Supine Hamstring Curls on Stability Ball

Position your body in the supine position with heels placed on a stability ball.  Place the out stretched arms to the side to help in maintaining balance through the exercise.  Lift the hips up until the body is in a plank position (i.e. – body is in a straight-line position from heels to shoulder blades).  From this plank position, pull the heels forward and slowly roll the fitness ball up under the gluteus.  You should feel the hamstring doing most of the work as the heels are pulled inward.  Hold this position for a second or two and move the heels out and slowly roll the ball back to the starting position.  It will take some concentration to keep the ball aligned as you slowly roll the ball forward and back.  Complete 8-10 reps.

The supine hamstring curl fully engages the posterior muscle chain.  The term posterior chain refers to the series of muscles that include the low back, the glutes, the hamstrings, and even the calf muscles and are considered part of the “core muscles”.   Strong and flexible hamstrings and posterior chain muscles are an important part of an injury-prevention strategy.