The Towel Slide Leg Curl is a beginner-friendly bodyweight strength exercise that targets the hamstrings, with the glutes, calves and abdominals working alongside. Here's how to do it right — and what to stop doing.
Primary musclesHamstrings
Secondary musclesGlutes, Calves, Abs
EquipmentBodyweight
LevelBeginner
TypeStrength
3D demo in the EGON app
01 Execution
How to do the Towel Slide Leg Curl
Lie on your back with a folded towel under each heel on a smooth floor.
Bend your knees slightly and rest your arms on the floor beside you.
Press through your heels and lift your hips until your body forms a line.
Slide both heels in toward your glutes while keeping the hips high.
Push the heels back out slowly until the legs are almost straight.
Hold the hips up throughout and repeat for the prescribed reps.
02 The payoff
Why it earns its spot
Loads the hamstrings eccentrically with nothing but a towel and a floor.
Holds the glutes in hip extension for the whole working set.
Self-limiting, so form breaks down before the load becomes risky.
03 Don't do this
Common mistakes
Dropping the hips on the way out, which removes the hamstring load entirely.
Sliding out fast, which skips the eccentric that makes the exercise worth doing.
Trying it on carpet, where the towels grip and the slide stalls halfway.
Pushing through the toes, which lets the calves take over the slide.
EGON Put it on record
Track it in EGON.
Log every set of the Towel Slide Leg Curl, get your PRs detected automatically, earn aura for the work — and climb five leagues of statues, from Stone to Ego.
