Exercise guide · Beginner · Compound

Standing Single Leg Curl: How to Do It & Muscles Worked

The standing single leg curl is a bodyweight exercise targeting the hamstrings and glutes. It involves balancing on one leg while curling the opposite heel toward the glutes, emphasizing hamstring activation and single-leg stability.

Primary muscles
Hamstrings
Secondary muscles
Glutes
Equipment
Body Weight
Level · type
Beginner · Compound
Demonstration of the standing single leg curl
Front view: muscles worked by the standing single leg curl. Primary: hamstrings. Secondary: glutes.
Back view: muscles worked by the standing single leg curl. Primary: hamstrings. Secondary: glutes.
Primary Secondary

How to do the standing single leg curl

  1. Step 1: Stand with your feet hip-width apart and your hands on your hips.
  2. Step 2: Shift your weight onto your left leg and lift your right foot off the ground, bending your knee.
  3. Step 3: Slowly curl your right heel towards your glutes, squeezing your hamstring.
  4. Step 4: Pause for a moment at the top, then slowly lower your right foot back down to the starting position.
  5. Step 5: Repeat for the desired number of repetitions, then switch legs.

Sets, reps and programming

Suggested sets, reps and rest for the standing single leg curl by training goal
Goal Sets Reps Rest Effort
Strength 3–5 3–6 3–5 min 1–3 reps in reserve
Muscle growth 3–4 6–12 2–3 min 1–2 reps in reserve
Muscular endurance 2–3 12–20 1–2 min 1–3 reps in reserve

Ranges follow the ACSM position stand on progression in resistance training. Muscle grows across a wide range of loads when sets end close to failure (Schoenfeld et al., 2017), longer rests between heavy sets support strength and size (Schoenfeld et al., 2016), and stopping a rep or two short of failure works about as well as training to failure (Grgic et al., 2022). Estimate your working weights with the strength calculators.

Standing Single Leg Curl alternatives

More exercises that train the hamstrings as their main target:

More hamstrings exercises

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Sources

  1. American College of Sports Medicine. Progression models in resistance training for healthy adults. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2009;41(3):687-708.
  2. Schoenfeld BJ, Grgic J, Ogborn D, Krieger JW. Strength and hypertrophy adaptations between low- vs. high-load resistance training. J Strength Cond Res. 2017;31(12):3508-3523.
  3. Schoenfeld BJ, Pope ZK, Benik FM, et al. Longer interset rest periods enhance muscle strength and hypertrophy in resistance-trained men. J Strength Cond Res. 2016;30(7):1805-1812.
  4. Grgic J, Schoenfeld BJ, Orazem J, Sabol F. Effects of resistance training performed to repetition failure or non-failure on muscular strength and hypertrophy: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Sport Health Sci. 2022;11(2):202-211.

Step-by-step instructions and demonstration media are from the ExerciseDB exercise dataset.

This guide is general fitness information, not medical advice. Stop if an exercise causes pain and speak to a doctor or physiotherapist about injuries or health conditions before starting a new programme.