The Seated Leg Curl is a beginner-friendly machine strength exercise that targets the hamstrings, with the glutes working alongside. Here's how to do it right — and what to stop doing.
Primary musclesHamstrings
Secondary musclesGlutes
EquipmentMachine
LevelBeginner
TypeStrength
3D demo in the EGON app
01 Execution
How to do the Seated Leg Curl
Set the seat and back pad so your knees line up with the machine's pivot.
Sit back with your thighs flat and the lap pad locked down over them.
Rest your lower legs on top of the roller, contact just above the ankles.
Grip the side handles and press your hips into the seat.
Curl your heels down and back toward the seat as far as the machine allows.
Return slowly until your knees are almost straight, then repeat.
02 The payoff
Why it earns its spot
Isolates knee flexion so the hamstrings work without the quads or hips joining in.
The seated position holds the hamstrings at a longer working length.
Machine guidance makes it straightforward to load safely for newer lifters.
03 Don't do this
Common mistakes
Letting the hips lift off the seat, which turns the curl into a partial hip movement.
Locking the knees out on the return, which drops tension off the hamstrings.
Setting the roller on the calf instead of just above the ankle, which shortens the lever.
Snapping the weight back, which wastes the eccentric and rattles the stack.
EGON Put it on record
Track it in EGON.
Log every set of the Seated Leg Curl, get your PRs detected automatically, earn aura for the work — and climb five leagues of statues, from Stone to Ego.
