How to do the Machine Hamstring Curl
Step by step
- Set the machine so your knees line up with the pivot and the pad sits above your heels.
- Lie face down or sit as the machine requires, gripping the handles.
- Curl your heels toward your glutes in a smooth, controlled motion.
- Squeeze your hamstrings at the fully bent position.
- Lower the pad slowly back to the start without letting the weight drop.
The thing people get wrong
Keep your hips pressed into the pad instead of lifting them to help. Control the lowering rather than letting it snap back.
Coaching cue
Pause for a beat at the fully bent position on every rep.
Muscles worked
- Primary: Hamstrings
What to do instead
Same job, different movement — useful if you don't have the equipment or it doesn't feel right today.
Daily Coach builds this into a real weekly plan. It picks the exercises for your equipment and experience, swaps around injuries you tell it about, and tracks what you actually lifted.