Wednesday, January 26, 2011


Stability Ball Hamstring Curls


 


Start:  Lie floor with your hands by your side.  
Place the stability ball under your heels with your legs fully extended.  Your butt should be touching the floor.
Begin the motion:  Draw in your core.  Pull the ball towards your body with your heels and raise your hips up towards the ceiling in one continuous motion.
The top of the motion your hips should be as high as possible while you maintain a neutral spine (no arch).
n one continuous motion, lower yourself back to the original position.  You also have the option to plantar flex (push your toes in ball for calf raise) your toes into the ball.
Modifications:  Change hand positions and / or use 1 foot at a time to increase the difficulty of the stability ball hamstring curl.  This increases difficulty for these stability ball exercises because more stabilization or strength is needed.

Elevated Split Squats


Elevated split squats or stationary lunges are versatile exercise which you can use as one of the best hamstring exercises.
Start:  Put your front foot up on an elevated surface.  Position your knee so the middle of the knee joint is right on top of your ankle.  Hold a pair of dumbbells in the low or high hang position.
Scoot your back foot back until your can create around a 90 degree angle with your back leg to match your front leg.  The balls of your back foot should be on the floor.  Draw in your core and keep your shoulders retracted.
Begin the motion:  Slowly lower your torso straight down towards the floor.  Your upper body should remain upright with a neutral back.
Since you are trying to make these the best hamstring exercises, your front knee can slide forward slightly.  When your back knee approaches the floor pause for a second and lunge back up to the top position.  Try to squeeze your hamstrings.
Modifications:  A controlled unstable surface for your front foot will make these best hamstrings exercises more difficult.  A BOSU ball would be a good choice.  These are also an excellent exercise to use in combination with upper body exercises such as shoulder presses or biceps curls.

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