Single Leg Valslide Leg Curl Overview
The single leg valslide leg curl builds the back of your legs. It works your hamstrings, the muscles on the back of your thighs. It also uses your glutes, your butt muscles. You need two sliding discs called valslides and a smooth floor. You slide one foot out and pull it back in while your hips stay up. Working one leg at a time makes each hamstring work hard. The slide adds a strong, steady pull the whole way. It also fires your glutes and core to hold your hips up. This is a good pick for lifters with some experience. Use it on a leg day or a posterior chain day. Place it after your big lifts like squats or deadlifts.
What Is The Point of the Single Leg Valslide Leg Curl?
The single leg valslide leg curl builds hamstring strength and stability on one leg at a time. It fixes muscle imbalances and makes your legs more balanced.
How To Do The Single Leg Valslide Leg Curl
- Lie on your back on a smooth floor with one foot on a valslide or gliding disc and your other leg bent up in the air. Place your arms flat at your sides for stability.
- Brace your core and squeeze your glute on the working side to lift your hips off the ground into a bridge. Hold your hips high, since that position is the key to the whole exercise.
- Keep your body in a straight line from your shoulders to your working knee, resisting any sag in your hips.
- Press your heel down into the valslide to control it, since gliding on one leg makes the disc want to shoot away.
- Slide the valslide foot away from your body by straightening your working leg, keeping your hips lifted high the entire time. This is the demanding eccentric portion.
- Extend until your leg is nearly straight and you feel a strong stretch and tension in your hamstring, without letting your hips drop.
- Pull your heel back toward your glutes by contracting your hamstring, sliding the disc in as you bend your knee. Keep your hips up as you curl.
- Squeeze your hamstring hard at the top when your heel is close to your glutes, then control the next slide out.
- Complete all your reps on one leg, then switch to the other. This is a tough hamstring move, so aim for 6 to 10 reps per leg for 3 to 4 sets.
Single Leg Valslide Leg Curl Form Tips
- Keep your hips up high the whole time. Do not let them sag.
- Squeeze your glutes to hold the bridge.
- Pull your heel back with your hamstring. Do not push with your foot.
- Slide out slow and controlled. Do not let the foot fly out.
- Slide out until your leg is nearly straight. This gives a full range.
- Breathe out as you pull in. Breathe in as you slide out.
- Keep your core tight to stay steady.
- Keep your shoulders and arms flat for support.
- Move with control both ways.
Common Mistakes to Avoid for the Single Leg Valslide Leg Curl
- Letting the hips drop as you slide out. When your hips sag, the tension leaves your hamstring and the exercise loses its value. Squeeze your glutes and keep your hips high from the first rep to the last.
- Sliding out too fast and losing control. Letting the disc shoot away wastes the eccentric, which is the most productive part of this move, and can strain a cold hamstring. Control the slide-out slowly over two to three seconds.
- Not curling all the way back in. Doing partial curls skips the peak hamstring contraction near your glutes. Slide the disc fully in until your knee is deeply bent and squeeze.
- Pushing through your toes instead of your heel. Driving with your toes shifts work to your calves and lets the disc slip. Keep your foot flexed and press through your heel to keep the hamstring loaded.
- Using your arms to muscle the movement. Pressing hard through your arms and shoulders hides a weak hamstring. Keep your arms as light stabilizers and let your leg do the work.
- Extending the leg completely straight and losing tension. Snapping the knee to full lockout can jar it and briefly drops the tension. Slide to nearly straight where you feel a strong stretch, keeping the hamstring loaded.
- Doing too many reps and losing form. This is a very demanding move, and pushing past your clean-rep limit collapses your hips and technique. Keep reps in a lower range and stop while your form holds.
- Letting the standing hip rotate. Twisting your hips on the single leg unloads the hamstring and stresses your back. Keep your hips level and square throughout the slide.
- Neglecting core bracing. A loose core lets your lower back arch and your hips wobble under the single-leg demand. Tighten your midsection to stay stable and protect your spine.
- Doing uneven reps between legs. Because you train one leg at a time, a stronger side can quietly do more, building an imbalance. Match the reps on both legs and let the weaker one set the count.
- Rushing the whole set for speed. Whipping the disc in and out removes the control the hamstring needs to grow. Move deliberately and feel the muscle working every rep.
Single Leg Valslide Leg Curl Workout Tips
- Keep your hips high the entire set. Holding the bridge is what keeps tension on your hamstring, so squeezing your glutes and locking your hips up is essential.
- Own the slide-out eccentric for two to three seconds. The lengthening portion is a huge driver of hamstring strength and size, so resist the disc as it moves away.
- Press through your heel, not your toes. A flexed foot with heel pressure keeps the hamstring loaded and stops the disc from slipping.
- Start with two-legged valslide curls if the single leg is too hard. Building strength on two legs first makes the transition to one leg much smoother.
- Do your weaker leg first and match the strong side to it. Single-leg work exposes imbalances, and letting the weak side lead keeps you even.
- Program this for 6 to 10 reps per leg over 3 to 4 sets. It is very demanding, so lower reps with perfect form beat grinding out sloppy ones.
- The valslide gives a smooth, continuous glide that hammers the eccentric. That constant control is exactly what makes this such an effective hamstring builder.
- This trains the knee-bending function of the hamstring. Pair it with hinge work like Romanian deadlifts for complete development of the muscle.
- Use the mind-muscle connection on your hamstring. Think about pulling the disc in with the back of your thigh rather than just moving your foot.
- Brace your core hard throughout. A tight trunk keeps your hips from twisting and protects your lower back on the single-leg demand.
- Strong hamstrings protect your knees and boost your sprint speed. This move builds both the strength and the control that carry over to athletics.
- Progress by slowing the tempo before adding difficulty. A slower slide-out adds serious challenge with no equipment change.
- Warm up your hamstrings first. A few lighter hip bridges prepare the muscle and cut the risk of a cramp or strain on this tough move.
- Keep your standing hip level and square. Preventing rotation keeps the hamstring loaded and your spine safe.
- Do not train to failure every set on a demanding single-leg move. Stopping while your form holds keeps you safe and your hips high.
- Be patient with the progression. Curling on one leg with a glide is genuinely hard, so treat steady gains in reps and control as real wins.
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