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This is a killer exercise from Juan Carlos Santana's MEd, CSCS Institute of Human Performance in Boca Raton, Florida. It crushes the hamstrings, works the posterior chain quite a bit and has several variations that make it impossible to get bored. Plus, all you need is a ball and a little bit of floor space.
Most people are weak in their posterior chain from sitting all day at work, so this exercise will definitely address that. For endurance athletes it smooths out your pedal stroke and makes your running a lot better. Especially once you've worked up to the single leg version.
Prior to doing this, make sure you get a thorough once over from a trusted trainer, PT or sports doc to make sure you are ready to go. If you are, enjoy, because your hamstrings will scream in agony as you build muscles that can rip phone books in half.
PLEASE NOTE:
The video has the first and third exercises out of order based on the way Santana teaches it at his seminars. It should be a progression of pain from most manageable to most "enjoyable" as you do it.
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I'm not to big on trying to count with this sequence because if you do it correctly, you should barely be able to say your name, let alone think it. So the whole counting thing isn't a good idea. Set a timer to :30 and do each thing for the alloted time. You can do consecutive sets or use it as part of a routine. Either way you'll have a blast!
Enjoy the stability ball triple threat!
Most people are weak in their posterior chain from sitting all day at work, so this exercise will definitely address that. For endurance athletes it smooths out your pedal stroke and makes your running a lot better. Especially once you've worked up to the single leg version.
Prior to doing this, make sure you get a thorough once over from a trusted trainer, PT or sports doc to make sure you are ready to go. If you are, enjoy, because your hamstrings will scream in agony as you build muscles that can rip phone books in half.
PLEASE NOTE:
The video has the first and third exercises out of order based on the way Santana teaches it at his seminars. It should be a progression of pain from most manageable to most "enjoyable" as you do it.
- Step One
- Lie on your back with your legs extended and your calvess on the ball.
- Lift a straight spine off the floor, think hip hinge to get to the top of a deadlift, by pushing the calves into the ball. Your head should automatically push into the floor as well.
- Step Two
- Keeping your hips off the ground the whole time, contract your hamstrings and drag your heels toward your butt.
- Straighten your legs using your glutes to push your heels out.
- Step Three
- Slightly bend the knees and and put the ball of your feet on the ball.
- To make it more fun, keep the heels off the ball.
- Drive the ball of your foot into the ball and raise your hips off the ground.
- Done correctly, by this point a searing lactic acid induced muscular "warmth" should've accumulated in your glutes, hamstrings and calves.
I'm not to big on trying to count with this sequence because if you do it correctly, you should barely be able to say your name, let alone think it. So the whole counting thing isn't a good idea. Set a timer to :30 and do each thing for the alloted time. You can do consecutive sets or use it as part of a routine. Either way you'll have a blast!
Enjoy the stability ball triple threat!
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