Nordic hamstring curl
How to do the Nordic hamstring curl, three ways to build up to it, filmed in our own sessions, and the dose our gym program uses. Then what the studies really found, including the case against it.
Our gym program
3 × 5
Lower yourself as slowly as you can. Halfbacks do it every week: the hamstring is where a fast player’s season ends.
How to do a Nordic hamstring curl
Kneel with your ankles held down, lower your body forward in one line as slowly as you can, catch yourself, and push back up. That is one rep; our gym program does 3 sets of 5.
Ankles held, knees padded
Set upKneel on a pad with your ankles under a hamstring bench, a loaded bar or a partner’s hands.One line, knees to head
Hold itHips straight, not bent. Squeeze your glutes so you fall as one piece.As slowly as you can
LowerThe slow lowering is the exercise. Fight it all the way down.Catch and push back
FinishHands in a push-up position. Catch yourself, then push back up to kneeling.
Why rugby players do it
Rugby is sprinting, and sprinting is hard on the hamstrings. Our gym program calls the Nordic the one accessory nobody who sprints should skip, and puts it in every week for the halfbacks. Phil Healey’s Train for Top Speed lesson pairs strength work like this with sprinting fast and sprinting often; our rugby speed training guide has the rest.
Three ways to build up to it
Start with a band, then take away the help. All three are from our own sessions.
1. Start here
With a band
A band from behind, round your chest, takes some of your weight. Lower as slowly as you can, catch yourself with your hands, and push back up.
2. Next
Up and down
On a hamstring bench with no band: lower only as far as you can still pull yourself back, and come up under control. The range grows as you get stronger.
3. Then
Razor curl
On the same bench: start folded at the hips, then straighten out to a line from knees to head, so the hamstrings work at the hip and the knee together.
Not the same exercise
Reverse Nordic
Kneeling tall, lean BACK with your body in one line and return. It works the front of the thigh, not the hamstrings.
Does the Nordic curl prevent hamstring injuries?
It is linked to fewer hamstring injuries, not none. Programmes that include it have about half the injuries in the biggest review, which took in rugby players. But the injuries that still happen are no less severe, and not every trial found a drop.
| Question | Who was studied | What they found |
|---|---|---|
| Injury rate | 8,459 athletes in football, rugby, baseball and Australian football | Programmes with the Nordic had about half the hamstring injuries |
| Injury rate, graded | A 2020 statement grading the evidence | 45% to 65% fewer hamstring injuries than usual care, moderate to high quality evidence |
| Injury severity | Studies in football, rugby and Australian football | Fewer injuries, but no difference in how bad they were |
| One trial | A randomised trial in the same review | No fewer injuries overall; fewer for players who did at least two sessions |
| Sprint speed | 20 studies, 506 players | 0.04 s quicker on average; no clear change over 5 or 20 m |
| How much | 13 studies of strength and muscle length | Low and high volumes both worked, over 6 weeks or more |
Soreness is a big reason people give it up: the reviews name it as a main cause of drop-outs. Start with the band, keep the sets small, and stay with it for at least 6 weeks, which is how long the studies needed to see a change.
The case against the Nordic curl
What its critics say
Strength coach Kim Goss argues the Nordic is mainly a bodybuilding exercise, not one that makes an athlete faster. The studies give him some ground: the sprint gain was small, a few hundredths of a second and none clear over 5 or 20 m, and being strong on the Nordic before a season did not mark out who stayed injury-free.
How we use it
Not as a speed exercise, and never instead of sprinting. It is 3 sets of 5 beside the sprinting, the lifting and the rest of the week, because the injury studies, taken together, still point the same way, even if no single one of them can promise a player anything.
Sources
- Nunes H, Fernandes LG, Martins PN, et al. The effects of Nordic hamstring exercise on performance and injury in the lower extremities: an umbrella review. Healthcare. 2024;12:1462.
- Ishøi L, Krommes K, Husted RS, et al. Diagnosis, prevention and treatment of common lower extremity muscle injuries in sport: grading the evidence. Br J Sports Med. 2020;54:528.
- Cuthbert M, Ripley N, McMahon JJ, et al. The effect of Nordic hamstring exercise intervention volume on eccentric strength and muscle architecture adaptations: a systematic review and meta-analyses. Sports Med. 2020;50:83.
- Goss K. The case against the Nordic curl. SimpliFaster.
Nordic hamstring curl questions
How do you do a Nordic hamstring curl?
To do a Nordic hamstring curl, kneel on a pad with your ankles held down, your body in one line from knees to head. Lower yourself forward as slowly as you can, catch yourself with your hands in a push-up position, and push back up. Our gym program does 3 sets of 5.
How many Nordic curls should I do?
Our gym program does 3 sets of 5 Nordic curls, and halfbacks do them every week. Studies most often used 2 to 3 sets of 6 to 12, one to three times a week. Low and high volumes both built strength, but only when kept up for 6 weeks or more.
Do Nordic curls prevent hamstring injuries?
Nordic curls are linked to fewer hamstring injuries, not none. Across 8,459 athletes, rugby players among them, programmes with them had about half the hamstring injuries. Injuries that did happen were no less severe, and one randomised trial found no drop overall, so they are part of the work, not a guarantee.
Can you do Nordic curls without a partner?
You can do Nordic curls without a partner by hooking your ankles under something that will not move: a hamstring bench, a loaded bar, a machine pad. A band from behind, round your chest, takes some of your weight while you build up, as in our first clip.
Why are Nordic curls so hard?
Nordic curls are hard because your hamstrings hold more and more of your body weight the further forward you go. Most people drop at about halfway at first, which is why you catch yourself with your hands. Lower as slowly as you can and the range you control grows.
What is the difference between a Nordic curl and a reverse Nordic?
A Nordic curl leans you forward and works the hamstrings at the back of the thigh. A reverse Nordic leans you back, kneeling tall with your body in one line, and works the front of the thigh. They are different exercises with different jobs, and both clips are on this page.
Train for it with Elite Rugby App
Elite Rugby App's gym programs put the Nordic, the lifts and the sprinting into one week for your position, built with professional players and coaches.
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