Training guide
A reverse Nordic, or reverse Nordic curl, is a kneeling exercise for the front of your thighs: kneel tall on a pad, keep your hips straight, and lean back slowly in one line from your knees to your head, then pull yourself upright again. Your quadriceps do the work as they lengthen, and it's hardest at the deepest lean. You need no equipment: start with a short lean, 2 sets of 3 to 5, and build the range over weeks.
Despite its other name, the "reverse Nordic hamstring curl", it trains your quads, not your hamstrings. The studies are small and young: it worked the quads about as hard as bodyweight single-leg squats, and lengthened the fibres of the rectus femoris (the quad muscle that also crosses the hip) in 8 weeks. Nobody has measured the load on the knee, or tested it for preventing strains.
This guide shows it step by step on the 3D figure, what it works, your knees and kneeling, easier and harder versions, and how many to do.
Kneel tall on a pad, hips straight, and lean back slowly in one line from your knees to your head, only as far as you can come back from, then pull yourself upright with the front of your thighs. That's our move page and the National Strength and Conditioning Association's (NSCA's) technique article. Despite the "hamstring" in one of its names, it's a quad exercise.
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In 23 adults it worked the quads about as hard as bodyweight single-leg squats, split squats and lunges, through less knee bend; taken only a short way, it was among the lightest of 7 bodyweight exercises. Eight weeks lengthened the rectus femoris fibres about 9.6% in 26 young men, with no control group, and the change was gone 4 weeks after they stopped.
No study has measured knee loads in a reverse Nordic, and no harm was reported in short, mostly youth studies. Bending the knee under quad load raises the load behind the kneecap, and healthy knees adapt to deep bending. Build the range up gradually, pad your knees, and leave it out if kneeling hurts, as the move page says.
The only prevention trial was registered in 2020 and never reported, and no study has measured knee pain or injury after training them. It's one quad exercise among several, not a shield.
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Easier: lean back a short way, hold a band anchored in front of you, or put a bench or cushion behind you to stop on. Harder: lean further, reach your arms overhead (it has a demo), then hold a light plate at your chest.
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Start with 2 sets of 3 to 5 in a small range, twice a week (our knee strengthening workout), and build over weeks to 2 or 3 sets of 6 to 10 through a bigger range (editorial, within the studies' 2 sets of 6 to 3 sets of 10 to 12), lowering over 3 to 4 seconds. Expect sore thighs after the first sessions; it settles as you repeat it.
The NSCA's technique article calls it a single-joint exercise for the knee. Kneeling tall on a padded surface, knees hip-width apart and hips fully straight, you lean back slowly in one straight line by bending only at your knees, then come back the same way. Your arms are crossed at your chest or by your sides; arms overhead is a harder version.
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It's the reverse of the Nordic hamstring curl: there your hamstrings lower you forwards, here your quads lower you back. The first training study's title calls it the "reverse nordic hamstring exercise", which explains the confusing searches; it doesn't train the hamstrings. Some Pilates studios use "reverse hamstring curl" for something else entirely.
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All four quadriceps work as they lengthen: the vastus lateralis, medialis and intermedius, and the rectus femoris, which also crosses the hip and stays long here because your hip is straight. Your glutes hold your hips straight and your trunk stays braced.
The further you lean, the longer the lever your quads hold against, so it's hardest at your deepest point. Arms overhead lengthen the lever further.
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Comfortable kneeling and controlled leg extensions (the move page's prerequisite). The NSCA article says no established prerequisites exist and suggests a simple check: sitting back on your heels and kneeling tall without pain.
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Taller and heavier people find it harder, because the lever is longer. Kneecap pain, tendon pain around the kneecap, knee bursitis and a teenager's growing knee all call for the gentler options on this page.
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26 to 35 people per training study, all young: men, or youth athletes. Muscle activity studies of 20 and 23 adults. Nobody older, and nobody with knee pain.
From our move page and the NSCA's technique article, which gives the cues and the 3 to 4 seconds down and 1 to 2 up.
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The movement on the figure: Reverse Nordic
Our move page's steps and cues: keep your arms beside your ears all the way. The NSCA article lists arms overhead as a progression; nobody has studied this version.
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The movement on the figure: Reverse Nordic, arms overhead
Easiest first. Seated knee extensions, 3 sets of 10 to 15 each leg (its move page's editorial starting point); leg extensions, 2 to 3 sets of 10 to 15, the last 0 to 2 short (our leg extension guide); heel-elevated deep squats, 2 sets of 6 to 8, only as deep as is comfortable (our knee strengthening workout). The reverse Nordic, 2 sets of 3 to 5 in a small range (our knee strengthening workout), building to 2 or 3 sets of 6 to 10 through a bigger range (editorial); arms overhead, 2 sets of 3 to 5 (our sissy squat progression). The weighted sissy squat, the standing relative: without the plate, 2 to 3 sets of 5 to 8 part way, building to 8 to 12 (our sissy squat progression); with the plate, 2 to 3 sets of 6 to 10, 2 or 3 reps short (its move page). The leg extension and both reverse Nordic move pages give no dose.
3D demoSeated knee extension (chair)Beginner · A bench or box + Something with weight
3D demoLeg extensionBeginner · Strength machine
3D demoHeel-elevated deep squat (slant board squat)Intermediate · A step
3D demoReverse NordicAdvanced · No equipment
3D demoReverse Nordic, arms overheadAdvanced · No equipment
3D demoWeighted sissy squatAdvanced · Weight plates + A wallTeach these with the reverse Nordic demo and the words here.
Hold a band or cable anchored low in front of you, at about 45 degrees, so it helps you back up. A band anchored behind you adds load instead of helping.
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Put a bench, sofa seat or gym ball behind you to stop on, and make it lower as you get stronger.
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Lean back under control, catch yourself on your hands or a bench behind you, and get up without using your quads.
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Once you can lean to the floor and back for sets of 10 or more, hold a light plate or dumbbell at your chest, as a registered trial planned; the main training study added a weighted vest once 10 reps were easy.
Some people do them on a glute-ham developer (GHD) or a machine pad. Nothing has tested them, and the floor version is enough for most people.
In 23 adults (15 men), quad activity while lowering was similar in the reverse Nordic and in bodyweight single-leg squats, Bulgarian squats and lunges, through less knee bend, with less outer-quad activity than the single-leg squat. We read this study as an abstract.
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Taken to only about 40 degrees of knee bend, it drew the lowest inner and outer quad activity of 7 bodyweight exercises in 20 male footballers, level with the half squat (47.3% and 42.2% of maximum). So it's a moderate bodyweight quad load, heavier the further you lean.
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In 26 recreationally active young men, 8 weeks lengthened the rectus femoris fibres 9.59% and thickened the muscle 8.57%. There was no separate control group, and the changes reversed within 4 weeks of stopping.
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Seven weeks did the same, more modestly, for the inner and outer quads in 28 men, again with no control group.
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Knee-extension work grew the rectus femoris far more than the leg press, 13.2% against 1.1%, and leg extensions grew it more with the hip less bent. The reverse Nordic keeps the hip fully straight, though its rectus femoris activity was no higher than the other quads' in a muscle activity study, so "it targets the rectus femoris" is only partly shown.
Added to sport training, reverse Nordics improved sprint, jump and change-of-direction tests in four small trials of 25 to 35 youth athletes, and spreading the same work over two days a week beat one day in 34 boys. But the trials are small, mostly from one research group, with effects large enough to doubt, and none measured quad strength.
Quad strains were 19% of muscle injuries in elite men's football, mostly the rectus femoris while kicking: 80% of 20 filmed injuries, as the muscle is stretched across the hip and knee.
A previous quad injury, a recent hamstring injury, the kicking leg and match play were the strongest risk factors in a review; flexibility wasn't one.
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A rehab case for one man's rectus femoris strain put the reverse Nordic in its last phase, after leg extensions. The only prevention trial was registered in 2020 and never reported.
In 33 men, lowering-focused knee extension concentrated muscle damage in the upper rectus femoris. New lowering work makes muscles sore for a few days, and the next sessions cause much less.
No study has measured knee loads in the reverse Nordic, and no harm was reported in short, mostly youth studies, where injuries were self-reported. That's reassuring for healthy young knees, but it isn't proof of safety for everyone.
Across 35 exercises and daily activities, the load behind the kneecap rose as the knee bent under quad tension, and deep, knees-forward squats were the heaviest. No kneeling exercise was measured. At full depth, the reverse Nordic is a demanding knee exercise.
A review of squats found no harm from deep knee bending in healthy knees, built up gradually.
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Pain from 0 to 2 out of 10 is fine, and up to 5 is acceptable if your knee is back to its usual level by the next morning; for tendon pain just below or above the kneecap, keep it to 3 or less. Sharp, catching or giving-way pain, or new swelling, means stop. That's our knee guides' rule.
It matches a published pain-monitoring model and NHS inform's knee exercise advice to keep pain within 0 to 5 out of 10, no worse overall.
For patellar tendon pain, a progressive programme guided by pain (holds, then strength, then jumps) did better than lowering-focused squats in 76 athletes. Our jumper's knee guide starts with holds; reverse Nordics come late, if at all.
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The NHS advises using padding when you put a lot of pressure on joints, for example when kneeling, and kneeling can make bursitis worse. Use a thick pad, and leave reverse Nordics out if kneeling hurts.
2 sets of 3 to 5 in a small range, twice a week: our knee strengthening workout's dose. The move page gives none.
Over several weeks, to 2 or 3 sets of 6 to 10 through a bigger range (editorial). The main training study built from 2 sets of 6 to 3 sets of 10 to 12 over 8 weeks, 2 sessions a week at first and then 3, with 2 minutes between sets and at least 48 hours between sessions; the youth trials built from 2 sets of 6 to 4 sets of 10, twice a week.
Keep 2 or 3 reps in reserve on every set, as our sissy squat guide does, because your knee carries the load, and never lean further than you can come back from (editorial). Lower over 3 to 4 seconds and come up over 1 to 2.
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60 to 120 seconds (editorial; the studies used 60 seconds to 2 minutes).
Range first, then reps, then arms overhead, then a light plate (editorial).
Our sissy squat ladder uses 2 sets of 3 to 5; the quad strain guide's last stage, 2 to 3 sets of 5 to 8, leaning only a short way at first; the quadriceps tendinopathy guide's optional last stage, 2 to 3 sets of 5; and our Australian football workout, 2 sets of 5.
Once you've built up, keep at least one session a week: the fibre changes faded within 4 weeks of stopping.
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Its dose table (strength 2 to 6 sets of 2 to 6; growth 3 to 6 sets of 6 to 12) is general NSCA guidance, not reverse Nordic research, so we don't start there.
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A few minutes of easy movement, a few ankle rocks and a few heel-elevated squats, as our sissy squat progression does.
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That turns it into a sit-back. Squeeze your glutes and keep one line from knees to head.
Lean only as far as you can come back from with control; use something behind you to stop on.
Pause, then pull up smoothly with your thighs.
Especially with your arms overhead: brace your stomach, and lean less.
Kneel on something soft, so you don't grind your kneecaps.
A band behind you adds load. For help, anchor it in front.
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The reverse Nordic is the kneeling relative and the easier step; the sissy squat stands on the balls of your feet and leans back further. Learn the reverse Nordic first, as our sissy squat guide says.
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Both train the quads with your hip straight. The leg extension is easier to load in small steps and has the growth trials; the reverse Nordic needs no machine but needs comfortable kneeling. Our leg extension guide covers the machine.
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The Nordic curl lowers you forwards on your hamstrings, with your ankles held; our Nordic curl guide covers it. Different muscles, the same idea.
Bodyweight single-leg and split squats matched reverse Nordic quad activity, and in a short range it tied with the half squat. It's one quad exercise among several, not a harder one.
The Spanish squat, a tendon-friendly hold, 4 to 5 holds of 30 to 45 seconds; knee-to-wall ankle rocks, 10 slow rocks per side, for deep knee bends; the standing quad stretch and the kneeling hip flexor stretch, 20 to 30 seconds, 2 to 4 times each side (all their move pages' doses). Patrick step-downs, 8 slow reps each side, and split squats with your front knee forward, 2 sets of 8 each side (our knee strengthening workout; those move pages give no dose).
3D demoSpanish squat (band squat hold)Intermediate · A band + An anchor point
3D demoPatrick step-downIntermediate · A step
3D demoSplit squatIntermediate · No equipment
3D demoKnee-to-wall ankle rockBeginner · A wall
3D demoStanding quad stretchBeginner · A wall
3D demoKneeling lunge hip flexor stretchBeginner · No equipmentOur knee strengthening workout uses the reverse Nordic in its full-range block, 2 sets of 3 to 5, a small range at first. The sissy squat progression has it as steps 1 and 2 of its ladder, with arms overhead. The leg day and machine leg workouts use leg extensions, which a reverse Nordic can replace if you have no machine (our suggestion), and our Australian football workout uses 2 sets of 5.
A 25-minute session for knees that don't currently hurt: thigh and hamstring strength, single-leg control, then an optional full-range block with knees over toes.
25 minBeginner13 movesA bench or box, A wallBuild to a sissy squat: knee and ankle prep, the reverse Nordic, sissy squats holding a support, then the weighted version, with a single-leg step-down.
25 minIntermediate8 movesA wall, A stepA gym leg day: back squats, leg press, leg curls, Bulgarian split squats, leg extensions and calf raises.
55 minIntermediate9 movesA wall, A barbellA 45-minute leg day on machines only: the leg press, then leg extensions and seated leg curls for the muscles it misses, hip abduction and calf presses.
45 minBeginner10 movesCardio machine, Strength machineA 55-minute footy strength session: accelerations and bounds, squats, split squats, bench press, chin-ups, Nordics, reverse Nordics, Copenhagens and neck holds.
55 minIntermediate14 movesA wall, A barbellThis plan's leg day has leg extensions; a reverse Nordic is the no-machine swap, as our sissy squat guide suggests.
Leave it out, as the move page says. Leg extensions, seated knee extensions or the Spanish squat train the quads without kneeling.
In the early stages of quadriceps tendinopathy, jumper's knee and knee pain when kneeling, leave it out, as those guides say, and bring it back late and in a small range.
That can be bursitis, which kneeling makes worse. Leave reverse Nordics out and see our knee bursitis guide.
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A teenager with pain at the bump below the kneecap, or at its lower tip, should follow our Osgood-Schlatter or Sinding-Larsen-Johansson guide instead, as our sissy squat guide says.
Only when your surgical team allows deep bending and kneeling; our knee surgery guides list it as a "not yet".
Leave out exercises that focus on lowering a heavy load unless your neuromuscular team advises them, as the move page says.
Our quad strain guide brings reverse Nordics in at its last stage, 2 to 3 sets of 5 to 8, leaning only a short way at first; in its lengthening work, stop just before pain. NHS inform advises avoiding sport or heavy lifting until you have less discomfort and good movement.
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If you get chest pain or pressure, feel faint or dizzy, are unusually breathless, or your heart races or beats irregularly during exercise, as our plans advise. The American Heart Association says these need immediate medical evaluation.
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For chest pain that comes on suddenly and doesn't go away, feels tight or like squeezing, spreads to your arms, neck, jaw, stomach or back, or comes with sweating, feeling sick, light-headedness or breathlessness; arm pain that comes on suddenly with pressure, heaviness or squeezing across your chest; severe difficulty breathing, or a chest that feels tight or heavy; someone who faints while exercising; palpitations that don't go away, or come with chest pain, shortness of breath or feeling faint; or a headache that starts suddenly and is extremely painful, especially while lifting or straining. The NHS says a bleed on the brain may be more likely when lifting something heavy. Don't drive yourself to A&E.
Ask for an urgent GP appointment or get help from NHS 111 for a headache that's triggered or made worse by coughing, sneezing, bending down or exercising.
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A pop or tearing feeling at the front of the knee, then you can't straighten it or lift the straight leg, there's a dent above or below the kneecap, or the kneecap sits higher or lower than the other: go to A&E or an urgent treatment centre, or get help from NHS 111. A torn quadriceps or patellar tendon does best repaired soon; our patellar tendon rupture guide explains.
Get advice from NHS 111 if your knee is very painful, you can't move it or put weight on it, it's badly swollen or has changed shape, it locks, gives way or clicks painfully (painless clicking is normal), or it's hot and red and you have a high temperature. See a GP if knee pain doesn't improve within a few weeks.
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A sudden sharp pain in the front of the thigh: stop. Get help from NHS 111 if it's very painful or getting worse, the swelling or bruising is large or growing, or you can't put weight on it or walk more than a few steps. Call 999 or go to A&E if you heard a crack, the leg has changed shape, or it's numb or tingling.
Very sore, swollen, tight muscles and dark urine after an unusually hard or high-rep session need medical help the same day: it could be rhabdomyolysis, as our elbow pain from pull-ups guide explains. Normal soreness peaks a day or two after a new exercise and fades.
See a GP if you think you have a hernia, a bulge or lump that may get bigger when you strain and smaller when you lie down. Get help from NHS 111 if you have a hernia and pain in or around it, a bloated tummy, you feel or are sick, you're vomiting blood or your vomit looks like coffee grounds, you're constipated, you have a high temperature or feel hot, cold or shivery, or you've suddenly become confused. Call 999 or go to A&E for a femoral hernia (a small lump at the top of your thigh, in your groin) with very bad tummy pain, sickness, being unable to fart or poo, a high temperature or sudden confusion.
The NHS lists lifting heavy weights among the causes of a femoral hernia. After an inguinal hernia repair, avoid heavy lifting or strenuous activity for at least 4 to 6 weeks.
Speak to your GP first if you haven't exercised for some time or have medical conditions or concerns, as the NHS advises. Get advice before hard or straining work if your blood pressure is uncontrolled (140/90 or higher at a clinic, or 135/85 at home), or you have heart disease or chest pain when you're active, a pacemaker or defibrillator, diabetic eye disease, glaucoma, a hernia, recent eye or tummy surgery, or you're pregnant, as our breathing guide lists.
With controlled high blood pressure, the American Heart Association considers low- to moderate-intensity strength training with proper breathing safe: breathe out as you lift.
No study has measured knee loads in the exercise, and no harm was reported in short, mostly youth studies. Deep knee bending under quad load does raise the load behind the kneecap, and healthy knees adapt to deep bending. So it's a demanding knee exercise to build up gradually, not a proven risk; leave it out if kneeling hurts.
No study has measured knee pain or injury after training them. For patellar tendon pain, a progressive pain-guided programme beat lowering-focused squats, and our knee pain guides have the plans.
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Untested: the only prevention trial was registered in 2020 and never reported. The idea is plausible, because rectus femoris strains happen when the muscle is stretched under load while kicking and the exercise lengthened its fibres, but plausible isn't proven.
The quads do the work; "reverse Nordic hamstring curl" is a leftover name.
It's strengthening through a lengthened position. One single-session trial found no difference from static stretching, and no training study has measured flexibility afterwards, though lowering-focused training in general improves flexibility.
No established prerequisites exist; the studies started untrained men and 12-year-olds at a short range and built up. Start small.
Bodyweight single-leg squats and split squats matched them, and in a short range they tied with the half squat as the lightest of seven bodyweight exercises.
Kneel tall on a pad with your hips straight, cross your arms and lean back slowly, bending only at your knees, in one line from knees to head. Go only as far as you can come back from, then pull yourself upright with the front of your thighs.
The quadriceps at the front of your thigh, including the rectus femoris, which also crosses your hip and stays stretched because your hips are straight. Your glutes and stomach hold the straight line. Despite the name, not the hamstrings.
No study has measured knee loads in them, and no harm was reported in short, mostly youth studies, but bending your knee deeply under load does load the joint behind your kneecap. Healthy knees adapt: build the range up slowly, kneel on padding, and leave them out if kneeling hurts.
They aren't a proven treatment. For tendon pain below the kneecap, a progressive programme guided by pain did better than lowering-focused squats, and our jumper's knee guide starts with holds. Keep tendon pain to 3 out of 10 or less.
In 26 young men, 8 weeks lengthened and thickened the rectus femoris, though the study had no control group and the changes faded within 4 weeks of stopping. Muscle activity was similar to bodyweight single-leg and split squats.
Lean back only a short way, put a bench or cushion behind you to stop on, or hold a band anchored in front of you. Leg extensions and a heel-elevated squat build the same muscles first.
Lean further first, then reach your arms overhead, leaning back less at first. Once you can go to the floor and back for 10 or more, hold a light plate at your chest.
Start with 2 sets of 3 to 5 in a small range, twice a week, and build over weeks to 2 or 3 sets of 6 to 10, lowering over 3 to 4 seconds. The main study built from 2 sets of 6 to 3 sets of 10 to 12 over 8 weeks.
We don't know: the only trial was registered in 2020 and never reported. Quad strains mostly happen when kicking, and our quad strain guide uses reverse Nordics in its last stage.
They strengthen the quads through a lengthened position rather than stretch them. One single-session study found no difference from a static stretch, and no study has measured flexibility after training them.
The reverse Nordic is the kneeling relative and the easier step; the sissy squat stands on the balls of your feet and leans back further. Learn the reverse Nordic first, as our sissy squat guide says.
Both train the quads with your hip straight. The leg extension is easier to load in small steps and has the muscle-growth trials; the reverse Nordic needs no machine but needs comfortable kneeling.
Exercise education, not a personal prescription, and clinical review of these guides is pending. Check with a GP before starting hard training if you have a heart condition, chest pain, dizziness or breathlessness when active, and stop for sharp or increasing pain. Health disclaimer.
