Nordic curls make one part of your hamstring (semitendinosus) grow more, while stiff-leg deadlifts make another part (semimembranosus) grow more—so different exercises target different muscles in the...

Pro

Against

Evidence from Studies

Supporting (1)

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Minimal Role of Hamstring Hypertrophy in Strength Transfer Between Nordic Hamstring and Stiff-Leg Deadlift: A Blinded Randomized Controlled Trial

Randomized Controlled Trial

Human

Contradicting (0)

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No contradicting evidence found

Gold Standard Evidence Needed

According to GRADE and EBM methodology, here is what ideal scientific evidence would look like to definitively prove or disprove this specific claim, ordered from strongest to weakest evidence.

Source Study

Minimal Role of Hamstring Hypertrophy in Strength Transfer Between Nordic Hamstring and Stiff-Leg Deadlift: A Blinded Randomized Controlled Trial

Score: 82

DOI: 10.1101/2024.12.17.24319207

Similar Assertions

Both Nordic curls and stiff-leg deadlifts make your entire hamstring group bigger after 9 weeks of training—Nordic curls make them grow a bit more.

76%

Doing two different hamstring exercises—Nordic curls and stiff-leg deadlifts—makes you stronger at both, even if your muscles don’t grow the same way, meaning muscle growth isn’t what’s making you stronger in the other exercise.

74%

Even when your hamstrings get bigger from training, that doesn’t really predict how much stronger you’ll get at the other exercise—so bigger muscles don’t mean much more strength in this case.

70%