Prone Single-Leg Curl
The lying leg curl done one leg at a time: face down on the machine, you curl one heel toward your glutes while the other leg rests, then switch.
- Primary muscles
- Hamstrings
- Difficulty
- Beginner
- Logged as
- Weight × reps
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Why do it
Working one leg at a time shows you whether one hamstring is weaker and stops the stronger side from quietly doing extra work. It also makes it easier to focus on a slow, full curl with every rep. The trade-off is time, since every set is done twice. Start with your weaker leg and match its reps on the other side.
How to do it
Lie face down with your knees just past the edge of the pad and the roller resting just above your heels.
Grip the handles and keep your hips pressed into the bench.
Curl one heel up toward your glutes as far as the machine allows.
Lower slowly against the resistance and finish all reps before switching legs. If your hips lift off the pad, use less weight.
Common mistakes
Rolling onto one hip
With one leg working, it's easy to twist onto one hip as the heel comes up. Keep both hips pressed evenly into the pad and stop where you can still stay square.
Letting the resting leg help
Hooking the free foot under the roller turns it back into a two-leg curl. Let the resting leg lie still and out of the way.
Doing more reps on your strong side
Taking each side to failure often gives the stronger leg extra reps and keeps the gap. Start with the weaker leg and match that number on the other side.
Rushing the lowering
Single-leg sets tempt you to speed through to save time. Lower each rep slowly and stop just before your knee locks.
Sets, reps and progression
How many sets you do and how close to failure you take them depend on your goal and your week, not on the exercise. These guides cover it:
Alternatives that train the same thing
Same movement, a different angle or piece of equipment.
