Hamstring Machines: 9 Gym Machines and How to Use Them

Your hamstrings sit on the back of your thigh. They bend your knee, and most of them also help straighten your hip. Gyms have several machines for them, and the machines do not all do the same job.

This guide covers nine machines: the ones that train your hamstrings directly, and the ones that mostly train your hips and back. Where a study exists, I link it. Where something is standard coaching practice rather than research, I say so.

Hamstring Machines at a Glance

Machine	Mainly trains	Good to know
1. Seated leg curl	Hamstrings (knee bending)	Grew the hamstrings more than the lying curl in one 12-week MRI study
2. Lying leg curl	Hamstrings (knee bending)	Hips are straight, so the hamstrings are less stretched than when seated
3. Standing leg curl	Hamstrings, one leg at a time	Setup varies a lot between machines
4. Glute-ham raise machine	Hamstrings, hips and back	Moves your body weight, so start with a partial range
5. Cable machine	Curls and hip hinges	Ankle cuff for curls, rope for pull-throughs
6. Hyperextension bench	Glutes, lower back, hamstrings	A hip movement, not a knee movement
7. Reverse hyperextension	Glutes, lower back, hamstrings	Less glute and hamstring activity than the hyperextension in one study
8. Smith machine	Hip hinges such as the stiff-leg deadlift	I found no study comparing it with a free barbell
9. Leg press	Quads first, glutes with high feet	A supporting leg exercise, not a hamstring exercise

How Hamstring Machines Differ

Two kinds of movement train the hamstrings. Leg curls are knee movements: you bend your knee against resistance. Hinges and back extensions are hip movements: you straighten your hip. A review cited in a 2021 MRI study suggests the two load the individual hamstring muscles differently, so using one of each is a sensible plan (my suggestion, not a study finding).

I found no study showing that machines grow the hamstrings more than free weights such as the Romanian deadlift. In a 2009 EMG study of 34 athletes, the seated leg curl and the Nordic-style Russian curl gave higher biceps femoris activity than the stiff-leg deadlift, single-leg stiff-leg deadlift, good morning and squat.

EMG measures muscle activity, not growth. Machines do guide the movement, which makes them easy to learn and to load in small steps. That is a practical advantage, not a research result.

One more point, from a 2022 EMG study: in 15 trained women, the glutes were less active during leg curls than in the Romanian deadlift, step-up, hip extension, kickback or Nordic curl. A leg curl is a hamstring exercise, not a glute exercise. For glute machines, see our gym machines for glutes guide.

Machines That Train the Hamstrings Directly

1. Seated Leg Curl

You sit with your hips bent and your lower legs on a padded roller. In a 12-week study of 20 adults, each person trained one leg on a seated curl and the other on a lying curl. Whole-hamstring volume on MRI grew 14.1% with the seated curl and 9.3% with the lying curl.

The extra growth came from the muscles that cross both the hip and the knee. The biceps femoris short head, which crosses only the knee, grew about the same either way (+10% and +9%). Both versions protected equally against muscle damage. It is one study, so treat it as a good reason to include a seated curl, not as proof that the lying curl is bad.

How to Use the Seated Leg Curl

1. Adjust the backrest so your knees line up with the machine’s pivot point, with the backs of your knees at the edge of the seat.
2. Place the roller just above your heels and lower the thigh pad so it holds your legs in place. Hold the handles and sit tall.
3. Bend your knees to pull the roller down and back toward the seat until you reach the end of the range.
4. Pause briefly, then let the roller rise slowly until your legs are nearly straight.

If your hips lift off the seat, the weight is too heavy (coaching advice).

2. Lying Leg Curl

You lie face down with the pad above your heels. Your hips are straight, so the hamstrings are shorter than in the seated version, but it is still an effective hamstring exercise: in the study above, the lying curl grew the whole hamstrings by 9.3%. The calf muscle (gastrocnemius) also bends the knee, so it helps. See our gym machines for calves guide.

You may have read that turning your toes in or out changes which hamstring works. In a study of 20 patients after ACL surgery, turning the foot inward raised inner (medial) hamstring EMG during the prone leg curl by about 8.7% of maximum, and turning it outward lowered it by about 5.8%. That was EMG in patients with a hamstring graft, not growth, and the shifts were small. Treat toe position as a minor tweak.

How to Use the Lying Leg Curl

1. Lie face down with your knees just past the edge of the bench.
2. Put your ankles under the padded lever and hold the handles to keep your upper body still.
3. Bend your knees to lift the lever toward your glutes and hold briefly at the top.
4. Lower the lever slowly until your legs are almost straight.

3. Standing Leg Curl

Most standing machines have you lean forward onto a support pad and curl one leg at a time. Training one leg at a time lets you see whether one side is weaker. Setups differ a lot between brands, so follow the instructions on the machine.

How to Use the Standing Leg Curl

1. Adjust the support pad and lever so the lever pad rests against the back of your working calf, just above the ankle.
2. Lean onto the pad and hold the handles. Your other foot stays on the platform.
3. Bend your working knee to curl your heel up toward your glute.
4. Lower slowly, finish your reps, then switch legs and do the same number on the other side.

4. Glute-Ham Raise Machine

The glute-ham developer (GHD) has you lower your torso forward from a kneeling position and pull yourself back up by bending your knees. You move your own body weight, which makes it one of the hardest exercises here for beginners.

Start with a partial range, or push off the floor or a bench with your hands on the way up (coaching advice). It is often described as a glute exercise too. I couldn’t find peer-reviewed data to back a strong claim either way, so I treat it as a hamstring exercise first.

How to Use the Glute-Ham Raise Machine

1. Adjust the footplate and pad so your ankles are secured and the pad supports your thighs, with your knees free to bend.
2. Start upright with a straight back and your arms crossed over your chest.
3. Lower your torso forward slowly by straightening your knees, keeping your body in one line, until you are close to parallel with the floor.
4. Bend your knees to pull your torso back up to the start.

5. Cable Machine

A cable machine covers both movement types. With an ankle cuff on the low pulley you can do standing leg curls. With a rope between your legs you can do pull-throughs, a hip hinge. Cable stiff-leg and Romanian deadlifts are other options.

How to Do the Cable Standing Leg Curl

1. Attach an ankle cuff to the low pulley and strap it around one ankle.
2. Face the machine and hold the frame for balance, with your working leg slightly behind you.
3. Bend your knee to bring your heel toward your glute, keeping your thigh still.
4. Lower slowly, finish your reps, then switch legs.

Hip-Extension and Supporting Machines

The next four train your hips, back or legs more than your knees. They can add hamstring work, but they are not substitutes for a leg curl.

6. Hyperextension Bench

The hyperextension (or back extension) bench has you hinge at the hips with your feet secured. It mainly trains the lower back and glutes, with the hamstrings helping.

In a study of 20 recreationally active people, the hyperextension produced more glute and biceps femoris activity than the reverse hyperextension, with similar lower back activity. For more lower back options, see our lower back machine exercises.

How to Use the Hyperextension Bench

1. Adjust the pad so it sits just below your hip creases and your heels are secured against the footplate.
2. Cross your arms over your chest or rest your hands lightly by your head.
3. Hinge forward at the hips, keeping your back straight, until you feel a stretch in your hamstrings.
4. Lift until your shoulders, hips and legs form a straight line. Don’t arch past that line.

7. Reverse Hyperextension

On this machine your torso is fixed on a pad and your legs swing up behind you. In the same study, it gave less glute and biceps femoris activity than the hyperextension, but more hip range of motion and less bending of the lower spine.

I found no study showing that it grows the hamstrings. Designs differ: some hold your feet between rollers on a lever, others let your legs hang free.

How to Use the Reverse Hyperextension

1. Lie face down on the pad with your hips at the edge and hold the handles. Secure your feet if your machine has rollers.
2. Squeeze your glutes and lift your legs until they are in line with your torso.
3. Lower your legs slowly. Avoid swinging them with momentum.

8. Smith Machine

A Smith machine holds the barbell on fixed rails, so it only moves up and down. That makes it a simple way to practise the stiff-leg or Romanian deadlift and the good morning, which are hip hinges.

I found no study comparing hamstring training on a Smith machine with a free barbell, so I wouldn’t claim either is better. For more ideas, see our Smith machine leg workout guide.

How to Do the Smith Machine Stiff-Leg Deadlift

1. Set the bar at about thigh height, grip it just outside your thighs, and unrack it. Stand with your feet about hip-width apart and your knees slightly bent.
2. Push your hips back and slide the bar down your thighs, keeping your back straight.
3. Stop when you feel a strong stretch in your hamstrings, usually around mid-shin. Don’t round your back to go lower.
4. Drive your hips forward to stand tall.

9. Leg Press

The leg press mainly trains the quads, which is what the muscles marked in the image show. Foot position changes the emphasis. In a study of 14 women, the glutes were more active with the feet high on the platform, and the quadriceps were more active with the feet low.

The summary I could read does not report higher hamstring activity for any foot position. For quad work see our gym machines for quads page, and for glutes see leg press for glutes.

How to Use the Leg Press

1. Adjust the seat so your back is fully supported and your knees bend to about 90 degrees at the bottom.
2. Place your feet about shoulder-width apart on the platform. Higher on the platform shifts work toward the glutes, and lower shifts it toward the quads.
3. Release the safety handles and press the platform away without locking your knees.
4. Lower the platform slowly until your knees reach about 90 degrees, then press again.

Sample Hamstring Machine Workout

I found no hamstring-specific research that sets sets and reps. The 2026 ACSM position stand pooled 137 systematic reviews in healthy adults. Its findings are general: muscle size was better with at least 10 sets per muscle group per week, strength with at least 2 sessions a week, and training to failure made no consistent difference. I’m reading “muscle group” as the hamstrings, because the reviews don’t define it more narrowly.

Here is a simple session (my suggestion, not from a study). Do it twice a week with a rest day or two between sessions. That adds up to 10 hamstring sets a week.

Exercise	Sets	Reps
Seated leg curl	3	8-12
Smith machine stiff-leg deadlift	2	8-12

Choose a weight that makes the last reps hard while your form holds. When you can finish every set at the top of the rep range, add a little weight. To add variety, swap the seated curl for a lying curl, or add a glute-ham raise or a cable curl. Without a gym, our resistance band hamstring exercises are a home option.

For a full list, see our best hamstring exercises guide, and for the rest of your leg day see gym machines for legs. New to machines? Start with gym machines for beginners.

Hamstring Machine FAQs

What is the hamstring machine called?

Most gyms call it the leg curl or hamstring curl machine. It comes as a seated version, a lying (prone) version and a standing version. See our gym machine names with images list to identify other machines.

Is the seated or lying leg curl better?

In the one 12-week MRI study I found, the seated curl grew the hamstrings more (+14.1% vs +9.3%), mainly in the muscles that cross both the hip and the knee. Both worked. If your gym has both, include the seated one. If it has only one, use that one.

Are machines better than free weights for hamstrings?

I found no study comparing muscle growth. Machine curls and free-weight hinges load the hamstrings in different ways, so doing one of each is a reasonable plan (my suggestion). Pick what you can load progressively and perform with good form.

Do hamstring machines prevent injuries?

That has not been shown for leg curl machines. The best-studied exercise for hamstring injuries is the Nordic hamstring curl, which is not a machine exercise.

A 2019 meta-analysis of 8,459 athletes found about half as many hamstring injuries in programmes that included it (risk ratio 0.49). A 2021 reappraisal that used only randomised trials called the evidence inconclusive (risk ratio 0.59, 95% confidence interval 0.27 to 1.29).

How many sets do I need for my hamstrings?

The ACSM 2026 position stand found more muscle size with at least 10 sets per muscle group per week. It also found similar size gains for training 1 day a week versus more than 5 days a week when total weekly volume was equal. Two hamstring sessions a week is a practical starting point (my suggestion, not from a study).

Research Papers Referenced in This Guide

Every study mentioned above is listed here in the order it first appears, with a link to the original. Six are small studies of 14 to 34 people. Five of those measured muscle activity with EMG, which shows how active a muscle is, not how much it grows. The sixth used MRI to measure muscle size. The other three are a 2026 overview of reviews and two papers on Nordic hamstring curl injury data.

1. Greater Hamstrings Muscle Hypertrophy but Similar Damage Protection after Training at Long versus Short Muscle Lengths. Maeo S, Huang M, Wu Y, et al. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 2021. Twenty adults trained one leg on a seated leg curl and the other on a lying leg curl for 12 weeks. Whole-hamstring volume on MRI grew 14.1% with the seated curl and 9.3% with the lying curl.
2. Hamstring activation during lower body resistance training exercises. Ebben WP. International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance, 2009. In 34 athletes, biceps femoris EMG was higher in the seated leg curl and the Russian curl than in the stiff-leg deadlift, single-leg stiff-leg deadlift, good morning and squat.
3. Muscle Activation Patterns of the Proximal Medial and Distal Biceps Femoris and Gluteus Maximus Among 6 Hip Extension and Knee Flexion Exercises in Trained Women. Stevens BM, Nichols BR, Doty HI, et al. International Journal of Exercise Science, 2022. In 15 trained women, glute activity was lowest during the leg curl, and Nordic curls gave the highest biceps femoris activity.
4. Foot rotation influences the activity of medial and lateral hamstrings during conventional rehabilitation exercises in patients following anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction. Beuchat A, Maffiuletti NA. Physical Therapy in Sport, 2019. In 20 patients after ACL reconstruction, turning the foot inward raised inner hamstring EMG during the prone leg curl by about 8.7% of maximum, and turning it outward lowered it by about 5.8%.
5. Biomechanical Comparison of the Reverse Hyperextension Machine and the Hyperextension Exercise. Lawrence MA, Chin A, Swanson BT. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 2019. In 20 recreationally active people, the hyperextension gave more glute and biceps femoris activity than the reverse hyperextension, with similar lower back activity. The reverse hyperextension gave more hip range of motion and less bending of the lower spine.
6. Analysis of muscle activation during different leg press exercises at submaximum effort levels. Da Silva EM, Brentano MA, Cadore EL, et al. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 2008. In 14 women, the glutes were more active with the feet high on the platform and the quadriceps were more active with the feet low. The abstract does not report a hamstring result.
7. American College of Sports Medicine Position Stand. Resistance Training Prescription for Muscle Function, Hypertrophy, and Physical Performance in Healthy Adults: An Overview of Reviews. Currier BS, D’Souza AC, Singh MAF, et al. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 2026. An overview of 137 systematic reviews in healthy adults. Muscle size was better with at least 10 sets per muscle group per week, strength with at least 2 sessions a week, and training to failure made no consistent difference.
8. Including the Nordic hamstring exercise in injury prevention programmes halves the rate of hamstring injuries: a systematic review and meta-analysis of 8459 athletes. van Dyk N, Behan FP, Whiteley R. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 2019. Programmes that included the Nordic hamstring exercise had about half as many hamstring injuries (risk ratio 0.49).
9. Why methods matter in a meta-analysis: a reappraisal showed inconclusive injury preventive effect of Nordic hamstring exercise. Impellizzeri FM, McCall A, van Smeden M. Journal of Clinical Epidemiology, 2021. Using randomised trials only, the risk ratio was 0.59 (95% confidence interval 0.27 to 1.29), so the evidence was inconclusive.