Nordic curl
Kneeling with the ankles held, the body lowers forward slowly against the hamstrings; programmes that include it were linked with about half as many hamstring injuries, though trials of the Nordic alone are inconclusive.
Hamstring curl family
Nordic curl
DemandHard
Equipment requiredFloor space + An anchor point
Muscle focusHamstrings · Glutes
Loading the 3D figure…
Watch it bigger, and flip through similar moves, in the studio.Open in the studio
Source-researched guide. Clinical review is pending.
How to move
- Kneel upright on a pad with the ankles held down by a partner or a secure anchor.
- Keeping the body straight from the knees to the head, lower forward as slowly as the hamstrings allow.
- Catch yourself on the hands when you can no longer control the lowering, then push back up to kneeling.
Form cues
- Keep the hips straight; do not bend at the waist.
- Lowering further and more slowly makes it harder.
Practice and cautions
No universal dose is assigned. Choose a manageable amount for your current capacity, leave room for controlled repetitions, and allow recovery. A clinician’s individual plan takes priority.
Expect delayed soreness at first; start with very few repetitions. With muscular dystrophy, leave out exercises that focus on lowering a heavy load or hard landings unless your neuromuscular team advises them. This is movement education, not an assessment or treatment prescription. Stop for sharp or increasing pain, dizziness, numbness or tingling; seek individual guidance for symptoms, injury or restrictions.
Sources and review status
Sources support the educational description; they do not establish that this exercise is suitable for you.
- van Dyk 2019 · The Nordic hamstring exercise and hamstring injury (meta-analysis, BJSM) ↗
- Impellizzeri 2021 · A reappraisal of the Nordic hamstring exercise meta-analysis: the injury effect of the Nordic alone is inconclusive (methods reanalysis, J Clin Epidemiol) ↗
- Monajati 2017 · The Nordic curl and the ball leg curl compared (EMG) ↗
No variation is labeled clinically validated.
What it works
Equipment
An anchor point
Level
Advanced. See the easier and harder options above.
Workouts that use it
- Advanced calisthenics workout · 45 min
- Splits stretching routine · 25 min
- FIFA 11+ warm-up · 20 min
- Hamstring and groin injury prevention · 15 min
- Ski fitness workout · 40 min
- Hamstring workout: Romanian deadlifts, curls and Nordics · 35 min
- Basketball injury prevention warm-up · 10 min
- Basketball strength and jump workout · 45 min
Show all 31 workoutsShow fewer workouts
- Volleyball warm-up · 15 min
- Volleyball injury prevention · 30 min
- Strength workout for rugby players: legs, upper body, hamstrings and neck · 55 min
- Strength workout for fast bowlers · 40 min
- Netball strength and landing workout · 35 min
- Strength workout for American football: power, legs, upper body, hamstrings and neck · 55 min
- Strength workout for field hockey: legs, hamstrings, groins and trunk · 45 min
- Strength workout for dancers: feet, hips, hamstrings, trunk and landings · 55 min
- Gymnastics conditioning workout: jumps, landings, wrists, shoulders and trunk · 45 min
- Sprint speed workout: drills, accelerations and flying sprints · 45 min
- Badminton injury prevention warm-up · 20 min
- Badminton strength and footwork workout · 45 min
- Strength workout for lacrosse: power, legs, hamstrings, groins and rotation · 50 min
- Gaelic games warm-up (built on the GAA 15) · 15 min
- Strength workout for Gaelic football and hurling: drop jumps and sprints, legs, hamstrings and groins · 55 min
- Strength and hamstring workout for sprinters and hurdlers: the athletics prevention programme, Nordic curls and heavy legs · 50 min
- Strength workout for handball players: jumps, barbell lifts, Shoulder Control, Nordics and Copenhagens · 55 min
- Strength workout for Australian football: sprints, lifts, Nordics, Copenhagens and neck strength · 55 min
- Dryland workout for divers: take-off jumps, landings, legs, wrists, shoulders and entry shapes · 45 min
- Pole conditioning workout: hangs and pulls, shoulders, inverts, hamstrings, inner thighs and grip, off the pole · 45 min
- Aerial conditioning workout: pull-ups, hangs, inversions, shoulders, grip and landings for silks, hoop and trapeze · 50 min
- Nordic curl progression workout: from ball curls to the full Nordic · 20 min
- Agility workout: change direction, land and react · 30 min
Pain guides that use it
Part of a staged plan, with when to get help first.
- Hamstring strain exercises: from first days to sprinting
- ACL injury: rehab, surgery or not, and how to prevent it
- PCL injury (posterior cruciate ligament): recovery, bracing and exercises
- ACL surgery recovery: the stages back to running, jumping and sport, and the return-to-sport tests
- Hamstring pain when running: strain, sitting-bone tendon or back, and the way back to speed
- Thigh pain: a strain or dead leg, the hip and back, a burning nerve, a clot and how to build back
- Back of thigh pain: a hamstring strain or tendon, sciatica, cramp or a clot, and how to build back
- Knee pain in men: twisting injuries in sport, the tendons, kneeling work, gout and arthritis
Show all 19 pain guidesShow fewer pain guides
- Knee pain when twisting: the meniscus, the ligaments, the kneecap, arthritis and what helps
- Hamstring pain when sitting: the sit-bone tendon, a strain, the sciatic nerve and what helps
- Knee pain skiing: twisting falls, the ACL and MCL, kneecap pain, bindings and what helps
- Knee pain after dancing: jumps and landings, turns, deep pliés and turnout, heels and what helps
- Knee pain from basketball: jumper's knee, kneecap pain, growing knees, ACL tears and what helps
- Knee pain from volleyball: jumper's knee, kneecap pain, landings, growing knees and what helps
- Knee pain after football (soccer): twists, tackles, ligaments, the meniscus, growing knees and help
- Back pain after football (soccer): kicking, tackles, young players' stress fractures and what helps
- Hip and groin pain after football (soccer): groin strains, sports hernia, impingement and help
- Knee pain after rugby: twists and tackles, the ACL and MCL, the meniscus, the kneecap and what helps
- Knee pain from netball: landings, the ACL, kneecap and tendon pain, growing knees and what helps
Guides that use it
- Pilates for rowers guide
- Pilates for a hamstring injury guide
- Yoga for footballers guide
- Yoga for rugby players guide
- Yoga for a hamstring injury guide
- Yoga for the splits guide
- Knee joint guide
- Hamstrings guide
Show all 45 guidesShow fewer guides
- Rhabdomyolysis (rhabdo) and exercise
- Warming up guide
- Flexibility guide
- The splits guide
- How to do a Romanian deadlift guide
- Compound vs isolation guide
- Sprint faster guide
- How to get bigger legs guide
- How to do Nordic curls guide
- Leg curls guide
- Single-leg deadlifts guide
- Glute-ham raises guide
- Cable pull-throughs guide
- Single-leg glute bridge guide
- Build muscle at home guide
- Strengthen your knees guide
- Strengthen your legs guide
- Strengthen your hamstrings guide
- Agility guide
- Football guide
- Skiing and snowboarding guide
- Basketball guide
- Volleyball guide
- Rugby guide
- Cricket guide
- Netball guide
- American football guide
- Field hockey guide
- Dance guide
- Badminton guide
- Lacrosse guide
- Gaelic games guide
- Sprinting and hurdles guide
- Handball guide
- Australian rules football guide
- Diving guide
- Pole dancing and pole fitness guide
Similar moves
3D demoBand-assisted Nordic curlIntermediate · An anchor point + A band
3D demoStability ball leg curlIntermediate · Exercise ball
3D demoSeated band hamstring curlBeginner · A band + An anchor point + A bench or box
3D demoStanding hamstring curlBeginner · A wall
3D demoSeated leg curlBeginner · Strength machine
3D demoStanding machine leg curlBeginner · Strength machineBrowse more
Questions people ask
What muscles does the Nordic curl work?
Mainly the hamstrings, with help from the glutes.
What equipment do I need for the Nordic curl?
An anchor point.
Is the Nordic curl good for beginners?
It is an advanced move. Build up to it with the Slider hamstring curl first.
What is an easier alternative to the Nordic curl?
Try the Slider hamstring curl or the Machine leg curl. Both are written steps in the same progression.
How do I make the Nordic curl harder?
Progress to the Full Nordic curl. Follow that guide’s technique and any stated timing.