Leg curl exercise: Muscle worked, Health Benefits, How to do?
Leg curl exercise is an important exercise to strengthen your Hamstring and calf muscles. This exercise have many health benefits and improve your leg performance.
What is leg curl exercise?
This is an isolation exercise that will target the back of the leg (the hamstrings and calf muscles). It can be done in a variety of positions and makes a good addition to most any lower limb strength training workout. This is the best exercise to improve knee bending after injury to the femur bone.This exercise also known as a knee curl exercise.
Which muscles is used to perform a leg curls exercise?
- Hamstring group of muscles such as biceps femoris, semitendinosus, and semimembranosus.
- Calves (Gastrocnemius , Soleus)
Health Benefits of Leg Curl exercise.
- Helps to improve knee flexion and hip extension range of motion.
- Helps to strengthen the back of leg muscles such as the hamstring and calves.
- Helps to improve balance.
- Boost stamina.
- maintain flexibility of the hip joint.
- Helps to prevent back, knee, and hip injuries.
How to Do Leg Curls in perfect form?
- For this exercise, you have to lie down with your face down on the leg curl machine.
- Extend your leg fully. a roller pad a few inches over the calf, just above the heels.
- Hold the supporter handles on both sides of the machine. breath out and bend your knees, pulling your ankles as close to your butt as you can.
- Keep your hips firmly on the machine. Hold for 5 to 10 seconds.
- Breath in as you return your feet to the initial position in a slow and smooth movement.
- You have to complete 10 to 15 repetitions of 2 to 3 sets.
There have different Variations of Leg Curl exercise.
Standing Leg Curl
For Beginners standing leg, curl is a good choice. This variation requires less hamstring strength because you perform this without weights.
How to do it?
- For doing standing leg curls, you have to stand with feet hip-width apart. move your weight onto one leg and flexed the knee, take that foot closer to the buttocks.
- Lower down the leg and do this on the other side.
- You have to complete 2 to 3 sets of 10 to 15 repetitions.
- Then go for another leg.
Standing Leg Curl With Resistance Band
How to do it?
- If you have no gym equipment to strengthen the hamstring then go for resistance band standing leg curl.
- For this variation, you have to wrap the band just above the ankles and lift your leg against the resistance.
- You have to complete 2 to 3 sets of 10 to 15 repetitions. then go for another leg.
Seated Leg Curl
If you have lower back and neck pain issues, if you have difficulty in a prone position then this variation is best for you.
How to do it?
- When you perform seated leg curls, the thigh pad should rest just above the knees and the lower leg pad directly place below the calves.
- While holding the machine handles, you have to push the downward side with the lower leg pad, pulling it as close to your buttocks as you can.
- Hold this position for 4 to 5 seconds, then return to the initial position.
Nordic Hamstring Curl
In this variation your lower leg is stationary and you have to move your body. Other curl variations need your leg to move and body in the stationary phase. this will reduce the risk of a hamstring injury.
How to do it?
- This variation involves kneeling on the ground and placing the ankles under a non-movable object then you have to lean forward from the knee joint.
- Because you must control your body’s forward lean position, this variation requires more core muscle strength than the other variations of a leg curl.
- Counter leg curls with leg extensions to strengthen your body in a balanced way.
Alternative exercises of leg curls.
Stiff leg dead lift
For this exercise, you need a barbell or a pair of dumbbells.
How to do it?
- For this exercise, you have to stand with feet hip-width apart by grabbing a barbell in an overhead grip. knees should be slightly flexed and you have to maintain slight flexion in the knee throughout the movement.
- You have to bend from the hip joint and lower the barbell, your back should be straight, you have to bend until you feel stretch in your glutes and hamstrings hold at this position for a couple of seconds then smoothly straighten back up.
- Your barbell should be closed to your body throughout the exercise. you have to complete 10 to 25 repetitions of 3 to 4 sets.
- You can also do this same movement by holding a dumbbells in both hands.
Kettlebell swings
For this exercise, you need a kettlebell
How to do it?
- Put a kettlebell on the floor in front of your foot, you have to stand slightly lower than your foot hip-width. grab the kettlebell in both hands.
- Your arm should be straight and engage your core muscles. shift your whole weight to the heels and lower your buttocks back and down towards the floor.
- Drive through your heels to explore a weight in the air. you have to swing the kettlebell up to chest height with your arm is straightened.
- When you take a kettlebell down let the body weight move for the next repetitions.
- Do 10 to 15 repetitions for 2 to 3 sets.
Barbell Good mornings
How to do it?
- For this exercise you have to stand with feet hip-width apart, your knees should be slightly flexed.
- Place a barbell on your shoulder joint so it rests on trapezius muscles. now engage your abdominal and take a breath in.
- Now breath out when your hip hinges to move backward and upper body forward side.
- You should move your upper body forward until your upper body is parallel to the ground.
- Take a breath in and go to the initial position.
- Do 10 to 15 repetitions for 2 to 3 sets.
Glute bridge
How to do it?
- For this exercise, you have to lie on the floor face up on the ground. your knees should be flexed and your foot put on the floor. your arms are placed by your side. now raise your hips off the floor, until your knees, shoulder, and hip form a straight line.
- Hold this position for 5 to 10 seconds.
- Then slowly lower down your hip.
- Do 10 to 15 repetitions for 2 to 3 sets.
These Common Mistakes happen while performing leg curls.
You should avoid these mistakes to get more benefits from the exercise.
Leg Pad Too High
If the leg pad lever is higher on your calf, this will put more pressure on your Achilles tendon and decrease your range of motion. if you first time tries leg curls, you have to visit a trainer or fitness instructor to show you the correct position and help you to adjust the roller pad if needed for your workout.
Not Using the Right Weight
To properly do a leg curl, always initiate with less weight. You do not want to force your body to overcompensate by raising the hips and flexing your spine. This fails to isolate the calf and hamstrings and can lead to injury to your back.
Select a weight that allows you to do 10 to 12 repetitions with reasonable effort and good form.
If you want to build muscle mass, gradually increase the amount of weight as you get stronger. However, keep in mind that if your goal is to increase power and performance, you don’t want to overload the weights.
When did you not do this exercise?
- If you feel any pain or discomfort during this exercise then stop immediately and visit your healthcare provider.
- If you are recovered from any injury or surgery of the back and neck.
- If you have a recent injury to the hip and knee.
- If your ligament has recently ruptured.
