Jefferson Curl

Instructions

1. Stand tall with your feet about hip-width apart, either on the floor or on an elevated surface.

2. Hold a light weight in your hands or begin with body weight only.

3. Keep your knees straight but not locked.

4. Start by gently tucking your chin toward your chest.

5. Slowly round your spine one segment at a time, beginning with your upper back.

6. Continue curling downward through your mid back and then your low back.

7. Let the weight or your hands travel toward the floor as your spine rounds.

8. Keep moving slowly until you reach the bottom of the range you can control.

9. Pause briefly at the bottom if instructed.

10. To return, slowly reverse the motion by stacking your spine back up one segment at a time.

11. Unroll from the low back, then the mid back, then the upper back, and bring your head up last.

12. Return to a tall standing position with control.

Common Compensations

• Do not rush the lowering or return.

• Do not bend mostly from the hips without actually segmenting through the spine.

• Do not lock your knees aggressively.

• Do not force the range of motion beyond what you can control.

• Do not use a heavy weight if you cannot move slowly and smoothly.

• Do not jerk yourself back up from the bottom.

Extra Info

• You should feel this mostly through the hamstrings and along the muscles of the back as you control the spinal rounding and return.

• You may also feel a strong stretch sensation through the back of the legs, especially if your knees stay straight.

• This exercise is usually intended to build controlled spinal mobility and loaded flexibility.

• It is generally best to start with very light weight or no weight until the movement is well controlled.

• You should not feel sharp pain, nerve symptoms, or pinching in the spine, hips, or backs of the legs.