How do I get the dumbbell between my feet?

The easiest way is to have a partner set it between your feet once you are lying down. On your own, stand the dumbbell upright on the floor at the end of the bench, lie down so your feet sit on either side of the handle, squeeze it with the arches of your feet and lift it with straight legs before you start curling.

Why does the curl feel easy near the top?

Once your shins are close to vertical, the dumbbell sits almost directly above your knees and gravity has little leverage to resist you. Stop there rather than pulling further, or raise the head end of the bench a few inches so the hamstrings stay loaded higher in the curl.

Is a lying leg curl as good as a seated leg curl for building the hamstrings?

It works well, but seated curls may build more size. In a 12-week study of untrained adults using leg curl machines, the leg trained with seated curls grew its hamstrings more than the leg trained with prone curls (14% versus 9% in whole-hamstring volume), likely because sitting keeps the hamstrings longer. Using both positions over a training block is a reasonable approach.

Does the foot position I use to hold the dumbbell change the hamstring work?

Not meaningfully. In a study of prone leg curls on a machine, training with the ankles pulled up or pointed produced similar hamstring activity, and after 10 weeks trained adults gained similar strength and hamstring thickness with either position, so hold the dumbbell in whatever foot position keeps it secure.

Can I do it one leg at a time?

Holding a dumbbell securely with one foot is awkward and risky, so single-leg work is better done on the Machine Single-Leg Lying Leg Curl or the Exercise Ball Single-Leg Hamstring Curl.

How many reps should I do?

Because grip on the dumbbell limits the load, most lifters use moderate weights for 10 to 15 controlled reps. Add reps and slow the lowering phase first, and only move to a heavier dumbbell once you can hold it without it shifting.

Dumbbell Lying Leg Curl

What Is the Dumbbell Lying Leg Curl?

Dumbbell Lying Leg Curl is an isolation exercise that primarily targets the hamstrings and also engages the calves. It is an intermediate-level movement in which you lie face down on a flat bench, hold a dumbbell between your feet and bend your knees to curl it toward your glutes. The curl itself is simple, but keeping the dumbbell secure between your feet takes practice, which is what makes it harder than a machine curl.

The exercise exists for one job: training the hamstrings as knee flexors when no leg curl machine is available. Hip-hinge movements such as the Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift train the hamstrings by extending the hip, while a leg curl trains their other role of bending the knee, so the two complement each other. It usually sits after the main lifts of a lower-body session as accessory work for moderate to higher reps.

Because the dumbbell is pulled by gravity, the load is heaviest when your legs are straight and the shins are horizontal, and it fades as the shins approach vertical and the weight settles over the knees. Lying with the hips extended also keeps the hamstrings shorter than a Machine Seated Leg Curl does, which is why the final part of the curl can feel crampy. Raising the head end of the bench a few inches keeps tension on the hamstrings longer at the top, and the calf muscles assist throughout because they also cross the knee.

The Dumbbell Lying Leg Curl suits home and hotel-gym lifters who own dumbbells and a bench, and anyone who wants direct hamstring work without a machine. How much you can hold between your feet limits the load long before your hamstrings do, so it rewards slow, controlled reps more than heavy weights. If holding the dumbbell is the problem, the Machine Lying Leg Curl trains the same movement with a stable pad, and the Exercise Ball Leg Curl builds knee-flexion strength with no external load.

Muscles Worked

MuscleActivation

Biceps Femoris: Primary
Semimembranosus: Primary
Semitendinosus: Primary
Gastrocnemius (Lateral Head): Medium
Gastrocnemius (Medial Head): Medium
Gluteus Maximus: Low
Sartorius: Low
Erector Spinae: Minimal
Rectus Abdominis: Minimal

Instructions

Stand a light dumbbell upright on the floor at one end of a flat bench.
Lie face down on the bench with your hips and thighs on the pad and your knees just at the end of it, so your lower legs extend past the edge.
Reach forward and grip the sides or legs of the bench near your head, and keep your head in line with your spine.
Squeeze the dumbbell handle between the arches of your feet so it hangs upright with the top plate resting against your feet, or have a partner place it there.
Straighten your legs so they are in line with your body and the dumbbell is off the floor. This is the starting position.
Press your hips into the bench and brace your core.
Bend your knees to curl the dumbbell toward your glutes until your shins are about vertical, keeping your hips and thighs on the bench.
Pause briefly at the top while keeping your feet squeezed together.
Lower the dumbbell slowly until your legs are straight again, then repeat.
After the last rep, lower the dumbbell to the floor with straight legs or let your partner take it before you get up.

Common Mistakes

Lifting the hips
Raising the hips off the bench to start the curl turns part of the rep into a lower-back movement and takes work away from the hamstrings.
Loose foot grip
Relaxing the feet lets the dumbbell slide out, so keep squeezing the handle firmly for the whole set.
Dropping the weight
Letting the dumbbell fall back to straight legs skips the lowering phase, which is half the work and jolts the knees at the bottom.
Kicking the weight up
Swinging the dumbbell up with momentum shortens the time the hamstrings work and makes the weight harder to hold.
Going too heavy
A dumbbell heavier than your feet can control makes every rep shaky and is the most common reason the weight slips.

Injuries

Dumbbell Lying Leg Curl is a low risk exercise when performed with proper technique. The main hazard is the dumbbell itself: if your feet relax or the dumbbell is too heavy to hold, it can slip out mid-rep and fall onto the floor or the back of your legs. Lifting the hips off the bench to start the curl shifts the effort into the lower back and can leave it sore or strained.

Start with a light dumbbell until you can hold it securely through every rep, and have a partner place it between your feet if you can. Keep your hips pressed into the bench, move slowly in both directions and finish each set by lowering the dumbbell to the floor under control rather than letting it drop. Hamstring cramps are common in the top position, where the muscle is at its shortest; if one starts, lower the weight, end the set and stretch gently before continuing with a slightly smaller range.

If holding the dumbbell is the limiting factor, switch to the Machine Lying Leg Curl or the Exercise Ball Leg Curl. To progress, slow the lowering phase before adding weight, and move on to the Nordic Hamstring Curl once you want a much harder knee-flexion challenge.

Stop if you feel a sharp or pulling pain in the back of the thigh, which can signal a hamstring strain, or pain inside the knee or in the lower back. Anyone returning from a recent hamstring injury should be cleared by a clinician before loading this movement.

Overview

Primary Focus: Hamstrings
Equipment: Dumbbell and bench
Modality: Strength
Difficulty: Intermediate

Alternative Exercises

Other Names for the Dumbbell Lying Leg Curl

The Dumbbell Lying Leg Curl is also known as:

Dumbbell Hamstring Curl

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How do I get the dumbbell between my feet?: The easiest way is to have a partner set it between your feet once you are lying down. On your own, stand the dumbbell upright on the floor at the end of the bench, lie down so your feet sit on either side of the handle, squeeze it with the arches of your feet and lift it with straight legs before you start curling.
Q: Why does the curl feel easy near the top?: Once your shins are close to vertical, the dumbbell sits almost directly above your knees and gravity has little leverage to resist you. Stop there rather than pulling further, or raise the head end of the bench a few inches so the hamstrings stay loaded higher in the curl.
Q: Is a lying leg curl as good as a seated leg curl for building the hamstrings?: It works well, but seated curls may build more size. In a 12-week study of untrained adults using leg curl machines, the leg trained with seated curls grew its hamstrings more than the leg trained with prone curls (14% versus 9% in whole-hamstring volume), likely because sitting keeps the hamstrings longer. Using both positions over a training block is a reasonable approach.
Q: Does the foot position I use to hold the dumbbell change the hamstring work?: Not meaningfully. In a study of prone leg curls on a machine, training with the ankles pulled up or pointed produced similar hamstring activity, and after 10 weeks trained adults gained similar strength and hamstring thickness with either position, so hold the dumbbell in whatever foot position keeps it secure.
Q: Can I do it one leg at a time?: Holding a dumbbell securely with one foot is awkward and risky, so single-leg work is better done on the Machine Single-Leg Lying Leg Curl or the Exercise Ball Single-Leg Hamstring Curl.
Q: How many reps should I do?: Because grip on the dumbbell limits the load, most lifters use moderate weights for 10 to 15 controlled reps. Add reps and slow the lowering phase first, and only move to a heavier dumbbell once you can hold it without it shifting.