History of the Nordic Hamstring Curl
The Nordic was first published in 1880 in George Herbert’s book, Health by Exercise.
As shown in the book, anything to hold down your heels, plus a thick pad, is great!
But it didn’t reach mainstream awareness until an ESPN special in which Adam Archuleta showed his incredible Nordic ability. His trainer, Jay Shroeder, coached Archuleta in the Nordic for 6 YEARS, helping him go from high school scrub to first round NFL pick!
Bert Sorin (of Sorinex exercise equipment) watched that ESPN special and made the first actual Nordic bench!
Years later, I saw Marty St. Louis show his ability on a Nordic bench. Marty went from undrafted to NHL champ and MVP. He still holds the record for OLDEST player to lead the league in scoring. His trainer, Ben Prentiss, said he was the best at the Nordic out of all 20+ pro hockey players at his gym!
I was HOOKED…
I immediately bought a Nordic bench for the original ATG gym, and I started working on it.
But two years later, I still couldn’t do what Marty did.
Until one day I realized…
“What if I elevate the front of the bench?”
It felt like cheating.
But… cheating what?
I was finally able to work on the SAME form as Marty, but at my level!
Soon I had everyone at ATG having FUN while building stronger hamstrings and connective tissues behind the knee.
Everyone could work at their own level.
So now we have a solution which measurably adjusts angles in a SECOND.
It arrives pre-assembled other than the wheels.
And it’s $360 for members.
It’s already my mom’s favorite piece of equipment!
She’ll be 70 in six weeks, and she’s trying to be as fast and mobile as her grandkids for as long as possible.
Go SuperNana!
[We turned half of ATGHQ into a playzone for my kids! One of the best decisions I’ve ever made. They don’t even think about screentime. They love playing with their grandparents. And I even get a little work done. Ha!]
CONTEXT
Hamstring curls are also great!
But…
- I train 90+% from home, and my entire home gym costs less than our ham curl machine at HQ.
- Notice how a ham curl is tougher in the contracted position, whereas the Nordic is tougher in the lengthened position. So in my current program I do BOTH, once per week. (From home, I use a MonkeyFoot for the ham curls.)
FURTHER CONTEXT
The hamstrings flex the knee but they also help extend the hip, so once a week I work on a stretch-strength deadlift.
CONCLUSION
The Nordic might not be a magic exercise.
But working on it for 8 YEARS as part of this formula has ABSOLUTELY been magical for me.
Modern life doesn’t offer enough magic, and I’d say the ability to engineer greater joint strength, mobility, and athleticism is a magical feeling.
So, The FAMILY Nordic Bench is born!
The first batch will be done next month, so I’d say May is a safe shipping estimate.
Thank YOU for working with ATG to write history, in real time, for the benefit of future generations.
Yours in Solutions,
Ben
