How to Do the Reverse Nordic Curl to Injury-Proof Your Tendons | Well+Good

If you hear the name “Nordic” and your mind instantly conjures up a tough-as-nails Viking, you’re not alone. So if a workout move has “Nordic” in the title, it’s got to be effective, right?! Enter: the reverse Nordic curl, aka leaning camel, an eccentric exercise that hits your quads (and more) in all the right places. If you’re up to trying new challenges, the reverse Nordic curl may be your move.

So what exactly is a reverse Nordic curl? Is it something that you should incorporate in your strength-training routine? Today, we’re talking all about the benefits of this exercise, and showing you how to do the reverse Nordic curl to strengthen your quads and tendons.

What is a reverse Nordic curl?

To define a reverse Nordic curl, we have to start with a regular Nordic curl. Originating in Scandinavia, Nordic curls, or Nordic hamstring exercises (NHEs), isolate and strengthen the hamstrings. Nordic curls have been shown1 to prevent hamstring injury in athletes and are a valuable component of physical training.

Regular Nordic curls are performed by kneeling, anchoring your feet under something, and leaning forward with your torso to engage your hamstrings. Then you raise yourself back up, keeping your back straight.

The reverse Nordic curl (also known as the leaning camel) is the opposite move. Instead of leaning forward, you’re leaning back—no anchor required. It works your quads, hip flexors, and core, and you get some great potential benefits for injury prevention.

“The main reason to incorporate any iteration of the Nordic curl into your routine would be for tendon health,” says Kevin Noel, CSCS, chiropractor and certified strength and conditioning specialist at LeverEdge Chiropractic.

Most of us probably aren’t thinking of our tendon health while we are hitting the gym, but if you want to remain active and age well, strong tendons mean serious injury prevention.

How to perform the reverse Nordic curl

1. Start in a tall kneeling position with the tops of your feet facing the ground (toes un-tucked).
2. Slowly lower yourself backward, bringing your glutes closer to your heels while simultaneously keeping a straight line between your knees, hips, and shoulders.
3. The goal is for your glutes to successfully touch your heels, but go back as far as you can.
4. Then, by pushing the tops of your feet into the ground, return to the start position using your quadriceps and hip flexors.

Benefits of the reverse Nordic curl

Hard to mess up

With any new move, there comes the risk of doing it the wrong way—but that risk is way lower with reverse Nordic curls.

“The best part about both the Nordic hamstring curl and the Nordic reverse curl is there are almost no mistakes that can be made while performing the exercise,” Noel says. “This is because any deviation can actually be seen as a slight regression or modification.”

There are just a couple of precautions to consider. “The only mistake to make is not properly warming up the tendons and muscles associated beforehand, which could possibly lead to injury,” explains Noel. “Or by jumping right into the movement without assessing your ability to completely perform a repetition.”

Easy to incorporate

Already have a training plan? You can easily incorporate reverse Nordic curls into your pre-existing routine. Noel recommends adding them into any lower body and/or core sessions, depending on your routine split (upper vs. lower body, etc).

“Although the exercise itself might not be ‘easy,’ incorporating them into your routine should be a staple, especially for people who have chronically tight hip flexors or chronic low back pain,” he says.

How many reverse Nordic curls should you do? “If someone is newer to the movement, I would suggest starting out with fewer sets of smaller numbers, like 3 to 6, and assessing tendon tolerance,” Noel says. “Once a baseline is established, rep ranges can be worked just like any other resistance training exercise, and performed to meet [your] goals.”

Modifications are simple

What if you’re unable to do a reverse Nordic curl? No worries! Modifying this move is simple.

“My favorite [adjustment] to the movement would be to break the straight line between knees, hips, and shoulders,” Noel says. “You could leave the torso perfectly upright throughout the entire range of motion and instead focus on keeping a straight line from just the knees through the hips.”

Still too tough? Noel suggests trying a supine (lying on your back) leg lift or hanging leg raise.

Want to make it more intense? Hold a weight plate against your chest for added strength training.

Injury prevention

As we mentioned before, one of the biggest benefits of reverse Nordic curls is how they strengthen tendons.

“All athletes, whether explosive, short-duration sport, or long-distance and high-endurance activity, can benefit from having strong, healthy tendons,” says Noel. “Tendons are responsible for attaching the contractile components of muscle to bone, and are often the first thing to get injured in an overuse type injury.”

Works several muscles

The reverse Nordic curl activates similar muscles2 as a single-leg squat, primarily working the quadriceps muscle. You’re also engaging your core as you maintain a straight line forward and backward, which makes this a great abs workout. The balance required as you lean back means you’re also using lots of smaller stabilizer muscles and even your glutes to steady your hips.