10 Best Lying Leg Curls Alternatives for Limited Equipment
If you can’t access a lying leg curl machine, use alternatives that reproduce knee flexion or load the posterior chain. Top options: seated leg curl, standing cable curl, Swiss ball leg curl, Romanian deadlift, and Nordic hamstring curl. Cue: control the eccentric, drive through the heel, and feel the hamstrings lengthen under load.
Original Exercise: Lying Leg Curls
How to Perform Lying Leg Curls
- Adjust the machine lever to fit your height and lie face down on the leg curl machine with the pad of the lever on the back of your legs (just a few inches under the calves). Tip: Preferably use a leg curl machine that is angled as opposed to flat since an angled position is more favorable for hamstrings recruitment.
- Keeping the torso flat on the bench, ensure your legs are fully stretched and grab the side handles of the machine. Position your toes straight (or you can also use any of the other two stances described on the foot positioning section). This will be your starting position.
- As you exhale, curl your legs up as far as possible without lifting the upper legs from the pad. Once you hit the fully contracted position, hold it for a second.
- As you inhale, bring the legs back to the initial position. Repeat for the recommended amount of repetitions.
Pro Tips
- Category: Strength
- Force: Pull
- Movement type: Isolation
Best Lying Leg Curls Alternatives
1. Assisted Prone Hamstring
86% MatchHow to perform this exercise
- Lie face down on a mat or bench with your legs fully extended.
- Have a partner or use a resistance band to secure your ankles.
- Engage your hamstrings and lift your legs towards your glutes, keeping your knees straight.
- Pause for a moment at the top, then slowly lower your legs back down to the starting position.
- Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.
2. Dumbbell Lying Femoral
75.2% MatchHow to perform this exercise
- Lie flat on your back with your legs extended and a dumbbell resting on your lower abdomen.
- Bend your knees and bring the dumbbell towards your glutes, keeping your feet flat on the ground.
- Pause for a moment at the top, then slowly lower the dumbbell back to the starting position.
- Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.
3. Cable Assisted Inverse Leg Curl
75.2% MatchHow to perform this exercise
- Adjust the cable machine so that the ankle attachment is at the lowest setting.
- Lie face down on the bench with your legs straight and the ankle attachment secured to your ankles.
- Hold onto the handles of the bench for stability.
- Keeping your upper body stationary, exhale and curl your legs up towards your glutes by flexing your knees.
- Pause for a moment at the top of the movement, squeezing your hamstrings.
4. Cable Deadlifts
74.3% MatchHow to perform this exercise
- Move the cables to the bottom of the towers and select an appropriate weight. Stand directly in between the uprights.
- To begin, squat down be flexing your hips and knees until you can reach the handles.
- After grasping them, begin your ascent. Driving through your heels extend your hips and knees keeping your hands hanging at your side. Keep your head and chest up throughout the movement.
- After reaching a full standing position, Return to the starting position and repeat.
5. Clean Deadlift
69% MatchHow to perform this exercise
- Begin standing with a barbell close to your shins. Your feet should be directly under your hips with your feet turned out slightly. Grip the bar with a double overhand grip or hook grip, about shoulder width apart. Squat down to the bar. Your spine should be in full extension, with a back angle that places your shoulders in front of the bar and your back as vertical as possible.
- Begin by driving through the floor through the front of your heels. As the bar travels upward, maintain a constant back angle. Flare your knees out to the side to help keep them out of the bar's path.
- After the bar crosses the knees, complete the lift by driving the hips into the bar until your hips and knees are extended.
6. Band Good Morning (Pull Through)
63.6% MatchHow to perform this exercise
- Loop the band around a post. Standing a little ways away, loop the opposite end around the neck. Your hands can help hold the band in position.
- Begin by bending at the hips, getting your butt back as far as possible. Keep your back flat and bend forward to about 90 degrees. Your knees should be only slightly bent.
- Return to the starting position be driving through with the hips to come back to a standing position.
7. Clean
61.6% MatchHow to perform this exercise
- With a barbell on the floor close to the shins, take an overhand (or hook) grip just outside the legs. Lower your hips with the weight focused on the heels, back straight, head facing forward, chest up, with your shoulders just in front of the bar. This will be your starting position.
- Begin the first pull by driving through the heels, extending your knees. Your back angle should stay the same, and your arms should remain straight. Move the weight with control as you continue to above the knees.
- Next comes the second pull, the main source of acceleration for the clean. As the bar approaches the mid-thigh position, begin extending through the hips. In a jumping motion, accelerate by extending the hips, knees, and ankles, using speed to move the bar upward. There should be no need to actively pull through the arms to accelerate the weight; at the end of the second pull, the body should be fully extended, leaning slightly back, with the arms still extended.
- As full extension is achieved, transition into the third pull by aggressively shrugging and flexing the arms with the elbows up and out. At peak extension, aggressively pull yourself down, rotating your elbows under the bar as you do so. Receive the bar in a front squat position, the depth of which is dependent upon the height of the bar at the end of the third pull. The bar should be racked onto the protracted shoulders, lightly touching the throat with the hands relaxed. Continue to descend to the bottom squat position, which will help in the recovery.
8. Band Good Morning
60.9% MatchHow to perform this exercise
- Using a 41 inch band, stand on one end, spreading your feet a small amount. Bend at the hips to loop the end of the band behind your neck. This will be your starting position.
- Keeping your legs straight, extend through the hips to come to a near vertical position.
- Ensure that you do not round your back as you go down back to the starting position.
9. Ball Leg Curl
60.7% MatchHow to perform this exercise
- Begin on the floor laying on your back with your feet on top of the ball.
- Position the ball so that when your legs are extended your ankles are on top of the ball. This will be your starting position.
- Raise your hips off of the ground, keeping your weight on the shoulder blades and your feet.
- Flex the knees, pulling the ball as close to you as you can, contracting the hamstrings.
- After a brief pause, return to the starting position.
10. Double Kettlebell Alternating Hang Clean
57.6% MatchHow to perform this exercise
- Place two kettlebells between your feet. To get in the starting position, push your butt back and look straight ahead.
- Clean one kettlebell to your shoulder and hold on to the other kettlebell.
- With a fluid motion, lower the top kettlebell while driving the bottom kettlebell up.
Why You Might Need a Lying Leg Curls Alternative
You might substitute lying leg curls for equipment limits, knee or lumbar pain, or to vary stimulus. Lying curls isolate knee flexion and bias short-range hamstring fibers; hip-hinge movements like RDLs shift force to long-head hamstrings and glutes, useful when you want more posterior-chain integration. For tendinopathy or knee sensitivity, choose exercises with a slower eccentric and less terminal knee flexion, such as controlled Nordic lowers or cable curls with light load. Technique cues: keep a neutral spine during hip hinges and emphasize a slow 2–4 second lowering phase to increase eccentric hamstring activation.
How to Choose the Right Substitute
Match the substitute to your goal and constraints. If you need isolation for hypertrophy, pick seated leg curls or standing cable curls (cue: keep hips square and curl through the heels). If you want strength and hip extension, use Romanian deadlifts or single-leg RDLs (cue: hinge at the hips, maintain a neutral spine and a slight knee bend). For bodyweight or eccentric overload, use Nordic hamstring curls (cue: anchor the ankles and lower slowly). Consider equipment, joint pain, desired range of motion, and whether you need unilateral work for balance and injury prevention.
Frequently Asked Questions
What muscles does Lying Leg Curls work?
Lying leg curls primarily target the hamstrings—biceps femoris, semitendinosus, and semimembranosus—via knee flexion. They place less emphasis on the glutes because the hip remains extended; cue: pull the heels toward the glutes while keeping hips pressed to the pad to maximize hamstring contraction.
What is the best bodyweight alternative to Lying Leg Curls?
The Nordic hamstring curl is the top bodyweight alternative because it forces high eccentric hamstring activation. Anchor your ankles, hinge from the knees, and lower slowly while resisting with your hamstrings; this emphasizes eccentric control and builds strength even without machines.
Can I build muscle without doing Lying Leg Curls?
Yes. Use progressive overload with other hamstring-focused movements like RDLs, single-leg RDLs, glute-ham raises, and cable curls. Emphasize tempo (slow eccentrics), full range of motion, and gradually increase load or volume to stimulate hypertrophy.
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