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Exercises

Hamstring exercises at home: curls, hinges and bridges with no machine

Published October 19, 2026

The best hamstring exercises at home are the Nordic hamstring curl and the stability ball leg curl, which bend the knee like a gym leg curl, plus the single-leg Romanian deadlift and the dumbbell Romanian deadlift, which stretch the hamstrings from the hip. With no equipment at all, Nordic curls with your feet hooked under a couch, single-leg RDLs and single-leg bridges are enough. Train one curl and one hinge in each session, two sessions a week, and stop each set 1 to 3 reps short of failure.

  1. Nordic Hamstring Curl Hamstrings
  2. Single-Leg RDL Hamstrings, Glutes
  3. Stability Ball Leg Curl Hamstrings
  4. Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift Hamstrings, Glutes
  5. Single-Leg Glute Bridge Glutes
  6. TRX Leg Curl Hamstrings
  7. Kettlebell Swing Glutes, Hamstrings
  8. Band Good Morning Hamstrings, Lower Back

Leg curls without a machine

Your hamstrings cross the knee, and bending the knee against resistance is the job a gym leg curl machine does. At home you swap the machine for your own body: anchor your feet and lower your torso for a Nordic curl, roll a ball or pull suspension straps toward your hips, or curl against a band. Pick one of these for every session; hinges alone leave the lower half of the hamstrings undertrained.

Hamstrings, eccentric knee curl

Nordic Hamstring Curl

Hamstrings

It is the hardest hamstring exercise you can do without a machine. You only need something heavy to hold your heels down, such as a couch, a loaded bar or a partner, and the slow lowering overloads the hamstrings far beyond what your bodyweight would suggest.

How to do it

  1. Kneel on a folded towel or pad and hook your heels under a couch or have someone hold your ankles.
  2. Hold your knees, hips and head in one line, with your hips pushed forward and your glutes tight.
  3. Lean forward slowly, resisting with your hamstrings for as long as you can, and catch yourself with your hands near the floor.
  4. Push off the floor just enough to help yourself back to kneeling, then start the next rep.

Cues

  • Hips stay in line with your shoulders
  • Fight the fall the whole way
  • Hands ready, not leading

Common mistakes

  • Bending at the hips to shorten the lever: the rep looks deeper but your hamstrings do less. Keep the straight line and stop where you lose it.
  • Dropping fast after the first few inches: if you cannot control any range, start with a band around your chest anchored behind you, or just do the first half.

Swap for: Stability Ball Leg Curl, TRX Leg Curl, Band Leg Curl

Build a session with Nordic Hamstring Curl

Hamstrings, knee curl with hips raised

Stability Ball Leg Curl

Hamstrings

It works your hamstrings at both joints at once: they hold your hips up while they curl the ball toward you. Two legs is a solid beginner exercise, and the single-leg version is hard enough for most trained lifters.

How to do it

  1. Lie face up, heels and lower calves resting on a stability ball, and your arms flat on the floor beside you.
  2. Dig your heels down into the ball and raise your hips until shoulders, hips and feet line up.
  3. Keeping your hips high, pull the ball in toward your glutes until your feet are flat on top of it.
  4. Roll the ball back out slowly until your legs are straight again, without letting your hips sag.

Cues

  • Hips up before you curl
  • Heels dig into the ball
  • Slow on the way out

Common mistakes

  • Letting your hips drop as the ball rolls toward you: the curl gets easier because the hamstrings stop holding the bridge.
  • Rushing the roll-out: the lengthening half is the productive half, so take two to three seconds on it.

Swap for: TRX Leg Curl, Nordic Hamstring Curl, Single-Leg Glute Bridge

Build a session with Stability Ball Leg Curl

Hamstrings, suspended knee curl

TRX Leg Curl

Hamstrings

If you have a suspension trainer hanging from a door or a beam, this is the same curl as the ball version with less wobble, so you can take it closer to failure. It also packs into a bag, which makes it the travel pick.

How to do it

  1. Set the straps so the foot cradles hang about knee height then lie face up with your heels in them.
  2. Raise your hips until shoulders, hips and heels line up.
  3. Pull your heels toward your glutes, keeping your hips lifted as your knees bend.
  4. Straighten your legs under control and keep the hips off the floor between reps.

Cues

  • Drive the hips up as the knees bend
  • Squeeze the backs of the thighs at the top
  • Arms flat for balance

Common mistakes

  • Starting with the straps too high: the angle gets steep and your hips sink. Lower the cradles until you can hold the bridge.
  • Swinging the legs in and out: pause a moment with the knees fully bent before you extend.

Swap for: Stability Ball Leg Curl, Band Leg Curl, Nordic Hamstring Curl

Build a session with TRX Leg Curl

Hamstrings, standing knee curl

Band Leg Curl

Hamstrings

A loop band around your ankles turns a standing knee bend into a real leg curl that you can do anywhere. The band is lightest at the start and heaviest at the top, so it works best for higher reps and as a second curl after a Nordic or ball curl.

How to do it

  1. Put a loop band around both ankles, stand tall holding a wall or chair back for balance.
  2. Keep your working thigh pointing straight down and curl that heel up toward your glutes against the band.
  3. Hold the top for a second with the hamstring squeezed.
  4. Lower the foot slowly to the floor. Do all reps on one side, then switch.

Cues

  • Knee points at the floor
  • Heel to your back pocket
  • Stand tall, do not lean forward

Common mistakes

  • Swinging the thigh forward to finish the rep: that moves the work to the hip. Keep the knee beside the standing knee.
  • Choosing a band so light that 30 reps feel easy: pick one that brings you within a few reps of failure by 20.

Swap for: TRX Leg Curl, Stability Ball Leg Curl, Nordic Hamstring Curl

Build a session with Band Leg Curl

Hinges that stretch the hamstrings

A hinge pushes your hips back with the knees nearly straight, which pulls the hamstrings long while they hold the weight. That stretched position is where they grow best, and it also means a light load feels heavy. If you only own one dumbbell, the single-leg versions double the work each leg does.

Hamstrings, one-leg hip hinge

Single-Leg RDL

Hamstrings, Glutes

Standing on one leg means that hamstring carries your whole upper body plus whatever you hold, so it is a real exercise even with no weight. It is the hinge to learn first at home, because it needs nothing and scales from bodyweight to a heavy dumbbell.

How to do it

  1. Stand on your right foot with a soft bend in the knee, a dumbbell in your left hand or no weight at all.
  2. Push your hips back and tip your torso forward while your free leg travels straight back behind you.
  3. Lower until you feel a strong pull behind the standing thigh, keeping your hips square to the floor.
  4. Drive the standing heel down and bring your hips forward to stand back up. Finish the set, then switch legs.

Cues

  • Hips square, toes of the back foot point down
  • Reach the free heel toward the wall behind you
  • Soft knee, not a squat

Common mistakes

  • Opening the hips toward the ceiling as you go down: it buys range but takes the stretch off the hamstring. Keep both hip bones facing the floor.
  • Bending the standing knee more and more as you lower: keep the bend fixed so the hip does the moving.

Swap for: Dumbbell B-Stance RDL, Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift, Band Good Morning

Build a session with Single-Leg RDL

Hamstrings and glutes, two-leg hinge

Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift

Hamstrings, Glutes

Once you own a pair of dumbbells, this is the most load you can put on your hamstrings at home. Both feet are down, so balance is not the limit and you can take the set close to failure.

How to do it

  1. Hold a pair of dumbbells against the fronts of your legs, feet under your hips.
  2. Unlock your knees slightly and push your hips back, letting the dumbbells slide down your thighs.
  3. Lower until the backs of your legs are pulling hard, usually around mid-shin, with your back flat.
  4. Squeeze your glutes and drive your hips forward to stand tall again.

Cues

  • Hips back, not down
  • Dumbbells brush your legs
  • Long spine, chest proud

Common mistakes

  • Rounding your back to reach the floor: the hamstrings stop the range, not the floor. End the rep where your back would start to bend.
  • Turning it into a squat by bending the knees more on each rep: the knee angle stays almost the same from top to bottom.

Swap for: Single-Leg RDL, Dumbbell B-Stance RDL, Kettlebell Swing

Build a session with Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift

Hamstrings, staggered-stance hinge

Dumbbell B-Stance RDL

Hamstrings, Glutes

The back foot only steadies you while the front leg does most of the work, so you get close to a single-leg RDL's loading without the wobble. It is the middle step when two-leg RDLs are too light and single-leg ones are too shaky.

How to do it

  1. Holding two dumbbells, slide one foot back so its toes sit level with the front heel, heel up.
  2. Keep most of your weight on the front foot with the knee softly bent.
  3. Push your hips back and lower the dumbbells along the front shin until the front hamstring is stretched.
  4. Drive through the front heel to stand. Finish the set on one side, then switch.

Cues

  • Back foot is a kickstand
  • Weight on the front heel
  • Same hinge, half the base

Common mistakes

  • Pushing evenly through both feet: the back leg ends up doing half the work. Keep it light on the toes.
  • Letting the front knee drift forward over the toes: think of sending your hips back toward the back heel.

Swap for: Single-Leg RDL, Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift, Band Good Morning

Build a session with Dumbbell B-Stance RDL

Hamstrings and lower back, band hinge

Band Good Morning

Hamstrings, Lower Back

With a long band under your feet and over your neck or held at your shoulders, a good morning trains the same hinge as an RDL with no weights at all. The band gets heaviest as you stand up, so it suits higher reps and a hard squeeze at the top.

How to do it

  1. Stand on the middle of a long band with a stance about as wide as your shoulders and loop the top over the back of your neck, or hold the ends at your shoulders.
  2. Soften your knees and push your hips back, tipping your chest toward the floor with a flat back.
  3. Lower until your torso is close to parallel or your hamstrings stop you.
  4. Drive your hips forward against the band until you stand tall.

Cues

  • Hips travel back first
  • Flat back, eyes down a little
  • Finish with the glutes

Common mistakes

  • Bending only at the waist with the hips still: that loads your lower back. Push the hips back as the chest goes down.
  • Using a band too light to matter: if 25 reps are easy, double it up or switch to a thicker one.

Swap for: Single-Leg RDL, Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift, Dumbbell B-Stance RDL

Build a session with Band Good Morning

Bridges and swings

Bridges train the hamstrings with your back on the floor, so nothing loads your spine; walk your feet a little further from your hips and the hamstrings take more of the work from the glutes. The kettlebell swing is the fast version of a hinge, useful for conditioning and for practicing a hard hip snap, but slower hinges do more for muscle size.

Glutes and hamstrings, one-leg bridge

Single-Leg Glute Bridge

Glutes

It needs only floor space, and with your heel planted a bit further from your hip it becomes as much a hamstring exercise as a glute one. Hold a dumbbell or kettlebell on your hip once 20 reps get easy.

How to do it

  1. Lie face up with your left foot flat on the floor and your right leg lifted straight.
  2. Set the left heel a little further from your hips than a normal bridge, with the toes slightly raised if that helps.
  3. Press through the heel and lift your hips until shoulder, hip and knee line up.
  4. Pause at the top, then lower slowly until your hips almost touch the floor. Finish the set and switch.

Cues

  • Heel down, toes light
  • Hips level, no tilting
  • Pause one second at the top

Common mistakes

  • Arching your lower back to get the hips higher: stop when your hips are in line and tighten your stomach.
  • Letting the hip on the lifted-leg side drop: keep a level belt line throughout.

Swap for: TRX Hip Bridge, Stability Ball Leg Curl, Single-Leg RDL

Build a session with Single-Leg Glute Bridge

Hamstrings and glutes, suspended bridge

TRX Hip Bridge

Glutes

With your heels in the straps, your feet are off the floor and unstable, so the hamstrings have to brace hard just to hold the bridge. It is a good partner for the TRX leg curl: do the curls, then hold the bridges when the curls run out.

How to do it

  1. Lower the foot cradles to about knee height then lie face up, heels in the cradles and knees bent about 90 degrees.
  2. Press your heels down into the straps and lift your hips until they line up with your knees and shoulders.
  3. Hold briefly at the top with your glutes squeezed.
  4. Lower your hips under control until they hover above the floor, then lift again.

Cues

  • Pull the heels down and back
  • Ribs down at the top
  • Keep the straps still

Common mistakes

  • Pushing the straps away from you: the bridge turns into a wobble. Think of dragging your heels toward your hips.
  • Resting with your hips on the floor between reps: keep tension on and hover instead.

Swap for: Single-Leg Glute Bridge, TRX Leg Curl, Stability Ball Leg Curl

Build a session with TRX Hip Bridge

Hamstrings and glutes, ballistic hinge

Kettlebell Swing

Glutes, Hamstrings

The swing is a hinge done fast, so it trains your hamstrings to snap the hips open while giving you a conditioning effect in the same set. Use it for power and short sessions, not as your only hamstring exercise: the stretch at the bottom is brief and the load is light compared with a slow RDL.

How to do it

  1. Set the bell a foot in front of you, hinge down and grab the handle with both hands.
  2. Hike the bell back between your thighs, keeping your back flat and your arms long.
  3. Drive your hips forward hard so the bell floats up to chest height, standing tall at the top.
  4. Let the bell fall back between your legs and hinge to meet it, then drive again.

Cues

  • Hips snap, arms just hold on
  • Bell passes high between the thighs
  • Stand tall like a plank at the top

Common mistakes

  • Squatting the swing by bending the knees deeply: keep it a hinge with the hips going back.
  • Lifting the bell with your shoulders: if the bell needs your arms, your hips are not driving hard enough.

Swap for: Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift, Single-Leg RDL, Band Good Morning

Build a session with Kettlebell Swing

Put them together: example sessions

Each session below picks from the exercises above for one situation, with the sets, reps, rest and RIR filled in. Open one in the session builder to change a pick, price it from a recent set, and add it to RIRLift.

Session 1

No equipment, just a floor and a couch

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts2× a week
  • Working sets20 a week
  • Per workout~25 min
  • EquipmentDumbbells

You have nothing but a floor, a couch or heavy bed to hook your heels under, and a towel for your knees.

Without weights, the only way to make a hamstring set hard is to put a long lever or one leg against your bodyweight. The Nordic curl does that at the knee, the single-leg RDL does it at the hip, and the single-leg bridge adds volume without loading your back, so the session covers both jobs of the hamstrings with 10 sets. Nordics stop 2 reps short of failure because a failed rep is an uncontrolled fall; the RDL and bridge go to 1 because a missed rep there is harmless.

Hamstrings (No Equipment)
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Nordic Hamstring CurlHeels under the couch. Lower as far as you control. 3 × 3–8 2 2 min
Single-Leg RDLPer leg. Bodyweight or a backpack. 3 s down. 4 × 10–20 1 1 min
Single-Leg Glute BridgePer leg. Heel far out. 1 s pause at the top. 3 × 12–25 1 1 min
How to run it
Run the session twice a week with two days between. Hook your heels under the couch for the Nordics, do the RDLs with no weight or a full backpack in the opposite hand, and finish with the bridges on the floor.
How to progress
On Nordics, lower a little further under control each week before you catch yourself. For the RDL and bridge, add reps until you reach the top of the range at the target RIR, then slow the lowering to three seconds or hold a backpack or water jug.
Open in the session builder

Session 2

A pair of dumbbells and a stability ball

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts2× a week
  • Working sets20 a week
  • Per workout~25 min
  • EquipmentDumbbells, Exercise Ball

You train at home with adjustable or fixed dumbbells and own a stability ball, or can get one cheaply.

Dumbbells finally let you load the hinge heavily, so each session starts with a two-leg or staggered RDL for 3 to 4 sets at 1 to 2 reps in reserve, where the stretch under load does the most. The ball curl handles the knee side of the hamstrings, and the second day swaps in single-leg work so each leg is trained alone at least once a week. That gives 10 hard sets per session, 20 a week, which is plenty for most lifters.

Hamstrings A
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift2 warm-up sets first3 s down. Stop at mid-shin. 4 × 8–12 1 2 min
Stability Ball Leg CurlHips up the whole set. 3 × 10–15 1 75 s
Single-Leg Glute BridgePer leg. Dumbbell on the hip. 3 × 10–15 1 1 min

Open Hamstrings A in the session builder

Hamstrings B
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Dumbbell B-Stance RDL1 warm-up set firstPer leg. Weight on the front heel. 3 × 8–12 1 90 s
Single-Leg RDLPer leg. One dumbbell, opposite hand. 3 × 8–12 2 75 s
Stability Ball Leg CurlSingle leg once two legs pass 15. 4 × 8–15 1 75 s

Open Hamstrings B in the session builder

How to run it
Do Session A and Session B once each per week, with at least two days between them. Start each one with the hinge while you are fresh, then the ball curl.
How to progress
When every set of the RDL reaches the top of its range at the target RIR, use the next dumbbell. Progress the ball curl from two legs to one leg once two-leg sets pass 15 reps.
Open in the session builder

Session 3

Bands and a suspension trainer, 25 minutes

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts3× a week
  • Working sets36 a week
  • Per workout~20 min
  • EquipmentSuspension Trainer, Resistance Bands

You train at home or while traveling with a set of bands and a suspension trainer on a door anchor, and you have about 25 minutes.

Bands and straps cannot load a heavy hinge, so this plan leans on the knee curl, where bodyweight and straps already make the work hard. The TRX curl and bridge are paired back to back to save time, the band good morning gives the hinge, and the band curl finishes with high reps at 0 reps in reserve because a band curl to failure costs almost no recovery. Twelve sets, three times a week, makes up in frequency what the gear lacks in load.

Hamstrings (Bands and Straps)
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
A1 TRX Leg CurlHips up. 2 s back out. 3 × 8–15 1 45 s
A2 TRX Hip BridgePull the heels down and back. 3 × 10–20 1 1 min
Band Good MorningBand over the neck or at the shoulders. 3 × 15–25 1 1 min
Band Leg CurlPer leg. Hold 1 s at the top. 3 × 15–30 0 45 s
How to run it
Do the session three times a week on non-consecutive days. Alternate the TRX curl and TRX bridge with a short rest between, then do the good mornings and band curls.
How to progress
Lower the strap cradles closer to the floor, move to single-leg TRX curls, or pick a thicker band when you hit the top of the range at the target RIR.
Open in the session builder

Make it fit you

Questions

What are the top 3 exercises for hamstrings at home?

The Nordic hamstring curl, the single-leg Romanian deadlift and the stability ball leg curl. The Nordic and ball curl bend the knee, the single-leg RDL stretches the hamstrings from the hip, and all three work with little or no equipment.

How can I work my hamstrings at home without equipment?

Hook your heels under a couch for Nordic curls, do single-leg RDLs with nothing in your hands, and add single-leg bridges with your heel planted far from your hips. Make sets hard by slowing the lowering and working on one leg, and the no-equipment session above covers all three.

What is the best workout for your hamstrings?

One that pairs a knee curl with a hip hinge, about 10 to 20 hard sets a week split over two sessions, each set ending 0 to 2 reps short of failure. At home that means a Nordic, ball or strap curl plus a Romanian deadlift in some form.

What are the symptoms of weak hamstrings?

In training, you notice it when hinges feel mostly in your lower back, when you cannot control even a short Nordic lowering, or when your hamstrings cramp during bridges and curls. Those are signs to add direct hamstring work, not a diagnosis.

Can walking strengthen your hamstrings?

Walking keeps your legs active but does not load the hamstrings hard enough to make them noticeably stronger or bigger. Uphill walking helps a little; curls and hinges taken close to failure do far more.

How many reps should I do for hamstrings at home?

Use 3 to 8 reps for Nordic curls, which are very hard, and 8 to 20 for hinges, ball curls and bridges. With lighter home weights, go higher in that range and stop 0 to 2 reps short of failure so the sets stay hard.

Are kettlebell swings enough for hamstrings?

Swings train the hamstrings to extend the hip fast, but the load is light and the stretch is short. Keep them for power or conditioning, and pair them with a slow Romanian deadlift and a curl for muscle growth.