Lower body · MOBILITY

Reverse Nordic — hold at length

Quad and hip-flexor length under load — the other half of the Nordic, and the range a sprinter runs out of first

Coaching cues

How to do it well

These are the cues the app shows on the exercise card, written for the moment you are standing in front of the bar.

  • Ribs down, glutes on
  • Lean back only as far as you can return from
  • Hold, then pull yourself up
Tempo
5s to lower
This is general information, not medical advice. Train Smart gives training and nutrition guidance for healthy adults. It is not a substitute for a doctor, physiotherapist or accredited dietitian. If you have an injury, a medical condition, or you are unsure whether an exercise is right for you, get it checked first. Every recommendation on this site is sourced.
In the program

How Train Smart prescribes it

The sets and reps below are the authored starting point. The actual weight you see is calculated from your own last top set and the week you are in within your four-week block.

ProgramSessionSets × repsLoad
BodybuildingLegs — Quads, Hams, Glutes, Calves2 × 15s holdBW / light plate
Bodyweight AthleteLower Strength + Power2 × 15s holdBW / light plate

How the weight is calculated →

At a glance

What it trains, and who trains it

Muscles worked
Quads
Region
Lower body
Classified as
MOBILITY
Alternatives

If you cannot do this one

Rack taken, kit missing, or it does not suit you. These are the swaps the app offers, matched by movement pattern and body region — each with the reason it is a fair substitute.

AlternativeWhy it works as a swap
Nordic CurlEccentric hamstring — top injury-prevention
Nordic Drop (slow descent)Take as long as possible to lower — max-effort eccentric hamstring
Adductor SliderSlide one leg out laterally — eccentric adductor loading
Lying Leg Curl MachineMachine: direct hamstring loading, easy to scale
Seated Leg Curl MachineMachine: hamstring isolation through full range
Standing Single-Leg Curl MachineMachine: unilateral hamstring isolation

This exercise, in a program that knows why it is there

Train Smart puts this movement in the right session, at the right point in your block, at a weight calculated for you — and swaps it automatically if you do not have the kit.

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