Nordic Hamstring Curl

Move · Resistance Training · Movement, Typed Supps

There is no lifting phase at all — the whole exercise is losing to gravity as slowly as the hamstrings can manage.

Stage by stage

Set-up (Ankles fixed, hips extended): If the hips fold, the knee flexors unload and the descent becomes a controlled fall about the hip instead.
During the set (Supramaximal eccentric load): Bodyweight exceeds what the hamstrings can lift concentrically, so the muscle is overloaded from the first rep.
Immediately after (Marked muscle damage): Eccentric loading at this intensity produces severe soreness, which is why one to two sets a week is a full dose.
Months later (Break point extends, risk falls): The angle at which control is lost moves toward the floor, alongside reduced hamstring strain rates in field-sport trials.

Muscles trained

Primary: hamstrings
Secondary: abs, calves, hip flexors

Intensity

8 METs (Calisthenics (e.g., push ups, sit ups, pull-ups, jumping jacks), vigorous effort).

Time to effect

Weeks: The ability to control the lowering phase improves fast — most beginners can only resist gravity a few inches before losing control, and that range extends quickly with practice.
Months: Eccentric hamstring strength builds substantially, and research links consistent Nordic curl training to meaningfully lower rates of hamstring strain injuries in field-sport athletes.

Related supplements

Creatine Monohydrate

Common myth

"Nordic curls are only useful for elite athletes." In reality: The exercise is regularly used in youth and amateur sport programs too — multiple studies, including large trials in soccer, have found that a few sets of Nordic curls per week measurably reduces hamstring strain rates at essentially every level of play, not just professional.