Lying Leg Curl

The lying leg curl is a highly popular and effective exercise that aims to tone and strengthen the hamstrings, the muscles that stretch from the back of the hip to the back of the knee. This exercise can be easily done both by men and women unlike the Stiff leg deadlift which most women don’t favor.

It is important to perform lying leg curls carefully and correctly in order to avoid injury or strain to the knee and the back. A pulled hamstring is a common injury associated with this exercise and it can put you out of action for a while.

Equipment:

You will need a leg curl machine and you will be performing this exercise lying on your stomach.

How to do the Lying Leg Curls

Starting Position

• Stand facing the bench, between the bench and lever pads
• Adjust the lever to fit your height
• Use weights that you are comfortable with.
• Lie on your stomach on the bench and insert your legs below the pads so that the pads of the lever lie at the back of your ankles
• Keep your knees slightly bent and position your toes straight down
• Grasp the handles of the machine

Movement

• Keep the body flat against the machine with chin resting on the machine and eyes looking forward
• Exhale and curl your legs up as far as they would go without lifting the upper portion of the legs off the machine
• Squeeze the hamstrings at the top of the movement
• Hold the position for two seconds
• Inhale as you bring your legs back to the starting position slowly
• Do not rest. Do the next rep until muscular failure is reached

Tips

• Use a machine that is angled in a slightly ‘V’ position as this is more suited to targeting the hamstrings than a flat machine
• Keep your torso on the machine as this reduces the tension on your lower back
• Curl the weight as high as you can
• Aim for a full stretch at the bottom
• Do not rest when you reach the bottom of the movement. This keeps the tension on the hamstrings and gives you maximum benefit
• Bring legs down in a controlled manner. Swinging, jerking movements can cause injury to the lower back

Variation:

Advanced users may perform the same exercise using just one leg at a time. This provides better isolation of the muscles.

Another variation is to perform the movement using dumbbells instead of the machine, provided a partner can place the dumbbells in the right position.

In Conclusion:

The lying leg curl exercise can firm up the butt and tone the legs, removing unwanted flab and making these hard to reach areas firm and supple. These isolation exercises do not put too much stress on the lower back if done properly.

The drawback is that many trainees may find it difficult to progress to higher weights with lying leg curls. So, you may end up using much lesser weights when doing leg curls than other exercises for the hamstrings.

Another leg exercise that you may find useful is the Hack squat exercise.
ManicMuscle Recommends

Vince Delmonte’s No Nonsense Muscle Building program. Judging by popularity, this is likely the best and most loved muscle building program online today.

There’s good reason why this program is so well liked: Vince Delmonte provides a massive amount of information for bodybuilders in a friendly and no nonsense way. You will learn everything you need to know about getting strong and ripped: everything from nutrition guidelines, through a special workout software, meal plans, and workout manuals, to a detailed rundown of the popular supplements on the market these days and which you really need to build muscles and get lean.

For a complete review of this program, visit: Vince Delmonte’s No Nonsense Muscle Building Review