A hamstring strain injury is one of the worst injuries an athlete or even a regular gym goer can experience.
More coaches have started implementing the Nordic ham curl leg exercise for rehabilitation purposes.
Based on my experience as a certified personal trainer and 35 hours of extensive research, I collected the most important information regarding the Nordic inverse leg curl exercise.
After reading the article, you will know what a Nordic hamstring curl is, its benefits, muscles worked, and how to perform them correctly with perfect form.
Quick Summary
- Nordic hamstring exercise is the lower body exercise that builds knee flexion strength through isolating muscles such as the biceps femoris, semitendinosus, and semimembranosus.
- To perform Nordic hamstring, one of the best hamstring exercises, you should only move from your knees and fixate both hips and ankles to prevent the movement.
- The benefits of regularly performing hamstring curls include building stronger hamstring muscles, decreasing the risk of posterior chain-related injuries, improving athletic performance and execution of similar other exercises, and adding versatility to your workout.
What Is a Nordic Hamstring Curl?
It is a preventive and strengthening lower body posterior chain exercise targeting hamstring muscles such as the biceps femoris, semitendinosus, and semimembranosus.
The Nordic hamstring is widely used for rehabilitation after hamstring strain injuries, both with athletes and regular people.
In addition, a Nordic hamstring curl is an advanced lower-body exercise requiring substantial strength.
The Nordic hamstring curl is also a great leg curl alternative.
How to Do It?
Here is how to do the Nordic hamstring curl:
- Ask a partner to hold your legs during the hamstring curl exercise for a couple of reps.
- Kneel down and ask your partner to put pressure on your calves so you can lower your upper body without your legs lifting.
- Cross your arms on the chest, making an “X,” and ensure your hips are neutral and don’t create a substantial angle between the upper and lower body. They should be as straight as possible.
- Start the exercise by lowering your body towards the floor by only performing the knee flexion while your partner holds your legs.
- When you feel like you can’t hold anymore, drop your body on the floor but amortize it with your hands to avoid injuries.
- Get back up in the starting position and repeat.
- Repeat for 6 reps, 3 sets, and rest for 2-3 minutes between the sets.
Assisted Nordic Hamstring Curls – Exercise Regression
Assisted Nordic hamstring curl is a regressive exercise to the original hamstring curl exercise that will help you build initial strength before trying a more advanced version.
It is performed with the help of a quality resistance band, which will create tension as you go down toward the floor.
The band tension will create sufficient force in the opposite direction so you can continue to lower your body without dropping due to limited posterior chain strength.
Wrap the resistance band around your body and on the rack or some solid object behind you to perform assisted Nordic hamstring curls.
4 Benefits of This Exercise
Below are the most important Nordic hamstring curl benefits.
"The Nordic ham curl is currently enjoying a bout of phase-two popularity that’s been spurred by a slew of studies that have shown they’re great for hamstring hypertrophy, increase eccentric strength, and vastly decrease the odds of getting a hamstring injury."
- Nick English, Certified Personal Trainer
Build Stronger Hamstring Muscles
The Nordic hamstring will strengthen your lower-body posterior chain muscles. These muscles include the biceps femoris, semitendinosus, and semimembranosus.
Strong posterior chain lower-body muscles prevent hamstring strains and similar lower-body injuries.
Building stronger hamstring muscles will reduce the chance of injury, improve your running speed, and build a more stable and functional lower body.
Can Decrease Your Risk of Injury
Nordic hamstring curls can decrease the risk of injury associated with hamstring strains and knee-related issues [1].
You should incorporate one session per week of exercising your hamstring muscles with Nordic hamstring curls.
This will strengthen your posterior chain and lower the potential of future strains.
Nordic hamstring curls are demanding, so sticking with three sets of six reps is advisable for beginners and less experienced athletes and gym goers.
Can Improve Performance During Other Exercises
Nordic hamstring correlates well with performance carryover to other biomechanically similar lower body exercises [2].
For example, having strong hamstrings from Nordic hamstring exercise will drastically improve your control during single-leg Romanian deadlifts and good mornings.
Also, you can efficiently perform the hamstring sliders exercise, which is a derivative of the Nordic hamstring curl done with sliders on the floor.
Versatile
Nordic hamstring curls will likely add versatility to your lower body training and avoid monotony, the worst factor for workout motivation and long-term discipline.
You can use other well-known and researched Nordic curl variations, such as unilateral and bilateral hamstring sliders, which are excellent for athletes in running and jumping.
Workout versatility is crucial for maintaining stable and unchanged training intensity.
It will help you, in the long run, to develop stronger and more functional hamstring muscles and the posterior chain as a whole.
FAQs
Are Nordics Good for Hamstrings?
Yes, the Nordics are good for the hamstrings. To prevent hamstring injuries, nordic hamstring exercises will fixate the portion below your knee joint, so you can strengthen the biceps femoris, semitendinosus, and semimembranosus muscles.
Do Nordics Lengthen Hamstrings?
Nordics don’t lengthen your hamstrings. The Nordic hamstring is excellent for preventing hamstring strain injuries, but to lengthen your hamstrings, you must incorporate flexibility and mobility exercises specifically for that group of muscles.
Why Are Nordics So Hard?
Nordics are so hard because they don’t include your hip in the movement. The hamstring muscle, such as the biceps femoris, is responsible for the majority of force produced and is one of the best injury-prevention exercises for athletes.
How Can I Ensure Progress and Recovery for Nordic Hamstring Curls?
You can ensure progress and recovery for Nordic hamstring curls by consuming high-quality whey protein powder after each hamstring injury prevention workout session.
Eating enough protein, especially whey protein, can quickly enable your body to start revitalizing and recovering strained and fatigued knee flexor muscles used in the Nordic hamstring exercise.
The whey protein powder enters your bloodstream quickly, allowing your body to become anabolic as fast as possible.
Read our guides on the best protein powders on the market to pick the one that will suit your personal needs and goals the best:
Let me know how you incorporate the Nordic hamstring curl exercise and with which goal in mind.
References:
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30808663/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6942028/
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