Lying Leg Curl
The lying leg curl is a knee curl done face down on a bench, curling a padded lever toward your glutes. It isolates the hamstrings, with a strong contraction at the top. Choose it if seated curls feel awkward or you want to vary the stimulus, though it stretches the hamstrings less.
Muscles worked
The lying leg curl trains the hamstrings.
Primary
Weekly sets for hamstrings
Hard sets per week that Swole.fit plans for hamstrings, counting every exercise that trains it. Start a cycle near the growth line and climb toward the recovery limit before a deload.
How to do the lying leg curl
- 01Lie face down with your knees just off the edge of the bench, lined up with the pivot.
- 02Hook the ankle pad over your lower calves, just above your heels.
- 03Grab the handles and press your hips into the bench.
- 04Curl your heels toward your glutes as far as you can without your hips lifting.
- 05Lower slowly until your knees are almost straight, then repeat.
Coaching cues
- Hips pinned to the bench
- Squeeze the hamstrings at the top
- Slow, full lowering
Common mistakes
- Letting your hips pop up mid rep makes the lower back assist, so press your hips down and lighten the load.
- Lying too far up the bench puts your knees out of line with the pivot, so slide down until they match.
- Pointing your toes hard can let the calves dominate, so keep your ankles neutral or flexed toward your shins.
How Swole.fit programs it
Log it once and the app plans the next session for you.
- Most sets land between 8 and 15 reps, the range the plan steers isolation work toward for size.
- Week one starts around 2 to 3 reps in reserve. Each week you train a little closer to failure, ending around 0 to 1 in reserve before a deload week.
- Hit the top of the range on every set and the next session adds the smallest real jump in weight, rounded to the plates, dumbbells or stack you actually have.
- Sets for this exercise count toward your weekly volume for every muscle it trains: a full set for the primary muscles, half a set for the helpers.
The full method, with the maths, is in how mesocycles work.
Lying Leg Curl alternatives
Same muscles, different tool. Swap in one of these when the equipment is taken or your joints want a change.
Log it. Let the app plan the next one.
Track your lying leg curl free. Swole.fit picks the next weight, counts your weekly sets and tells you when to deload.