Abs Ball Workout

Archive for December, 2008

When it comes to developing the core and abdominal muscles, an exercise ball is probably one of the best tools to use about doing this.  Using an exercise ball for your abs will give you a better phsyique and a much more toned body, not to mentioned improved core strength.  Usual abdominal exercises target the rectus abdominis and transverse muscles, while an exercise ball can work both groups of muscles at the same time.

When you first go about initiating your exercise with an exercise ball, the first part of the abs workout is the curling of the abdominal muscles using the exercise ball.  All the major abdominal muscle groups are worked with this easy to do exercise.  In order to do this exercise the correct way, lie parallel to the floor while laying on your exercise ball and bend your knees at a 90 degree angle.

Without bending your hips, move your shoulders up with a slow, and controlled movement.  You should then return to the beginning point slowly and repeat until you are finished with your set.  If you would like to gain more lean muscle mass, you can also hold a weight plate across your chest to increase the difficulty and resistance.  But this is optional.

Another exercise that can be done on an exercise ball is the abdominal roll up.  The obliques, rectus abdominis and hip flexors are all used during this exercise, hence the targetted muscle groups.  This exercise is not too difficult to perform and can be considered a beginners type movement.  While you have the ball in front of you in a kneeling position, lie down on the floor.  Next, with your hands on the floor, reach out in front of you and roll the ball in the direction of your thighs.  Afterwards, walk with your hands until the point where the exercise ball is touching your chin.  Also, make sure your shoulders remain alignment with the hands while your abs are contracting.

At this point, use your legs to pull the ball towards your body while bending your knees to the chest.  Do this until your knees come to the chest.  Then return to the starting point and repeat this exercise.

Instead of isolating specific muscle groups, this abs ball workout is more effective in working the whole region of the abdominal muscles.  In other words, the ball is vital when trying to get a six pack.