Muscles worked
The slider leg curl asks your hamstrings to do two things at once: hold your hips up and bend your knees. That makes it one of the few ways to train your hamstrings properly at home without a machine. Your glutes help hold the bridge and your abs keep your back still. Most people find it hardest at the far end, when the legs are nearly straight and the hips want to sag. Sliders work best, but a towel on a smooth floor or socks on a wooden floor will do.
Common mistakes
- The surface drags. A towel on carpet or sliders on a rubber floor will stick, and the movement turns jerky. Sliders often have a soft side for hard floors and a smooth plastic side for carpet, so turn them to suit the surface.
- Your heels slip off the sliders. Pull your toes towards your shins and press your heels straight down, so your feet stay put even at full stretch.
- You arch your back instead of lifting with your glutes. When it gets heavy, many people push their ribs up. Keep your ribs down and your stomach braced, and let your glutes carry your hips.
Variations and alternatives
- The glute bridge is the foundation. If you cannot hold your hips up for a whole set, build the strength there first.
- The Nordic hamstring curl is the next step at home, much harder.
- The lying leg curl in the gym lets you add weight a little at a time.
Sets and reps
Two to four sets of 8 to 15 reps suit most people. Slide out over two to three seconds and pull back in a little faster. How many sets and reps you need depends on your goal, and the guide walks you through it.
Once 15 reps feel easy, there are several steps before you need weights: slide out on one leg and pull in with both, do the whole movement on one leg, or hold a short pause at full stretch. Each of those steps is progressive overload with just your bodyweight. Drop back a step if your hips start to sag.