Nordic hamstring curl

What it is

A kneeling exercise in which your ankles are anchored and you lower your torso towards the floor as slowly as possible, resisting with the hamstrings. It is almost entirely eccentric — most people cannot pull themselves back up — and it has some of the strongest injury-prevention evidence of any single exercise.

Muscles worked

Primary: Hamstrings. Secondary: Glutes, Calves, Core.

How to perform it

1. Kneel on a pad with your ankles held down by a partner, a loaded barbell or a dedicated bench.
2. Keep your hips extended and your body in a straight line from knee to shoulder.
3. Lower yourself towards the floor as slowly as you can, resisting every inch with the hamstrings.
4. Catch yourself with your hands, push back to the start, and repeat.

Common form faults

• Bending at the hips so it becomes a hinge. Squeeze the glutes and keep a straight line from knee to shoulder throughout; the movement happens only at the knee.
• Dropping quickly then pushing back up with the arms. The slow lowering is the entire exercise. If you cannot control it, use a band for assistance or start from a shorter range.
• Doing too many, too soon. This produces severe soreness in the untrained. Start with very few reps and build over weeks.

Programming

Low reps, low volume, high effect. Randomised trials in football have found programmes including it roughly halve hamstring injury rates. Introduce it gradually — the soreness from an over-enthusiastic first session is memorable.