Bodyweight Standing Single Leg Curl
Also known as: standing single leg curl, bodyweight standing hamstring curl, standing hamstring curl bodyweight, bodyweight single leg curl, standing leg curl no equipment, standing single leg hamstring curl
In SetGrip: Standing Single Leg Curl (Bodyweight)
- Primary muscleHamstrings
- EquipmentBodyweight
- DifficultyBeginner
- TypeIsolation · Hip-dominant
- Secondary muscles
- Glutes
- Body part
- Upper Legs
- Position
- Standing
- Laterality
- Unilateral (one leg at a time)
- Category
- Strength
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No weight and no machine: standing on one leg, you curl the free heel toward your glute and work to keep that thigh vertical while the support side balances. The load is too light to build much size, so treat it as a hamstring activation drill or a high-rep finisher of 15 to 20 per side.
How to do the Bodyweight Standing Single Leg Curl
- Stand with your feet hip-width apart and your hands on your hips.
- Shift your weight onto your left leg and lift your right foot off the ground, bending your knee.
- Slowly curl your right heel towards your glutes, squeezing your hamstring.
- Pause for a moment at the top, then slowly lower your right foot back down to the starting position.
- Repeat for the desired number of repetitions, then switch legs.
Tip: Point the toes through the curl to take the calves out of it and force the hamstrings to do all the work.
Muscles worked
Primary
Hamstrings · Legs
The hamstrings bend the knee against the pad and should feel a hard squeeze at the top and a controlled stretch at the bottom.
Secondary
- Glutes — The glutes contract to keep the hips down on lying curls and to hold the hip open on Nordics.
Common mistakes
- Hips lifting off the pad — on lying curls keep the hips pressed down; if they rise, the range is too long or the weight too heavy.
- Yanking the weight up — drive the heels toward the backside under control and squeeze at the top for a count.
- Dropping the weight down — the lowering half is where the hamstrings grow, so take three seconds to come back.
- Skipping the stretch on Nordics — on Nordic curls lower as far as you can control and use the hands to push back up rather than cutting the range.
Where it fits in a workout
Leg curls go after squats and deadlifts as a hamstring accessory. Superset them with leg extensions on the neighboring machine or with a back extension.
How many sets, how heavy and how hard: see what the ACSM position stands support.
Variations and alternatives
Similar exercises
Without bodyweight
When to talk to someone
- Chest discomfort, feeling faint or lightheaded, or trouble breathing during or after exercise can be signs of a heart attack. In the US, call 911 right away; elsewhere, call your local emergency number.
- Heart, metabolic or kidney disease, or symptoms like these when you are active: talk to your doctor before you start or step up training.
- Pregnant: ask your obstetric care provider which exercise suits you.
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More exercises
Sources
- ACSM position stand on exercise quantity and quality (Garber et al., 2011)
- ACSM preparticipation health screening (Riebe et al., 2015)
- ACOG Committee Opinion No. 804 on exercise in pregnancy (2020)
- CDC: About Heart Attack Symptoms, Risk, and Recovery (2024)
Sources checked on October 17, 2026. Full citations are in the exercise library.
Animation and exercise data: ExerciseDB, licensed to SetGrip. General information, not medical or coaching advice.