Lower Body Rolling Exercise
Leah ZahnerDescription
Bowling requires the upper and lower body to work independently from each other. The finish position exemplifies this with your shoulders going in one direction and your hips going in another.
A good exercise to train your lower body to work independently from your upper body is the lower body roll. This exercise is done with your back on the floor utilizing your lower body to move your entire body by rolling with just your legs. Keep your upper body as still as possible; making it heavy for your lower body to move.
Step 1
Lie on the floor with your arms extended over your head.
Step 2
Next, you’ll roll from the backside of your body to the front side of your body using just your legs. Start your roll by lifting your leg into the air and drop it across your body. As your leg drops to the floor, the rotation momentum will bring the upper body along with. Repeat the process as you lie face down using the same leg to get you back to your starting position.
When you’ve completed the exercise with your first leg, move on to the second leg doing the same amount of reps to avoid imbalances. This exercise makes it easier for the upper body and lower body to do two different things at once. Add it into your workout routine and you’ll feel the difference at the foul line the next time you bowl.
Check out “Hip Flexor Stretch” and “Hamstring Stretch” for more lower body exercises from National Bowling Academy.
An important thing to focus on when you're working on your bowling skills is separating your upper and lower body movement. You want both halves of your body to be able to move independently of one another, especially in the finished position when your shoulders will be facing one direction and your hips will be opening in another direction. One way that you'll do this is to lay down flat on the floor, on your back and focusing just on using your lower body to create the movement. You'll be rolling from the back side of your body to the front side of your body. Very simply by using your legs. You'll start completely long on the floor with your arms reaching back overhead, your legs long in front of you. And you'll start your roll by lifting one leg up into the air and dropping it across your body. As your leg drops down towards the floor you're using that rotation just of your lower body to pull you all the way over to the front side of your body. Once you're there, make sure again your upper body stays completely relaxed. You'll lift that same leg up into the air and drop it back behind you, again until you will roll all the way back over to your back. You want to make sure to do this with both legs in both directions and the entire time that you're working your upper body stays as completely still and heavy to the floor as possible allowing you to create that separation upper and lower body.
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