The Lying Leg Curl is a beginner-friendly machine strength exercise that targets the hamstrings, with the calves working alongside. Here's how to do it right — and what to stop doing.
Primary musclesHamstrings
Secondary musclesCalves
EquipmentMachine
LevelBeginner
TypeStrength
3D demo in the EGON app
01 Execution
How to do the Lying Leg Curl
Set the ankle pad so it rests just above your heels and adjust the machine to your height.
Lie face down with your torso flat and your knees at the edge of the bench.
Position your feet under the pad and grip the handles.
Brace your abs and press your hips into the bench.
Curl your heels toward your glutes by contracting the hamstrings.
Pause at the top, then lower slowly until the knees are almost straight.
02 The payoff
Why it earns its spot
Isolates knee flexion so the hamstrings work without help from the hips.
Machine support makes it easy to teach and easy to progress in small steps.
Balances quad dominant work in a lower body program.
03 Don't do this
Common mistakes
Lifting the hips off the pad, which adds hip flexion and disguises a short range.
Snapping the legs back down, which discards the eccentric part of the rep.
Setting the ankle pad on the calf, which shifts pressure and limits knee flexion.
Loading heavy enough that the lower back arches on every rep.
EGON Put it on record
Track it in EGON.
Log every set of the Lying Leg Curl, get your PRs detected automatically, earn aura for the work — and climb five leagues of statues, from Stone to Ego.
