Nordic Curl

What is Nordic Curl:

The Nordic Curl, also known as the Nordic hamstring curl, is a great bodyweight isolation exercise that targets the hamstrings, with significant engagement of the glutes and calves for stabilization. It involves setting your feet in place and extending your legs as you lower your body down with control, resisting gravity, and then using solely your hamstrings to flex your legs and come back up.

Key Benefits:

  • Size and Strength: Works primarily the hamstring, promoting muscle growth and strength improvement.
  • Hamstring Isolation: One of the few bodyweight hamstring exercises and arguably the best, allowing you to isolate and focus on training your hamstring muscles.
  • Core and Hip Stability: Enhancing core and hip stability, helping improve balance and control.
  • Knee Stability and Resiliency: Builds knee joint stability and strengthens the muscles around the knee joint, aiding in injury prevention.
  • Hamstrings Flexibility: Strengthening the hamstrings overall contributes greatly to improving and maintaining their flexibility.
  • Athletic Performance: Enhances leg power, sprinting speed, and jumping ability.
  • Versatile and Scalable: This can be performed with or without added resistance, making it adaptable for all fitness levels.
  • Convenience: This exercise can be performed virtually anywhere with minimal equipment, making it accessible and convenient for most individuals.

Variations:

  • Bodyweight Squat: A fundamental lower-body exercise that primarily targets the quadriceps and glutes. It is performed by standing with feet shoulder-width apart and lowering the body by bending at the hips and knees, keeping the torso upright, and then returning to the starting position.
  • Cossack Squat: A squat variation that targets the hip adductors (inner thighs). It is performed by adopting a wide stance and lowering the body to one side at a time, keeping the opposite leg straight.
  • Reverse Nordic: A similar exercise intended for isolating the quadriceps.

How to perform Nordic Curls:

  • Set Up: Kneel on a soft surface and anchor your feet under a sturdy object or with a partner's assistance.
  • Starting Position: Keep your torso upright, hips extended, and core engaged.
  • Execution: Slowly lower your upper body forward by hinging at the knees, keeping your back straight and hips extended. Then, either pull yourself back up using your hamstrings or push off the ground if needed.
  • Repetition: Repeat the movement for your desired number of repetitions.

Breathing Technique:

Proper breathing is crucial for maximizing performance and maintaining stamina throughout the exercise. Experiment with what you're comfortable with and let you perform your best. For starters, you can try the following:

  • Inhale: Inhale at the starting position.
  • Exhale: Exhale after returning to the starting position.
  • Warm Up Thoroughly: Warm up your hamstrings with dynamic movements, not stretches, to decrease the likelihood of strains.
  • Progress Gradually: Start with partial range or assisted versions before progressing to the full Nordic curl.
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    Additional Information:

    Ways to make it easier:

    • Focusing only on the Concentric or Eccentric phase
    • Decreasing the Range of Motion - partial reps, only go as far as you can handle
    • Using external force for support - your hands, resistance bands, a partner, or something
    • Regressing to an easier variation/exercise

    Ways to make it harder:

    • Playing with the Tempo & adding an Isometric phase (pause/hold)
    • Increasing the Range of Motion - going down as far as possible
    • Adding resistance - wearing a weighted vest or holding a dumbbell/barbell
    • Progressing to a harder variation/exercise