Using an Exercise Ball for Abs
The exercise ball, sometimes referred to as a stability ball, is a great way for you to get a lower abdominal exercise workout by focusing on your core muscles. Our core muscles are those muscles that keep us balanced. How can you achieve this using an exercise ball for abs? Simply put, certain exercises are performed that require both the ball and the body to be equally balanced. The goal is to keep the ball from rolling out from underneath your body, and in the process, receive an excellent abdominal muscle workout.
The first move you should try when using an exercise ball for abs exercises are abdominal crunches. First, balance your body on a fitness ball by finding your center point for maneuvering a crunch movement. This means that your lower back will be on the top of the ball. Now simply crunch your upper body up away from the ball, while keeping your fingers on the sides of your head with your chin up and feet firmly planted on the floor. Try to hold the crunch for at least two seconds while exhaling and holding a tight contraction of your abdomen.
To make it even more challenging, you can reach your arms straight out behind your head. Or you can hold a weighted medicine ball or a hand weight behind your head while performing the move. The addition of a medicine ball adds more resistance, therefore making it more effective.
The next ball workout is the hip flexion lower abdominal exercise, sometimes called a knee tuck. Begin with your shins balancing on the top of the stability ball and your arms in a push-up position. Next you will tuck your knees in under your body as you roll the ball ever closer to your hands. Elevate your rear as your back comes up in a hunched position. If done properly, your abs will contract.
Another tough but effective exercise ball workout is the plank hold. The stability ball plank hold is similar to floor planks, but the unbalanced aspect of the ball makes this exercise much more challenging for your core than the standard floor plank. To do the plank hold, you will position yourself on your toes, with your forearms on the top of the ball. When trying to maneuver this one, be careful. If you have never tried this one before, then you will soon discover that it takes quite a bit of balance to pull it off. Continue holding the plank position on the ball while you make slight body adjustments back and forth in each direction with your elbows. Try holding this one for sixty to ninety seconds.
You can also include squats as part of your stability ball exercises. All you need to do is hold the ball between the wall and your lower back. Slowly bend at the knees and hips in order to get into a sitting position. Be sure that the ball stays between you and the wall or you will fall. Now return to the standing position. Repeat eight to ten times to strengthen the abdominal muscles, legs and hips.
If you are looking for a quick and challenging way to get six pack abs, then there is no better way to do that than with an exercise ball for abs. A stability ball makes you work harder in a more intensive period of time to complete your abs exercise. These exercises may be a challenge, but they are also completely enjoyable, and may even remind you of the fun times you had as a child.
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The Most Effective Abdominal Exercises
Have you also thought about exercises for the obliques? The internal and external oblique muscles actually work the hardest when you move forward, as in crunches or sit ups; however, in order to maximize your workout you should also include rotation, twisting or side bends. If you are looking for the best exercises to strengthen the oblique muscles, then they include side planks, bicycle crunches or oblique crunches.
Abdominal Fat Exercise To Get Six Pack Abs
Jackknife sit-ups are performed as follows. Lie down flat on a mat with your hands at your sides. Raise your torso and your knees so that your face and knees meet or come very close to meeting.
Effective Abs Exercise For a Flat Stomach
A particularly effective abs exercise is the abdominal bicycle, which starts with you lying on the floor with your feet flat and your legs bent. Do not allow yourself to pull with your arms. Maintain your focus on your abdominal muscles, and remember that this is an abdominal crunch, not a sit up.