The results showed that the occurrence of hamstring strain injuries were clearly lower in the group (3 out of 15) that did additional specific hamstring training using the lying leg curl machine than in the control group (10 out of 15) that did not get the additional hamstring training (1).
In their study, 30 players from two of the best premier-league division teams in Sweden were divided into two groups: one group received additional specific hamstring training using the lying leg curl machine, whereas the other group did the same strength and conditioning programs without the additional specific hamstring training using the lying leg curl machine. studied the effects of prescribing elite soccer players additional specific eccentric hamstring training using the lying leg curl machine (1). Thus, it is misguided and inaccurate to believe such exercises to be non-beneficial when it comes to improving performance and reducing injury risk.Īskling et al. The research provided in this section suggests that seated exercises that target a single-joint action (i.e., an isolation exercises), such as seated hip adductions and leg curls, may indeed offer a positive training transfer. This fact can lead fitness professionals into mistakenly labeling them as “non-functional” and, therefore, not valuable.
With the above in mind, since exercises such as the seated hip adduction and leg curl machine do not generally mimic specific movement patterns of many common actions in athletics, their benefits for improved performance and injury risk reduction are less obvious (24). In other words, the goal of exercise programming for enhanced performance and the reduction of injury risk is to maximize training transfer. With this definition in mind, functional training for improved performance and injury risk reduction has nothing to do with what the exercise looks like, nor does it have to do with the type of equipment one is using instead, functional training is all about positive transfer to one’s training goals, which is the purpose of training. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word functional is defined as, “of or having a special activity, purpose, or task,” or, alternatively, “designed to be practical and useful, rather than attractive,” (12). Functional Benefits of the Lying Leg Curl and Seated Hip Adduction Exerciseįor clarity of communication, it is important to first define exactly what “functional training” is-and what it is not-when discussing the functional benefits of given exercises, such as the lying leg curl and seated hip adduction machine. Therefore, such conclusions or claims made from using such highly questionable criteria are less likely to be sound. This article will also demonstrate that simply because a given exercise is performed in the seated position and targets a single-joint action (i.e., an isolation exercise) does not necessarily mean that a given exercise provides little-to-no positive training transfer or, alternatively, is universally risky. This article highlights the scientific evidence on exercises like the seated leg extension, leg curl, and adduction machines to highlight their potential benefits on enhanced performance and potentially reducing injury risk.
Many single-joint, machine exercises, like the seated hip adduction, lying hamstring curl, and leg extension, are commonly believed to be “non-functional” and even “risky.” Many personal trainers base this conclusion on the criteria that such exercises are 1) performed in the seated or lying position and 2) are isolation exercises that are designed to create a resistance challenge mostly on a single-joint action.