6 Responses

1. Fitness Lucy

   December 11th, 2007 at 12:23 pm

   1

   “As you move forward and then backward on the ball, you will need to forcefully contract your abdominal muscles as well as the muscles of your lower back in order to keep your body in a straight line.”

   .. and this is the part where it really does contract the abs. Wonderful post - thanks for sharing.

   

2. Aaron Potts

   January 9th, 2008 at 3:19 pm

   2

   Hey, Lucy!

   I LOVE this exercise, and I hope that people who read this can get the proper movement out of the text and the picture. It is one of those exercises that totally rocks, but if you do it the wrong way, you won’t get much out of it!

   

3. Erica

   January 9th, 2008 at 5:29 pm

   3

   Great article once again. Good, burning workout as long as your form is correct. Using the exercise ball works better than doing a similar motion on one of those Ab Rolling type machines.

   

4. Aaron Potts

   January 10th, 2008 at 10:08 am

   4

   Erica,

   Yes, I know the rolling type of machines that you are referring to, and I agree that the exercise ball is far superior. Not only can you do an infinite number of exercises on the ball, but you can also get a ball that is sized and/or inflated in such a way as to modify the intensity or the neuromuscular coordination that comes into play for any given movement.

   That alone makes an exercise ball a great piece of exercise equipment.

   

5. Kristin

   May 5th, 2008 at 4:50 pm

   5

   This is a great workout. It’s similar to the wheel but simplified a little. I like this one more though. The wheel was to tough for me.

   

6. Aaron Potts

   May 7th, 2008 at 9:28 am

   6

   Kristin,

   Yes, it’s a core exercise very similar to the wheel as far as the muscles that are worked. I like this one better simply because it gives you more of a base of support than the wheel, but is just as effective. Plus, an exercise ball can be used for hundreds of other exercises, while you can’t do very much with the wheel.