How to do it
- Sit with the thigh pad locked down and the ankle pad just above your heels.
- Curl the heels back and under the seat as far as possible.
- Return slowly to a full stretch.
Cues that matter
- The seated version stretches the hamstrings more than the lying one, and research favours it.
- Keep the lower back against the pad.
Common mistakes
- Sliding forward in the seat to gain leverage.
- Cutting the stretch short at the top.
Muscles worked
Primary
- Hamstrings
- All three heads
Also works
- Calves
Sets and reps
What to do with it depends on what you are training for. These are the ranges MuscleMap uses when it puts Seated Leg Curl in a session, with 75 seconds between sets.
- Strength
- 6–8 reps
- Build muscle
- 10–15 reps
- Endurance
- 15–25 reps
Same muscle, different kit
Movements that train the same part of the hamstrings with different equipment — for a day the machine is taken, or a gym that does not have one.