297 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.

    4. 4. Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift

      Photo of Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift being performed
      97.6 mSCORESWAPPED 157 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.

    5. 5. Single Leg Curl

      Photo of Single Leg Curl being performed
      33.2 mSCORESWAPPED 129 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. Single Leg Leg Extension

      Photo of Single Leg Leg Extension being performed
      60.6 mSCORESWAPPED 108 TIMES

      Single Leg Leg Extensions is a variation of Leg Extensions that uses one leg at a time. Like other leg extensions, this isolation exercise targets your quadriceps. By targeting one leg at a time, you can focus your attention on getting good muscle activation in each leg. In addition, this can help you identify and address strength imbalances between legs. While leg extensions can be a great way to build strength and muscle mass in your quadriceps, they can also place a lot of tension on your knees.

    7. 7. Romanian Deadlift

      Photo of Romanian Deadlift being performed
      98.6 mSCORESWAPPED 79 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. Single Leg Romanian Deadlift

      Photo of Single Leg Romanian Deadlift being performed
      80.8 mSCORESWAPPED 60 TIMES

      Single Leg Romanian 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. Performing this exercise on one leg, is a great way to identify, and help address, discrepancies in mobility, strength, and stability between sides. This is a great exercise for anyone looking to improve their ability to perform a large number of other compound lower body movements like Squats, Lunges, or even Olympic lifts.

    9. 9. Deadlift

      Photo of Deadlift being performed
      98.7 mSCORESWAPPED 54 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.

    10. 10. Leg Extension

      Photo of Leg Extension being performed
      99.4 mSCORESWAPPED 53 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.