Seated Leg Curl
The seated leg curl is a knee curl done sitting upright with a thigh pad locking your legs down. It isolates the hamstrings, and the bent-hip position trains them at longer muscle lengths than lying curls. Research suggests that extra stretch can mean more growth, so it is a strong default choice.
Muscles worked
The seated 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 seated leg curl
- 01Adjust the backrest so your knees line up with the machine's pivot point.
- 02Place your lower calves on the ankle pad, just above your heels.
- 03Lower the thigh pad until it presses firmly on your thighs just above the knees.
- 04Lean your torso slightly forward and grab the handles to deepen the hamstring stretch.
- 05Curl your heels down and back as far as you can, then return slowly to near full extension.
Coaching cues
- Thigh pad snug, no lifting
- Lean forward for more stretch
- Pull your heels under the seat
Common mistakes
- Leaving the thigh pad loose lets your legs rise and cheat the rep, so clamp it snugly above your knees.
- Leaning back against the seat shortens the hamstrings and the useful range, so sit tall or tilt slightly forward.
- Rushing the return lets the stack slam, so take two to three seconds back to the start.
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.
Seated 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 seated leg curl free. Swole.fit picks the next weight, counts your weekly sets and tells you when to deload.