Sliding Leg Curl
A floor hamstring curl from a bridge: lying on your back with your heels on sliders or towels, you hold your hips up and pull your heels toward your glutes, then slide them back out.
- Primary muscles
- Hamstrings
- Secondary
- Glutes, Abs
- Difficulty
- Beginner
- Logged as
- Reps
Loads from YouTube only when you press play. The video is by an independent creator.
Why do it
This is the no-machine way to train your hamstrings by bending your knees, while your glutes and abs hold the bridge. It suits home workouts and beginners, since you can make it easier by lowering your hips between reps or harder by curling one leg at a time. It's much less punishing than a Nordic curl, so it works well for higher reps and fits in more often.
How to do it
Lie on your back with your heels on sliders, towels or a smooth floor, legs straight.
Lift your hips into a bridge so your body forms a straight line from shoulders to heels.
Keep your hips up and pull your heels toward your glutes, bending your knees.
Slide your legs back out slowly without letting your hips drop. If it is too hard, lower your hips between reps.
Common mistakes
Letting your hips sag on the way out
Sliding back out is the hardest part, and that's where hips usually drop. Slide out slowly, and if your hips start to fall, lower them between reps instead.
Using a surface with too much grip
Towels on carpet or sliders on rubber flooring stick and turn the rep into a jerky pull. Use towels on a hard floor or sliders on carpet so your heels glide.
Arching your lower back
Holding your hips up by arching your back leaves your lower back doing the work your glutes should do. Keep your ribs down and lift from your glutes.
Only curling halfway
Stopping with your knees half bent misses the hard contraction near your glutes. Pull your heels in as far as you can while your hips stay high.
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.
