Ab Exercise Equipment, Quick Ab Workouts At Home

An exercise ball is a great abdominal exercise equipment. Plus, you can do a variety of stability ball exercises to get a total body workout.

10 Good Stomach Exercises. Try out some of these exercises given here.

You’ve probably seen them around in your gym and may have wondered what on earth they were used for. In the beginning you might have even thought that they were meant for kids, but then pretty soon enough you would have spotted some of the fittest women and men using them. Whether they are called an exercise ball, a stability ball, or a Swiss ball, they can be used for performing practically endless types of exercises that workout practically all parts of the body. Plus, there are a number of benefits that you can derive from doing an exercise ball workout regularly.

The Benefits of Stability Ball Exercises

Apart from providing you with balance training, which most conventional workout programs tend to overlook, almost every exercise that you perform with the exercise ball strengthens your core by working them, and they exercise multiple muscles at the same time while you are forced to balance your body while performing them. This results in your core being better able to support your body while you perform any day-to-day activity. Moreover, the stability ball is also versatile:

• The exercise ball can be used at the gym as well as at home.
• People of all ages as well as fitness levels can derive benefits from stability ball exercises.
• The exercise ball is lightweight and portable.
• The stability ball is not an expensive piece of exercise equipment.
• Stability balls do not require any particular maintenance.

The stability ball can be used to get a total workout for the body. You can use it to exercise the abdominals, back, chest, arms, and legs. If you have been hankering to try them out, but haven’t known how to get started, you could try out these stability ball exercises given below.

Sitting Wall Rolls: Begin by standing with the exercise ball placed between your lower back and a wall, and your feet about shoulder width apart. Start squatting down, with the ball rolling along your back, until you come to a sitting position, with your knees parallel to the floor. Then go back to the standing position. You can repeat this 8 times, and as you get stronger you can increase it to 3 sets. This stability ball exercise is great for strengthening your glutes, hamstrings, and quadriceps.

Straight Back Extensions: Lie with your abdomen on the stability ball, with your body making a 45 degree angle with the floor, while you balance yourself on the tips of your toes. Now extend your arms straight out in front of you as if you are about to take off like an airplane. Maintain this position to a count of 30. Then relax. This exercise can be repeated 5 times. It is very good for your glutes, lower back, the middle region of the back, and upper back.

Stability Ball Pushups: Put your hands flat on top of the exercise ball, with your body held at a 45 degree angle with the floor, while you balance on the tips of your toes. Lower your torso by bending your elbows, stopping just a couple of inches or so from the ball, then push back again to the starting position. Repeat for 8 times, and do 3 sets as you get stronger. This is great for your pectoral muscles, shoulder muscles, biceps, triceps, as well as your abs.

Opposite Leg and Hand Extensions: Lie on the exercise ball with your abs facing it, stabilizing yourself with your hands and toes. With your face towards the floor, extend your right arm and left leg up together, holding them in that position for about 3-5 seconds, and then get back to the starting position. Repeat with the other leg and arm combination. This can be done 8 times for each leg and arm combination. This exercise is very good for your hamstrings, glutes, lower back, and upper back.

Ab Roll-Ups: Lie down on your back on the floor, with your feet on the floor and your knees bent. Holding the exercise ball with your hands, place it about midway up on your thighs. Start rolling the ball right up to your knees while you simultaneously lift your shoulders off the floor. Hold this position for a second or two and then return back to the starting position. This can be repeated 8 times. And once you get stronger you can do 3 sets of it. Great for your abs.

Stability Ball Hip Lifts: Lie down on your back, bending your knees and placing your heels on top of the stability ball. Support yourself by stretching out your arms on both sides. Then, squeezing your buttocks, lift it off the floor, pushing your hips upwards. Hold this position for a second or two and then return back to the starting position. This can be repeated 8 times, and can be done up to 3 sets. This is wonderful for your hamstrings and glutes.

Exercise Ball Elevated Pushups: Start by placing your hands on the floor and your knees on top of the exercise ball. Your body should be facing down and parallel to the floor. Now lower your upper body down until your face is just a couple of inches off the floor, and then push yourself back up. Repeat this 8 times, and it can be done up to 3 sets. Great for your pectorals, shoulder muscles, biceps, triceps, as well as the abs.

Stability Ball Crunches: Place your lower back on the exercise ball and your feet on the floor, so that your thighs and upper body are parallel to the floor. Now do the usual crunches, using your abs to lift upper back and shoulders up and then releasing back down. Repeat this for 8 times, increasing it up to 3 sets. This is an excellent exercise for your abs.

Exercise Ball Core Crunches: Start by getting down on your knees, and bending your torso at the waist, while resting your elbows on the stability ball. Then, squeeze your abdominal muscles and roll the exercise ball in front of you until your body straightens out, then roll back again to the starting position. This should be done 8 times. This works out your core muscles and abs.

Stability Ball Torso Extensions: Lay your upper body on the exercise ball with your knees on the floor, and your hands behind your head. Lift your upper body up from the ball until you straighten out your spine or extend it slightly. Get back to the starting position. This can be done 8 times, and increased to 3 sets. It does wonders for your upper back and lower back.

Ab exercises using exercise ball
Using a an exercise ball or similar unstable support for the body while doing ab exercises and hyperextensions will employ the use of the lower back and the muscles of the obliques also. 

Amazing Abdominal Exercises
This particular exercise is advantageous because it combines the powerful crunch and also allows you to work out numerous other abdominal muscles at the same time because of the use of the exercise ball.

Creating a Great Core Workout with Ab and Lower Back Exercises
Side planks are also an isometric ab exercise in which you are balanced on one elbow and your feet. Crunches on a stability ball offer increased range of motion when compared to the floor and can help to improve balance.

Abdominal exercises with stability ball
So what’s The Purpose of Leading Exercise Ball? Before looking at the motives of using a leading exercise ball, we need to understand as to what exactly. … which are done with a standing position can include a leading exercise ball to simultaneously improve the back muscles as well. Similarly for those exercises which are done in a sitting position, addition of leading exercise ball can dramatically improve the abdominal muscles.

Fast Abs Workout
Our spine has a natural curve to it and doing ab exercises flat on the floor or on a bench clearly limits our torsos range of motion when we’re doing crunches or sit-ups. 

Tags: ab exercises using exercise ball, abdominal exercise on exercise ball, abdominal exercises with stability ball

This entry was posted on Saturday, May 23rd, 2009 at 11:05 am and is filed under Fitness. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.