Nordic Hamstring Curl

Muscles worked by the Nordic Hamstring Curl

Primary

HamstringsHamstring Muscles

Secondary

CalvesGastrocnemiusGlutesGluteus Maximus

Also called: hamstring, hamstrings, posterior thigh, biceps femoris.

Equipment

Glute Ham Developer

Also called: ghd, glute ham raise machine, ghr bench, nordic curl bench, russian glute ham, hyperextension bench.

How to do the Nordic Hamstring Curl

1. Kneel on a pad with your ankles anchored under a fixed support.
2. Keep your torso upright and your hips extended.
3. Slowly lower your body forward by resisting with your hamstrings.
4. Catch yourself with your hands just before hitting the floor.
5. Push back up and pull yourself to the starting position.
6. Repeat for the desired number of reps.

Form tips

• Lower as slowly as possible — the eccentric is the point.
• Keep your hips extended; do not fold at the waist.
• Catch yourself with your hands and push off lightly while building strength.

At a glance

Nordic Hamstring Curl in German & Spanish

Descriptions, instructions and tips ship in all three languages in the JSON.

Related exercises

• Lying Leg Curl
• Banded Hamstring Stretch
• Bench Hamstring Stretch
• Good Morning
• Kettlebell Swing
• Romanian Deadlift

Exercise data (JSON)

The record below is exactly what exercises.json ships for this exercise — names, descriptions, instructions and tips in English, German and Spanish.

{
  "id": "nordic-hamstring-curl",
  "name_en": "Nordic Hamstring Curl",
  "name_de": "Nordic Hamstring Curl",
  "name_es": "Curl Nórdico de Isquiotibiales",
  "description_en": "A knee-flexion exercise lowering the torso forward from a kneeling position, working the hamstrings eccentrically.",
  "description_de": "Eine Kniebeugung, bei der der Oberkörper aus dem Kniestand langsam nach vorn abgesenkt wird — trainiert die Beinbeuger exzentrisch.",
  "description_es": "Un ejercicio de flexión de rodilla bajando el torso hacia delante desde una posición arrodillada, trabajando los isquiotibiales de forma excéntrica.",
  "category": "strength",
  "force_type": "pull",
  "mechanic": "isolation",
  "difficulty": "advanced",
  "equipment": "glute_ham_developer",
  "body_part": "upper_legs",
  "primary_muscles": [
    "hamstrings"
  ],
  "secondary_muscles": [
    "gastrocnemius",
    "gluteus_maximus"
  ],
  "goals": [
    "hypertrophy"
  ],
  "tags": [
    "lower_back_safe",
    "knee_safe",
    "shoulder_safe",
    "no_axial_load"
  ],
  "variation_group": "leg-curl",
  "is_unilateral": false,
  "is_bodyweight": false,
  "instructions_en": [
    "Kneel on a pad with your ankles anchored under a fixed support.",
    "Keep your torso upright and your hips extended.",
    "Slowly lower your body forward by resisting with your hamstrings.",
    "Catch yourself with your hands just before hitting the floor.",
    "Push back up and pull yourself to the starting position.",
    "Repeat for the desired number of reps."
  ],
  "instructions_de": [
    "Knie auf einer Matte, die Knöchel unter einer festen Halterung fixiert.",
    "Halte den Rumpf aufrecht und die Hüften gestreckt.",
    "Lass den Körper langsam nach vorne absinken und bremse mit den Beinbeugern.",
    "Fange dich mit den Händen kurz vor dem Boden ab.",
    "Drücke dich zurück und ziehe dich in die Ausgangsposition.",
    "Wiederhole für die gewünschte Anzahl an Wiederholungen."
  ],
  "instructions_es": [
    "Arrodíllate sobre una colchoneta con los tobillos anclados bajo un soporte fijo.",
    "Mantén el torso erguido y las caderas extendidas.",
    "Baja el cuerpo hacia adelante lentamente resistiendo con los isquiotibiales.",
    "Amortigua la caída con las manos justo antes de tocar el suelo.",
    "Empuja con las manos para volver y tírate hacia la posición inicial.",
    "Repite el número de repeticiones deseado."
  ],
  "tips_en": [
    "Lower as slowly as possible — the eccentric is the point.",
    "Keep your hips extended; do not fold at the waist.",
    "Catch yourself with your hands and push off lightly while building strength."
  ],
  "tips_de": [
    "Senke dich so langsam wie möglich ab — die exzentrische Phase ist der Sinn der Übung.",
    "Halte die Hüfte gestreckt und knicke nicht in der Taille ein.",
    "Fange dich mit den Händen ab und drücke dich leicht ab, solange du Kraft aufbaust."
  ],
  "tips_es": [
    "Baja tan despacio como sea posible: la fase excéntrica es el objetivo.",
    "Mantén las caderas extendidas; no te dobles por la cintura.",
    "Frénate con las manos y empuja ligeramente mientras ganas fuerza."
  ],
  "met": 5.0,
  "images": {
    "flat": {
      "start": "images/flat/nordic-hamstring-curl-start.webp",
      "peak": "images/flat/nordic-hamstring-curl-peak.webp"
    }
  }
}

Fetch just this exercise

const { exercises } = await fetch(
  "https://exercise-dataset.com/exercises.json"
).then(r => r.json());
const ex = exercises.find(e => e.id === "nordic-hamstring-curl");

Free for personal and commercial in-app use with attribution (“Exercise data by RepDB”) — see the license and ready-made attribution snippets. Redistributing the data as a dataset or API is not permitted.