Reverse Nordic
A kneeling bodyweight exercise for your quads: with your body straight from knees to head, you lean back slowly as far as you can control, then pull yourself upright.
- Primary muscles
- Quads
- Secondary
- Abs
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
- Logged as
- Reps
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Why do it
The reverse Nordic loads your quads hard in a long, stretched position, which is rare for a bodyweight exercise, so it suits home training, athletes and anyone who wants quad work without a machine. It mirrors the Nordic hamstring curl: you lean back instead of forward. Start with a short range and build it over weeks, because going too deep too soon leaves your quads very sore.
How to do it
Kneel on a pad with your knees hip-width apart, your shins flat and your torso upright.
Squeeze your glutes and keep your body in a straight line from knees to head.
Lean back slowly as far as you can control, bending only at the knees.
Pull yourself back up with your quads. Reduce the range and build it up over weeks; this stretches the quads harder than anything else.
Common mistakes
Bending at the hips
Letting your hips fold back toward your heels takes the stretch off your quads. Squeeze your glutes and keep a straight line from knees to head.
Going too deep too soon
Leaning back further than you can control leads to a collapse and very sore quads. Use a range you can return from smoothly and add a little each week.
Arching your lower back
Leaning back with your ribs flared shifts the strain to your lower back. Tuck your pelvis slightly, brace your abs and move as one piece.
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.
