The swiss ball is one of my favourite pieces of exercise equipment; when used properly, it can make almost any exercise that much more effective!

The Swiss Ball Leg Curl is a great exercise to tone up your hamstrings and bum. It’s a lot more effective than the equivalent machines you find in the gym and also gives your core muscles a nice workout too.

• Start with your heels resting on the Swiss Ball. Arms planted firmly into the ground for support and lower back flat on the ground.
• Pop your hips off the ground so you form a straight line from your shoulders to your heels. Your upper body should only be touching the ground from your shoulders up. Keep your core braced at all times.
• With control, exhale and pull your heels in rolling the swiss ball towards your bum. Pull your hips up to keep your upper body and hips level.
• Stop when your knees are bent to about 90 degrees.
• Inhale and, again with control, roll the ball back, returning to the start position.

I prefer to return to the hips on the ground start position as I like to reset between each rep.

From the two legged version you can progress onto having one leg raised off the swiss ball – this is a challenging move!