Reverse Nordic Curl

Muscles worked by the Reverse Nordic Curl

Primary

QuadsQuadriceps Femoris

Secondary

Hip FlexorsHip Flexor MusclesAbsRectus Abdominis

Also called: quad, quads, quadriceps, quadriceps femoris, front thigh.

Equipment

No equipment — this is a bodyweight exercise.

How to do the Reverse Nordic Curl

1. Kneel on a pad with your feet flat and torso upright.
2. Keep your hips extended and core braced.
3. Slowly lean your torso backward while keeping your body in a straight line.
4. Lower as far as you can control with your quadriceps.
5. Pull yourself back up to the starting position.
6. Repeat for the desired number of reps.

Form tips

• Keep your hips extended throughout — don't let them fold.
• Lower only as far as you can control.
• Use a pad under the knees for comfort.

At a glance

Reverse Nordic Curl in German & Spanish

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

Related exercises

• Leg Extension
• Single Leg Extension
• Banded Squat
• Banded Terminal Knee Extension
• Barbell Back Squat
• Barbell Lunge
• Barbell Reverse Lunge
• Bench Bulgarian Split Stretch

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": "reverse-nordic-curl",
  "name_en": "Reverse Nordic Curl",
  "name_de": "Reverse Nordic Curl",
  "name_es": "Nordic Curl Inverso",
  "description_en": "A bodyweight quadriceps exercise performed kneeling, leaning the torso backward under control while keeping the hips extended.",
  "description_de": "Eine Kniebeuge-Übung mit dem eigenen Körpergewicht für den Quadrizeps, bei der der Oberkörper im Knien kontrolliert nach hinten geneigt wird, während die Hüfte gestreckt bleibt.",
  "description_es": "Un ejercicio de cuádriceps con el propio peso corporal, arrodillado, inclinando el torso hacia atrás con control mientras se mantiene la cadera extendida.",
  "category": "strength",
  "force_type": "pull",
  "mechanic": "isolation",
  "difficulty": "intermediate",
  "body_part": "upper_legs",
  "primary_muscles": [
    "quadriceps"
  ],
  "secondary_muscles": [
    "hip_flexors",
    "rectus_abdominis"
  ],
  "goals": [
    "hypertrophy"
  ],
  "tags": [
    "lower_back_safe",
    "shoulder_safe",
    "no_axial_load",
    "knee_safe"
  ],
  "variation_group": "leg-extension",
  "is_unilateral": false,
  "is_bodyweight": true,
  "instructions_en": [
    "Kneel on a pad with your feet flat and torso upright.",
    "Keep your hips extended and core braced.",
    "Slowly lean your torso backward while keeping your body in a straight line.",
    "Lower as far as you can control with your quadriceps.",
    "Pull yourself back up to the starting position.",
    "Repeat for the desired number of reps."
  ],
  "instructions_de": [
    "Knie dich auf ein Polster mit flachen Füßen und aufrechtem Oberkörper.",
    "Halte die Hüfte gestreckt und den Rumpf angespannt.",
    "Neige den Oberkörper langsam nach hinten, während der Körper eine gerade Linie bildet.",
    "Senke dich so weit ab, wie du es mit dem Quadrizeps kontrollieren kannst.",
    "Ziehe dich zurück in die Ausgangsposition.",
    "Wiederhole für die gewünschte Anzahl an Wiederholungen."
  ],
  "instructions_es": [
    "Arrodíllate sobre una almohadilla con los pies planos y el torso erguido.",
    "Mantén la cadera extendida y el core activado.",
    "Inclina el torso lentamente hacia atrás manteniendo el cuerpo en línea recta.",
    "Baja tanto como puedas controlar con el cuádriceps.",
    "Vuelve a subir a la posición inicial.",
    "Repite el número de repeticiones deseado."
  ],
  "tips_en": [
    "Keep your hips extended throughout — don't let them fold.",
    "Lower only as far as you can control.",
    "Use a pad under the knees for comfort."
  ],
  "tips_de": [
    "Halte die Hüfte durchgehend gestreckt — lass sie nicht einknicken.",
    "Senke dich nur so weit ab, wie du es kontrollieren kannst.",
    "Nutze ein Polster unter den Knien für mehr Komfort."
  ],
  "tips_es": [
    "Mantén la cadera extendida en todo momento, sin que se doble.",
    "Baja solo hasta donde puedas controlar el movimiento.",
    "Usa una almohadilla bajo las rodillas para mayor comodidad."
  ],
  "met": 3.5,
  "images": {
    "flat": {
      "start": "images/flat/reverse-nordic-curl-start.webp",
      "peak": "images/flat/reverse-nordic-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 === "reverse-nordic-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.