How to do Nordic curls: easier steps, how much to do, and what they do for hamstring injuries

Kneel, lean, brake, catch

Kneel on a pad with your lower legs held, keep a straight line from your knees to your head, and lean forward as slowly as you can. When you can't hold it any more, catch yourself on your hands and push back up.

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Large strength gains

Nordic training raises your hamstrings' strength while they lengthen under load (eccentric strength) by a large amount: about 10 to 15% on lab machines and 16 to 26% on Nordic test devices in trials.

Sources 2, 3

Fewer hamstring injuries, though less certain than often claimed

Programmes that include the Nordic curl were linked with about half as many hamstring injuries, and a large football trial found about 70% fewer. But pooling only the trials that tested the Nordic on its own gives an uncertain answer.

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It only helps if you keep doing it

In a low-certainty review of 15 football trials, prevention programmes cut hamstring injuries by about two thirds where players did at least 75% of their sessions, and showed no clear benefit below that.

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A few slow reps, twice a week

Start with 1 or 2 sets of 3 to 5 slow lowers, once or twice a week, and build to 2 or 3 sets of 3 to 6, twice a week (our editorial starting point). Low volumes built strength as well as high ones, and 29 to 64 reps a week was typical in a review of 42 studies.

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Easier steps if you can't do one yet

Ball curls, slider curls, slider lowers, part-range and band-assisted Nordics all lead up to it. In one small trial in 31 young footballers, the band-assisted version built as much strength as the full exercise, with less soreness.

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Anchor your heels

Hook your heels under a heavy sofa, a loaded barbell or a Smith machine bar with a pad over your ankles, or use a Nordic strap round a door or bench, or the foot pads of a glute-ham bench. None of these has been tested on its own, but a rigid heel fixing worked as well as a partner in a study of 42 people (our reading).

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Test it first

Whatever holds you mustn't lift or slide. Try a gentle lean before your first rep, and pad your ankles and knees (our suggestion).

Or use a band

A long band fixed high behind you and looped round your chest takes some of your weight as you lower. The band-assisted Nordic curl has its own page with written steps.

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It gets harder as you leanEmerging evidence

The further forward you lean, the longer the lever your hamstrings must brake, so most people "break" and fall near the bottom. With a partner or a rigid heel fixing, 42 people broke at about 74 to 75 degrees of knee bend; a device that also fixed the kneeling height let them lean to 56 degrees, with more hamstring activity. Tilting the body 20 degrees up or down changed how hard it was in 13 people, which gives easier and harder versions.

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It favours the inner hamstringEmerging evidence

In muscle activity and MRI studies, the Nordic worked the semitendinosus (an inner hamstring) more than the biceps femoris long head, the outer hamstring most often strained. A 45 degree hip extension favoured the outer one. Pointing the feet raised outer hamstring activity in a Nordic in 12 men.

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It lengthens muscle fibres, while you keep doing itEmerging evidence

The fibres of the outer hamstring got longer by about 9 to 24% in trials of 6 to 10 weeks. In 20 men those gains reversed within 2 weeks of stopping, while strength held for at least 4 weeks.

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1. Ball leg curls

Heels on a gym ball, hips up, roll the ball in and out: 2 to 3 sets of 8 to 12 (its move page). In 10 female athletes, the Nordic worked the hamstrings harder than the ball curl.

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2. Slider curls, then slider lowers

Slider hamstring curls, 3 sets of 6 to 10 (our calisthenics workout), then the lowering-only version, 3 sets of 5 slow lowers of about 5 seconds (our editorial starting point). A towel on a smooth floor works.

3. Band-assisted NordicsEmerging evidence

In one small trial in 31 under-14 and under-15 footballers, 8 weeks of Nordics with an elastic band round the chest, going from heavy to light assistance, built the same Nordic strength as the unassisted exercise (about 20%), with less soreness and effort. 2 sets of 3 to 6, twice a week, from a heavier band to a lighter one, is our editorial starting point.

Source 11

4. Part-range Nordics

Lean only as far as you can control, then push back up before you fall, a little further each week: 2 sets of 3 to 5 (our editorial starting point, as in our RDL guide).

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5. The Nordic curl

The full lowering, catching yourself on your hands: 2 or 3 sets of 3 to 6, twice a week (our editorial starting point, as in our sprint guide).

6. The full Nordic

Pulling yourself back up with your hamstrings instead of pushing off your hands, once you can lower all the way under control (its move page). There's no evidence it protects you any better than the standard Nordic.

Start small

1 or 2 sets of 3 to 5 slow lowers, once or twice a week, for the first week or two (our editorial starting point). The Calgary programme's first level is 3 to 6 reps, and the FIFA 11+ warm-up starts at 3 to 5, as our football page sets out.

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Build upEmerging evidence

2 or 3 sets of 3 to 6, twice a week (our editorial starting point, as in our sprint guide): 12 to 36 lowers a week. A review of 42 studies, at low to very low certainty, found that the amount didn't predict strength gains; the typical range was 29 to 64 reps a week over 2 or 3 sessions, after a gradual start.

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Low volumes build strengthEmerging evidence

In 19 elite youth footballers, one set (4 Nordics and 6 stiff-leg deadlifts) raised lowering strength as much as four sets: 11.3% against 11.4%. Across 13 studies, low and high volumes gave similar, very large strength gains.

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Muscle fibre length: the reviews disagreeMixed evidence

A review of 11 soccer studies found longer fibres and thicker muscle only with higher volumes (about 2 to 3 sets of 8 to 12, 2 or 3 times a week), not with low ones (1 to 2 sets of 3 to 5). Another review of 13 studies and a trial in 20 men found low volumes lengthened the fibres as much as high ones.

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Twice a week may beat onceEmerging evidence

In 21 men over 6 weeks, twice a week gave bigger gains in Nordic strength than once a week, with similar gains in other tests.

Source 22

The football trial's build

In the large Danish trial, players followed a 10-week progressive programme, then one session a week through the season. Our hamstring and groin injury prevention workout sets out a session-by-session build, which is that workout's reading of the trial.

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Keep going

Once you've built up, keep at least one session a week: fibre-length gains faded within 2 weeks of stopping, and the injury benefit appeared only where players kept at it. Do Nordics after your warm-up or at the end of training, and not in the 48 hours before a match (our football page's suggestion).

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What to expectEmerging evidence

After a first session of 24 reps, 13 trained men were weaker for 3 days and sorest on days 2 and 3. The same session 4 weeks later caused much less, with strength down for only a day: the repeated bout effect. The stretching discomfort of the lowering is normal; in the Calgary programme's words, "It should not be painful."

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Keep it down

Start with very few reps, as our move page says. The band-assisted version gave less soreness for the same strength gain in one small trial, and a light first session protects you from later soreness, as our muscle soreness guide explains.

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Why it matters

Soreness is often blamed when teams drop the programme, though the direct evidence for that is limited.

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About half as many injuries in programmes that include themEmerging evidence

Across 15 studies of 8,459 athletes, women and men in several sports, programmes that included the Nordic curl had about half the rate of hamstring injuries (risk ratio 0.49), and 0.52 in the 8 randomised trials. In 5 soccer studies the figure was similar. A Danish sports physiotherapy statement in 2020 rated this evidence moderate to high quality, before the later re-analyses.

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Two big football trials found large fallsEmerging evidence

In 942 Danish players in 50 teams, there were 15 hamstring injuries in the Nordic group against 52 (3.8 against 13.1 per 100 player seasons); repeat injuries fell most. In 579 Dutch amateur players, injuries fell from 0.8 to 0.25 per 1,000 hours, with 91% of sessions done, though injuries weren't any less severe.

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Trials of the Nordic alone are inconclusiveMixed evidence

Only 5 of those 15 studies randomly assigned people to the Nordic itself. Pooled, they gave a risk ratio of 0.56 with a range from 0.20 to 1.52, which includes no effect. A 2026 analysis of 11 football trials put the Nordic on its own at 0.78 (0.34 to 1.78), at very low certainty, with no trial at low risk of bias.

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Two other trials found no fewer injuriesMixed evidence

In a trial of 508 male players, only 21% of those given the hamstring programme did the minimum training, and injuries didn't fall. In 259 Japanese high school players, injury rates were similar, though far less time was lost to injury.

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It works only if you keep doing itEmerging evidence

In 15 football trials of 7,465 players, prevention programmes halved hamstring injuries overall (risk ratio 0.51), but only where players did at least 75% of sessions (0.36), not below that (0.92); each 10% more adherence lowered the risk by about 17%. The certainty was low. Two earlier reviews point the same way.

Sources 8, 29, 30

Few teams keep it upEmerging evidence

Only 10.7% of 150 elite club seasons used the full programme, 69% of Dutch amateur players never did it two years after their trial, and 13% of elite European teams used it, though those using it with the whole team had fewer hamstring injuries (5 against 11 per team).

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Strength work prevents injuries; stretching alone doesn'tStrong evidence

Across 25 trials of 26,610 people, strength training cut sports injuries to under a third, while stretching made no difference. In elite soccer, teams that added eccentric hamstring work had fewer hamstring strains, while flexibility work alone didn't help.

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Why it might workMixed evidence

In two cohorts, weaker lowering strength and shorter outer hamstring fibres went with more hamstring injuries, about 3 to 4 times the risk at the weakest levels. These are risk factors, not proof that changing them prevents injuries.

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Not only footballersEmerging evidence

The main review included several sports and women as well as men. In professional rugby union, players who did Nordics had fewer and less severe hamstring injuries, and in professional baseball none of the 65 players doing them had one. Most of the randomised evidence is from football.

Sources 4, 38, 39

Runners and sprintersEmerging evidence

In one trial, Nordics made 10 m sprints slightly faster (by 0.047 seconds), and in another they didn't slow elite players down or cost them jump height. Across football trials, hamstring strength training improved sprints and jumps. In 35 female footballers, three hamstring programmes gave similar results over 4 weeks.

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After a hamstring strain

Our hamstring strain guide brings Nordics back in its late stage, at 2 to 3 sets of 4 to 6. In 8 athletes with a past strain, a sloped single-leg Nordic lengthened the shorter fibres of the injured leg, but that study had no comparison group.

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With a high hamstring tendon problem

A deep ache at the sitting bone that's worse when you sit: leave Nordics out early on and follow our high hamstring tendinopathy guide.

Nordic or leg curl?Emerging evidence

In 21 footballers over 10 weeks, Nordics raised lowering strength by 11% and the hamstring to quadriceps strength ratio from 0.89 to 0.98, while ordinary leg curls didn't. For muscle size, seated leg curls grew the hamstrings more than lying ones (14% against 9%).

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Nordic or Romanian deadlift?Emerging evidence

In 32 adults over 6 weeks, slow-lowering Romanian deadlifts and Nordics each grew hamstring area by about 10%. In 36 untrained adults over 9 weeks, stiff-leg deadlifts grew the hamstrings by 7.0% and Nordics by 11.4%, with the Nordic favouring the semitendinosus. Most people do a hinge and a curl each week, as our RDL guide suggests.

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Nordic or glute-ham raise?

In a Nordic your hips stay straight; in a natural glute-ham raise you bend at the hips at the bottom and use them to come back up, which makes it easier (our move pages). Both train the hamstrings' lowering strength.

Bending at the hips

It shortens the lever and takes work off your hamstrings. Squeeze your glutes and keep the straight line from your knees to your head.

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Falling too quickly

Brake for as long as you can. The Calgary programme's cue: "Lean forward slowly until you cannot anymore."

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An anchor that moves

Or a partner who lets your legs lift. Test the set-up with a gentle lean first (our suggestion).

Pushing through the wrong pain

Cramp, or pain in a kneecap, behind the knee or in the calf, isn't the stretching ache in your hamstrings. Stop the set and use an easier step (our suggestion).

Same day: the back of your thigh

A pop near your sitting bone, a large bruise high on the back of your thigh, or you can't put weight on the leg. The tendon may have pulled away from the bone, which needs assessing; our hamstring strain guide explains. The NHS says a severe hamstring injury can bring a snapping feeling or a "pop" with a sharp pain.

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Get help from NHS 111

In the US, contact your doctor or urgent care. For a hamstring that's very painful or getting worse, has a lot of swelling or bruising, hurts to walk or stand on, is very stiff or hard to move, or isn't improving after treating it yourself. For a knee that's very painful, can't take your weight, is badly swollen, or locks or gives way.

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A minor strain

The NHS advises rest and protection for the first 2 to 3 days, and avoiding strenuous exercise such as running for up to 8 weeks. Our hamstring strain guide gives the staged return, with Nordics in its late stage.

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Soreness or injury?

Delayed soreness is a dull, tender ache in both legs that comes on a day later and is worst 1 to 3 days after a session, as our muscle soreness guide explains. An injury brings a sharp pain at the back of the thigh at the moment it happens. Red, brown or cola-coloured pee with severe muscle pain or weakness after a hard session needs urgent medical help.

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Call 999 (911 in the US) or go to A&E

For sudden chest pain that doesn't go away or spreads, palpitations that don't stop, or if someone faints while exercising. For a headache that started suddenly and is extremely painful. For back pain with numbness or weakness in both legs, loss of feeling around your genitals or bottom, or changes in your bladder or bowels.

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"Nordic curls are only for footballers"Emerging evidence

The main review covered several sports and both sexes, rugby union and baseball studies point the same way, and weak, short-fibred hamstrings predicted injuries in Australian football as well as soccer. Most of the randomised trials are in football, so the evidence is strongest there.

Sources 4, 38, 39, 36

"Nordic curls halve hamstring injuries"Emerging evidence

Programmes that include them were linked with about half as many injuries, and two large trials found big falls, but trials of the Nordic alone are inconclusive and the benefit appeared only where players kept at it. It's still worth doing for the lowering strength it builds.

Sources 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

"You need lots of reps"Mixed evidence

For strength, no: low volumes did as well as high ones. One review found fibre length changed only with higher volumes, while others found low volumes enough.

Sources 10, 9, 21

"Nordic curls are bad for your knees"

We found no study showing harm. Kneeling on a hard floor can hurt your kneecaps, and pain behind the knee or in the calf is a reason to pad more, shorten the range or use an easier step.

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