The Leg Curl on an Exercise Ball is great for strengthening your glutes and hamstrings, and stabilising your lower back.
The Leg Curl on an Exercise Ball forms part of the Golf Strength and Endurance series of innovative and dynamic exercises that are designed to efficiently increase your stabilising strength – supporting proper body alignment, movement patterns, and energy transfer within the golf swing, and helping to prevent injuries.
Equipment
This exercise requires an exercise ball, often referred to as a Swiss ball, and also known as a balance ball, fitness ball, gym ball, stability ball, physioball, Swedish ball, therapy ball, or yoga ball.
Figure 1. Leg Curl on an Exercise Ball Video.
Steps
- Start by lying on your back with your shoulders on the floor, your legs straight and your heels on top of an exercise ball.
- Lift your hips until your body is in a straight line from your ankles to your shoulders.
- Keeping your hips tall, bend your legs, pulling the ball towards you with your heels.
- Straighten your legs to push the ball back out.
- Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.
Initiate the movement by firing your glutes, and keep them contracted at the top of the movement.
Keep your abdominal muscles engaged, your back flat, and do not let your hips drop as you pull the exercise ball towards you.
You should feel it working your glutes, hamstrings, and lower back.
Variation
You can make this exercise easier by extending your arms out to your sides.
You can make this exercise more difficult by bringing your arms closer to your body, or crossing your arms in front of your chest, thus challenging your balance more.
For even more of a challenge, try the Leg Curl on an Exercise Ball (1 Leg) and Leg Curl on an Exercise Ball (2 Legs Up, 1 Leg Down) variations.
If you have any questions or comments about this or other articles on Golf Loopy, please send us an email.
You May Also Like…
Golf Performance Programmes – the most effective golf-specific fitness regimens on the planet, guaranteed to make you a better golfer!
There are a number of other golf-specific strength and endurance exercises in the Golf Loopy Train like a Champion System.
Introduction to the Swing like a Champion System.
Golf Anatomy and Kinesiology, a collection of articles describing the roles of the muscles involved in the golf swing.
