Hamstring Exercises

Anton YefanovUpdated October 10, 2026

The best hamstring exercises are the Romanian deadlift, the seated or lying leg curl, and the Nordic hamstring curl: one hip hinge, one machine curl and one demanding bodyweight exercise. You need that mix because your hamstrings have two jobs, bending the knee and extending the hip, and no single exercise trains both well.

The hamstrings run down the back of your thigh from the pelvis to just below the knee. They help you stand up out of a deadlift, slow your lower leg down at the end of every sprinting stride, and work with the glutes in every jump. They are also easy to neglect, because you cannot see them in the mirror.

Below you will find ranked picks, the anatomy behind hinges and curls, a comparison of the main exercises for your hamstrings, sets and reps, and sample hamstring workouts for the gym and for home. The last two sections cover the different hamstring curls and the bodyweight hamstring exercises that actually work.

Best Hamstring Exercises

Pick one hinge and one curl from this list and you have a complete hamstring routine. The ranking puts the most effective, widely usable exercises first.

No. 1Best Overall
Barbell Romanian Deadlift
The Romanian deadlift loads the hamstrings heavily through a long stretch at the hip, and it is easy to progress with small jumps in weight. It trains the glutes and grip as well. Keep a soft, fixed knee bend, push your hips back, and stop when they stop moving back.
No. 2Best Leg Curl
Seated Leg Curl
Sitting with your hips bent keeps the hamstrings that cross the hip on a stretch while you curl, which is why many coaches prefer it to the lying curl for size. It is simple to set up, easy to take close to failure, and puts no load on your lower back.
No. 3Best Eccentric Strength
Nordic Hamstring Curl
Your hamstrings control your whole body weight as you lower toward the floor, which makes this one of the hardest exercises in the library. It needs only something to anchor your heels. It is advanced: start with a partial range and very low volume, because it causes heavy soreness at first.
No. 4Best Single-Leg Hinge
Single-Leg Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift
Hinging on one leg loads each hamstring on its own and shows you quickly if one side is weaker. The balance demand is high, so it is listed as advanced. If balance limits you, the kickstand Romanian deadlift keeps the same front-leg bias with your rear toe on the floor.
No. 5Best Home Curl
Stability Ball Leg Curl
Curling a ball toward you with your hips raised trains knee flexion and keeps the glutes working at the same time. It is the best curl you can do at home without a machine. Once two legs are easy, curl with one leg to roughly double the load.
No. 6Best for Power
Kettlebell Swing
The swing trains the hamstrings and glutes to extend the hips explosively, the same action behind jumping and sprinting. It doubles as conditioning. Hinge back until you feel the hamstrings load, then snap the hips through rather than lifting the bell with your arms.
No. 7Best for Learning the Hinge
Good Mornings
Good mornings teach you to push your hips back with a flat back and feel the stretch in your hamstrings, with no weight to manage. Use them to learn the pattern, then as a warm-up before Romanian deadlifts once you are loading those.

Hamstring anatomy: three muscles, two jobs

The hamstrings are three muscles: the biceps femoris on the outside of the back of the thigh, and the semitendinosus and semimembranosus on the inside. The biceps femoris has two heads. Its long head and both inner muscles start on the sit bone of the pelvis and cross both the hip and the knee. The short head starts on the thigh bone and crosses only the knee.

That gives the hamstrings two jobs: extending the hip, as in a deadlift, and bending the knee, as in a leg curl. Hinges like the Romanian deadlift train hip extension with the hamstrings on a long stretch, but because the knee barely moves, they do little for the short head. Curls train knee flexion and are the only direct way to load the short head. A complete hamstring routine needs both.

The hamstring muscles, what each does, and exercises that train it well
Part	What it does	Best exercises
Biceps femoris, long head	Extends the hip and bends the knee. Outer back of the thigh	Barbell Romanian Deadlift, Seated Leg Curl, Nordic Hamstring Curl
Biceps femoris, short head	Bends the knee only. Does not cross the hip	Lying Leg Curl, Seated Leg Curl, Stability Ball Leg Curl
Semitendinosus	Extends the hip and bends the knee. Inner back of the thigh	Nordic Hamstring Curl, Seated Leg Curl, Towel Slide Leg Curl
Semimembranosus	Extends the hip and bends the knee. Inner thigh, beneath the semitendinosus	Barbell Stiff Leg Deadlifts, Single-Leg Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift, Lying Leg Curl

Hamstring exercises compared: hinges vs curls

Every hamstring program should take one exercise from each half of this table. Choose your hinge by equipment and experience: the barbell Romanian deadlift for heavy loading, a single-leg version when balance or a side-to-side difference is the issue, good mornings while you learn the pattern, and the kettlebell swing when the goal is power rather than size.

Then choose a curl. Machines are the easiest to load and progress. Without one, the stability ball curl and dumbbell leg curl train knee flexion at home, and the Nordic curl is the hardest option of all once you are ready for it.

Comparison of ten hamstring exercises by equipment, difficulty, best use and movement type
Exercise	Equipment	Difficulty	Best for	Movement
Barbell Romanian Deadlift	Barbell	Intermediate	Heavy loading in a stretch	Hip hinge
Barbell Stiff Leg Deadlifts	Barbell	Intermediate	A bigger stretch at lighter loads	Hip hinge, straighter knees
Single-Leg Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift	Dumbbell	Advanced	Fixing side-to-side differences	Single-leg hinge
Kettlebell Swing	Kettlebell	Intermediate	Power and conditioning	Explosive hinge
Good Mornings	Bodyweight	Beginner	Learning the hinge	Hip hinge
Seated Leg Curl	Machine	Beginner	Hamstring size	Knee curl, hips bent
Lying Leg Curl	Machine	Beginner	Strict isolation	Knee curl, hips straight
Nordic Hamstring Curl	Bodyweight	Advanced	Eccentric strength	Knee curl, lowering only
Stability Ball Leg Curl	Stability ball	Intermediate	Curling at home	Knee curl with hips raised
Dumbbell Leg Curl	Dumbbell	Beginner	Curling without a machine	Knee curl, hips straight

All 30 Hamstring Exercises

All 30 hamstring exercises in the library, grouped by difficulty. Each one has a video, step-by-step form and the muscles it works.

Beginner Hamstring Exercises13

Intermediate Hamstring Exercises11

Advanced Hamstring Exercises6

How to train hamstrings: sets, reps and frequency

Aim for 10 to 20 hard sets per week across two sessions, split fairly evenly between hinges and curls. Squats and lunges give the hamstrings much less work than most people assume, because the muscle lengthens at the hip while it shortens at the knee, so do not count those sets toward your total.

Romanian and stiff-leg deadlifts are the most fatiguing, for the hamstrings and for your lower back and grip, so keep them in the 6 to 12 rep range and stop a rep or two short of failure. Curls are low risk and suit 8 to 15 reps taken close to failure. Lower every rep for two to three seconds on both.

Progress hinges by load, but only while your back position stays the same. If your lower back starts to round before your hips stop moving back, the weight is too heavy. Progress Nordic curls by lowering further before you catch yourself, not by piling on reps.

Hamstring training guidelines by goal: sets, reps, rest and weekly frequency
Goal	Sets	Reps	Rest	Frequency
Strength	3 to 5	5 to 8 on hinges	2 to 3 minutes	1 to 2 times per week
Muscle size	3 to 4 per exercise, 10 to 20 per week	6 to 12 on hinges, 8 to 15 on curls	90 seconds to 2 minutes	2 times per week
Eccentric strength	2 to 3	3 to 6 slow Nordic lowers	2 minutes	1 to 2 times per week
Power	3 to 5	10 to 15 kettlebell swings	60 to 90 seconds	2 times per week

Sample hamstring workouts for the gym and at home

Each hamstring workout pairs a hinge with at least one curl, with the hinge first while you are fresh. Run one twice a week, or put the hinges on one leg day and the curls on another. In the home session, start Nordic curls only once the towel slide curl is easy for 12 reps on two legs.

Three sample hamstring workouts: gym, home with no equipment, and beginner
Workout	Exercise	Sets	Reps	Rest
Gym	Barbell Romanian Deadlift	3	6 to 10	2 to 3 minutes
Gym	Seated Leg Curl	3	10 to 12	90 seconds
Gym	Kickstand Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift	2	8 to 10 per leg	90 seconds
Gym	Lying Leg Curl	2	12 to 15	60 seconds
Home	Romanian Deadlift Hamstring Sweeps	1	10, as a warm-up	None
Home	Single Legged Romanian Deadlifts	3	10 to 12 per leg	60 seconds
Home	Towel Slide Leg Curl	3	8 to 12	60 seconds
Home	Nordic Hamstring Curl	2	3 to 5 slow lowers	2 minutes
Beginner	Good Mornings	2	12 to 15	60 seconds
Beginner	Kettlebell Romanian Deadlift	3	10 to 12	90 seconds
Beginner	Lying Leg Curl	3	10 to 15	60 seconds

Common hamstring training mistakes

Hamstring training goes wrong in a few predictable ways, most of them about range and control.

Training only hinges or only curls. Each covers one of the hamstrings' two jobs and misses the other. Include at least one of each every week.
Turning the Romanian deadlift into a squat. Bending your knees more as the set gets hard moves the load to your quads. Set a soft knee bend at the start, keep it fixed, and push your hips back until you feel a strong stretch.
Chasing the floor. Touching the floor is not the goal of a Romanian deadlift; the range ends where your hips stop moving back. Rounding your lower back to reach lower takes tension off the hamstrings.
Swinging leg curls. Lifting your hips off the pad or yanking the weight up turns a curl into a hip movement. Use a load you can lower slowly, and keep your hips pressed down.
Doing too many Nordic curls too soon. Newcomers get heavy soreness from even a few sets. Start with one or two sets of a few partial reps and build up over several weeks.
Giving the hamstrings far less work than the quads. Many programs have several quad exercises and a single set of curls. Aim for a similar number of hard sets for both.

Hamstring curls: seated, lying and no-machine options

The hamstring curl is the most direct hamstring exercise, and the version matters. The seated leg curl trains the hamstrings with your hips bent, which keeps the muscles that cross the hip longer as you curl. The lying leg curl, with your hips straight, works them in a shorter position. Both are effective; if you only do one, the seated curl is the usual choice for size.

Without a machine you still have good options. The dumbbell and band curls mimic the lying curl. The stability ball and towel slide curls combine a curl with a hip bridge, so the glutes work too. The Nordic curl trains only the lowering phase and is by far the hardest.

Hamstring curl variations by equipment and hip position, with practical notes
Curl	Equipment	Hip position	Notes
Seated Leg Curl	Machine	Bent	Usual pick for size; easy to load
Lying Leg Curl	Machine	Straight	Keep your hips pressed into the pad
Cable Single Leg Laying Leg Curl	Cable	Straight	One leg at a time with smooth resistance
Dumbbell Leg Curl	Dumbbell	Straight	Hard to load heavily; best for higher reps
Band Leg Curl	Resistance band	Straight	Resistance rises as the band stretches
Stability Ball Leg Curl	Stability ball	Straight, hips raised	Also works the glutes; progress to one leg
Towel Slide Leg Curl	Bodyweight	Straight, hips raised	Needs a smooth floor; easiest no-equipment curl
Nordic Hamstring Curl	Bodyweight	Straight	Lowering only; very hard

The best bodyweight hamstring exercises

Bodyweight hamstring training is harder to get right than bodyweight quad or glute work, because an unloaded hinge barely challenges the hamstrings. The answer is curls, plus hinging on one leg so all your body weight goes through a single hamstring. Use good mornings and hamstring sweeps as a warm-up, not as your main work. Follow this progression:

Start with two-leg towel slide curls and slow single-leg Romanian deadlifts, 3 sets of 10 to 12.
Move to single-leg towel slide or stability ball curls, and lower each single-leg Romanian deadlift over three seconds.
Begin Nordic curls with a partial range, lowering only as far as you can control before catching yourself with your hands.
Build to full Nordic curls for sets of 3 to 5, lowering the whole way under control.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best hamstring exercise?

No single exercise trains the hamstrings completely, so the best answer is a pair. The Romanian deadlift is the best hinge, because it loads the hamstrings heavily through a long stretch at the hip. The seated leg curl is the best curl, because it trains knee flexion with the hips bent. Do both each week and you have covered both of the muscle's jobs.

Are hamstring curls worth doing?

Yes. Curls are the only direct way to train the short head of the biceps femoris, which does not cross the hip and so gets little from deadlifts. They also train knee flexion, the job the hamstrings do when they bend the knee and control the lower leg in sprinting. A program with Romanian deadlifts but no curls leaves part of the muscle undertrained.

How do you work hamstrings without a machine?

Use a hinge and a curl that need no machine. For the hinge, Romanian deadlifts with dumbbells, a kettlebell or a resistance band all work, as does the single-leg version with no weight. For the curl, a dumbbell held between the feet, a band, a stability ball or a towel on a smooth floor will do. Nordic curls are the advanced option.

Do squats work the hamstrings?

Only a little. The hamstrings cross both the hip and the knee, and in a squat they lengthen at the hip while they shorten at the knee, so their overall length barely changes and they do relatively little work. Squats build the quads and glutes well, but they are not a substitute for hinges and curls.

How often should you train hamstrings?

Twice a week is a good default. Heavy hinges cause lasting soreness, so spread the work out: put Romanian deadlifts on one day and curls, or a lighter hinge, on another. If you are new to Nordic curls or stiff-leg deadlifts, expect more soreness than usual and leave at least two days before training the hamstrings hard again.

Romanian deadlift or stiff-leg deadlift: which is better for hamstrings?

Both are excellent hamstring builders. In the Romanian deadlift your knees bend slightly and the bar stays against your legs, which lets you use more weight. The stiff-leg deadlift keeps your knees straighter, giving a bigger stretch at lighter loads, and asks more of your hamstring flexibility. Use the Romanian deadlift as your main hinge and rotate in the stiff-leg version for variety.

Hamstrings exercises by equipment

Narrow the list to what you actually have to train with.