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Medicine Ball Hamstring Roll is an exercise performed using a medicine ball under your foot to strengthen your hamstrings, glutes and core muscles. This exercise is taken from the original glute bridge, a common move designed to strengthen your hamstring and glutes.
By learning how to do a Medicine Ball Hamstring Roll you are learning a more advanced version of glute bridge. In this version you are performing the bridge in a single-leg fashion. There are many advantages to training one side at a time, or what is referred to as “unilateral training”.
This kind of training makes each side of your body accountable to building strength rather than letting one side get lazy by relying on the stronger side. In addition to the unilateral training, this Medicine Ball Hamstring Roll uses a medicine ball under one foot and hold the other foot in the air.
Lifting your hips off the ground, you roll your foot gently back and forth. You will feel this move pretty quickly as it engages your hamstring and glute right away. You will also notice the strength it takes for your core to keep your body lifted and stable during the rolling of the ball.
You also may notice your hamstring cramping during this exercise. If so, don’t be alarmed and try to work through it. If it is too painful, lower down and rest a moment, then lift up and try it again. The cramping is likely due to the undertraining of the hamstring. It is rare to get an exercise that focuses so intensely on the hamstring muscle alone.
This one does it! The cramping also may come from having tight hamstrings.
Make sure you take time to stretch your hamstrings! If this move is too difficult you can always try it without the rolling of the ball. Just place your foot flat on the floor and hold the bridge instead.
Don’t worry about the weight of the ball you choose. You won’t be lifting the ball. Rather, make sure the ball is large enough to accommodate the size of your foot.
If you like the Medicine Ball Hamstring Roll you may also enjoy our workout 8 Medicine Ball Moves To Sculpt Your Core.
How To Perform Medicine Ball Hamstring Rolls
1) Lay on your back with left foot on top of the medicine ball and right leg extended straight into the air above hips.
2) Tighten abdominals and glutes as you lift your hips into a bridge position.
3) Slowly “pull” the ball toward your glutes with your left foot, then push away to start position. This will be a very small range of motion as the foot glides back and forth on the ball.
4) Perform desired number of repetitions and gently lower back to the floor.
5) Repeat with the other side.
Targets: hamstrings, core, glutes
