Core Corner – Eccentric Hamstring Curls on Stability Ball

By Elizabeth Towe

 

Objective: We ask our hamstrings group to take a heavy load when it’s in a fully lengthened position (think of your fully extended leg just as your foot strikes the ground when running). We do not necessarily train them to take that load. This exercise has two progressions that will strengthen your hamstrings and better prepare your hamstrings’ tendons for loading. This picture shows the second phase of progression. You must be able to master phase one before progressing to phase two.

 

Exercise:  

  • Lie on your back with your feet on a stability ball. Your feet should be shoulder-width apart, with the top of the feet pulled in toward the shins and parallel with each other. Foot position is important so that you minimize external rotation of the hip, keeping the focus on the hamstrings.
  • Keeping the knees straight, lift the hips up toward the sky until the body is in a straight line (bridge). Be sure to brace the core to keep the spine and pelvis stable.
  • While holding the bridge position, begin to bend the knees and roll the ball in toward the body. This is the concentric (shortening) phase of the hamstring curl.
  • Slowly straighten the knees to the start position (holding the bridge position) and repeat the curls 10-15 times for two to three sets. 
  • When you have mastered this phase you can continue to the second phase. This requires much more core control and hamstrings strength. Phase two begins the same way as the phase one, with a bridge with bilateral concentric curl. Once you finish the curl, lift one foot off the ball and slowly straighten the knee with one leg. Bring the foot back to the ball to concentrically curl with both feet on the ball. Repeat the same leg for 10-15 reps then switch, two to three sets on each.

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Elizabeth Towe is a runner and a cyclist and the owner of Balanced Movement Studio in Carrboro. She graduated from East Carolina with a degree in exercise and sports science and has been personal training for over 20 years. Her ultimate goal for all of her clients is to help them realize and achieve the optimal quality in their life – and to remember to have fun doing it.