TRX Hamstring Curl
The TRX hamstring curl is a bodyweight leg curl: lying on your back with your heels in suspension-trainer foot cradles, you hold a hip bridge and curl your heels in towards your glutes. It works the hamstrings through knee bending while the glutes and trunk hold the bridge against the free-swinging straps.
Also called: Suspension Hamstring Curl, TRX Leg Curl, Suspension Leg Curl, Suspension Trainer Hamstring Curl · Equipment: suspension · Pattern: pull
Step by step
- Adjust the straps so the foot cradles hang about mid-calf height from the floor. Lie on your back with your heels in the cradles and your feet directly under the anchor point.
- Rest your arms on the floor by your sides, palms down, for balance. Start with your legs straight and your heels together.
- Squeeze your glutes and lift your hips so your body forms a straight line from shoulders to heels.
- Keeping the hips high, pull your heels in towards your glutes. Let your hips rise as your knees bend, finishing with knees, hips and shoulders in one line.
- Pause briefly at the top with the straps still and pointing straight down.
- Straighten your legs slowly back to the start, keeping your hips up and the straps tracking in a straight line.
- Repeat for the set without letting your hips touch the floor. After the last rep, set your hips down and take your heels out of the cradles.
- Hips high, one line from shoulders to heels
- Heels to glutes, hips rise as you curl
- Squeeze your glutes before every rep
- Straps still and straight, feet under the anchor
- Slow out, about three seconds to straighten
In VALDA, these cues are one tap away on the exercise while you train.
What it trains
| Muscle | Role | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Hamstrings: biceps femoris (short head) | Prime mover | C |
| Hamstrings: semitendinosus | Prime mover | B |
| Hamstrings: biceps femoris (long head) | Prime mover | B |
| Hamstrings: semimembranosus | Secondary | C |
| Rectus abdominis | Stabiliser | C |
| Gluteus medius/minimus | Stabiliser | C |
| Erector spinae | Stabiliser | D |
| Gluteus maximus | Dynamic stabiliser | C |
Evidence grades: A = strong research base · B = good · C = limited · D = coaching consensus.
What goes wrong, and the fix
Hips sagging during the curl
Fix: Squeeze your glutes and lift your hips to one line before each curl begins.
Straps swinging side to side
Fix: Keep heels together, feet under the anchor, and curl straight in towards your glutes.
Letting the legs drop out fast
Fix: Take about three seconds to straighten your legs, hips still up.
Short, partial curls
Fix: Pull your heels all the way in until knees, hips and shoulders line up.
Pushing hard through the arms
Fix: Rest your arms lightly on the floor and lift with your glutes.
Feet far from the anchor point
Fix: Shuffle until your feet sit directly under the anchor before you bridge.
What the research says
Muscle growthSport performanceEndurance
- Load and effort — Research finds muscle growth is similar across a wide range of loads when sets are taken close to failure, although very light loads underperform. Bodyweight curls are commonly progressed with a slower straightening phase, more reps or single-leg work.
- Effort — Studies show sets that finish a few reps short of failure capture most of the size benefit, with true failure adding only a small extra return.
- Muscle length — A 12-week MRI study found leg curls done with the hips bent (seated) grew the hamstrings more than curls with the hips straight. The suspension curl is done with the hips extended, so it trains the hamstrings at the shorter of those two lengths.
- Volume — Research links more weekly sets for a muscle to more growth, with diminishing returns. Many programmes pair a knee-bending curl like this with a hip hinge such as the Romanian deadlift.
- Tempo — Studies show growth is similar across rep speeds from about half a second to eight seconds when sets are hard. A slow straightening phase is a common way to make bodyweight curls harder.
Swap it mid-workout
With VALDA Pro, FLEX offers alternatives like these when you swap an exercise mid-workout.
Log the trx hamstring curl in VALDA, with these cues one tap away while you train and your history for it in one place.
General information about exercise technique, not medical advice. If you have an injury or a health condition, your healthcare provider is the right person to ask.