Martin “The Martian” Fitzwater is looking to improve upon his performance after a disappointing fifth place finish in the 2025 Mr. Olympia finals. And, with preliminary qualifying for the 2026 event in Las Vegas approaching, Fitzwaters Cable is building momentum by leaning into new moves like the Nordic curl. While this exercise requires some setting up, the big man says it has become his favorite hamstring exercise. So here’s how to try it for yourself.
“Cable Nordic Curl? Romanian Chair Hamstring Curl? I don’t know what you call it, but it’s Brett Wilkin’s new favorite And there is,” Fitzwater explained In a recent Instagram post to her nearly 320,000 followers.
While standard Nordic curls target the hamstrings by holding the lower legs, requiring the individual to use their upper legs to raise and lower the torso, Fitzwater’s hack also uses a cable hookup to increase the intensity.
How Martin Fitzwater does cable Nordic curls
To produce the force needed to exceed his body weight to create a curl, Fitzwater sets himself up in a hyperextension/Roman chair. She is wearing a cable belt attachment just below the armpit, and the cable is exposed in the front.
The Martian then grabs his heels and pushes his knees firmly into the pads to hold his lower body in place. “Pushing the ankles and knees firmly into the pad does not hyperextend, but rather draws the hips straight back, bending at the knees,” Fitzwater notes as appropriate. “You want to keep the upper body in a straight line and try to keep the momentum away from your lower back.”
How Cable Nordic Curls Improve Strength and Muscle Development
The hamstrings are made up of three muscles (biceps femoris, semimembranosus and semitendinosus) And reducing the reach of the lower legs puts more stress on the hamstrings, hips and lower back. This puts pressure on the hamstrings and creates mass in the upper leg. Therefore, by adding additional weight through the cable, the potential for overexertion becomes even more intense. Some people use a barbell for additional weight but a cable may be a wiser option, as the path of the exercise is fixed, meaning there is less chance of injury and more opportunity to target the hamstrings.
Martin Fitzwater qualified for the 2026 Olympia with an impressive physique at the EVLS Prague Pro last October, but he will share the stage against the defending champion, Derek Lunsford, and past Mr. Olympia such as Samson Douda and Hadi Chupan. Then it makes sense that he would incorporate even the most innovative moves while trying to out-compete the competition. To replicate these cable Nordic curls for yourself, “Start light,” advises The Martian. “It’s very overwhelming and humbling.”
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