Resistance Band Hamstring Curls

You Don't Need The Machine At The Gym To Work Your Hamstrings

No matter what form they take, hamstring curls are the main leg exercise that focuses on, and isolates, the hamstring.

Whether you are standing up or lying face down on the floor (or on a bench), you bend the knee and bring your heel toward your butt.  It is all the same movement. Since doing that all by itself isn’t much of a challenge for most of us, we need to introduce resistance.

You will generally see this exercise done on a machine at the gym.

But this is a boot camp fitness site. We don’t carry big gym machines around with us. To get resistance, we have to explore other options.

Alright class, what are some of our options?

Here are a few. A buddy could hold your feet. You could strap on an ankle weight. You could make your own weight by filling an empty milk jug or coffee can with sand or water. Or you could use a resistance band.

For the purposes of this page, will do hamstring curls with the resistance band. That gives us the option of doing either the standing, sitting, or the lying face down versions of hamstring curls.

Standing…

Technique

• Strap the resistance band to your right ankle.
• Stand on the band with your left foot to anchor it.
• Have enough slack so the band is taut when the feet are about shoulder width apart.
• Have something sturdy to hold on to for balance such as the wall or a chair.
• Keep your head and chest up, and your back straight.
• Keep the right thigh perpendicular to the floor.
• Keeping the upper leg stationary, raise your right heel up toward your butt.
• Hold for a count.
• Slowly lower your foot to the starting position.
• That’s one rep.
• Do 10 to 20 reps and switch legs.
  

Keep In Mind...

• Keep your knees aligned. There will be a tendency for the knee on your lifting leg to move forward.
  

Modifiers

Lying face down...

• Attach the resistance band to something that is not going to move. Call that the anchor.
• Attach the resistance band to one or both ankles.
• Position yourself far enough away from the anchor so the band is taut when you are lying face down on the ground or your mat.
• Bring your heel toward your butt.
• Hold for a count.
• Slowly lower it to the starting position.
• Do 10 to 20 reps and switch legs.
  

The nice thing about this version is that your knees stay in alignment automatically. The one thing to watch out for is to not raise your butt. That causes an arch, and therefore stress, in the lower back.