Ball Crunches
Regular Version with Feet Anchored
Weighted Version with Feet Anchored
Bodyweight Strength - This is an excellent bodyweight strength exercise that merely requires a Swiss Ball and nothing else. Before attempting this exercise you should first master regular Crunches on the floor and Bosu Ball Crunches as well.
Simply lay on the Swiss Ball on the small of your back and lay as far as possible without tipping over (as displayed in the video). Keep your feet flat on the ground but put the majority of your weight into the ball and into your upper body (which you are letting stretch back over the other side of the ball).
Once you have stretch back fully let your torso hang down thoroughly, tuck your chin to your chest, squeeze your abs, and begin to crunch your torso forward again. As you do this, make sure to also lift your hips slightly by contracting your glutes as you crunch. In this way, you will shorten the distance between your rib cage and your pelvis (like on all crunch exercises) and maximize your abdominal contraction. Make sure that your chest never gets higher than your pelvis at the top of this exercise. If this occurs then you will shift the primary tension away from your abs and thereby reduce the effectiveness of this exercise.
You will find that at the top of this exercise (especially if you are being very deliberate to keep your chest at, or below, pelvis height) you don't seem to have crunched very far high. You will just appear to have reached a "flat" point...almost like the point at which a regular Crunch begins. This is fine. This is precisely how this exercise is supposed to be performed. It hits the lower portion of the crunching movement rather than the upper portion of the crunching movement. Regular Crunches hit the upper portion. When performing Ball Crunches you are allowing your spine to extend further back and are training the strength of your abs in that extended position of the spine (rather than the flexed position. This is highly important because in many activities in life your spine will be in an extended position rather than a flexed position. If you have not trained it through this range of motion your abs will not have the full strength to properly support your spine and torso effectively.
Once you have finished the rep at the top, make sure to squeeze your abs very hard, intentionally, and then reverse your motion again and smoothly lower yourself back into the stretch position and continue on to the next rep.
Disclaimer - We do not recommend performing any exercise without the supervision of a highly qualified bodyweight strength professional present with you. This detailed exercise description is for informational purposes only. Consult your physician before attempting any strength training program or attempting this exercise or any of the other exercises on www.bodyweight-strength.com
Simply lay on the Swiss Ball on the small of your back and lay as far as possible without tipping over (as displayed in the video). Keep your feet flat on the ground but put the majority of your weight into the ball and into your upper body (which you are letting stretch back over the other side of the ball).
Once you have stretch back fully let your torso hang down thoroughly, tuck your chin to your chest, squeeze your abs, and begin to crunch your torso forward again. As you do this, make sure to also lift your hips slightly by contracting your glutes as you crunch. In this way, you will shorten the distance between your rib cage and your pelvis (like on all crunch exercises) and maximize your abdominal contraction. Make sure that your chest never gets higher than your pelvis at the top of this exercise. If this occurs then you will shift the primary tension away from your abs and thereby reduce the effectiveness of this exercise.
You will find that at the top of this exercise (especially if you are being very deliberate to keep your chest at, or below, pelvis height) you don't seem to have crunched very far high. You will just appear to have reached a "flat" point...almost like the point at which a regular Crunch begins. This is fine. This is precisely how this exercise is supposed to be performed. It hits the lower portion of the crunching movement rather than the upper portion of the crunching movement. Regular Crunches hit the upper portion. When performing Ball Crunches you are allowing your spine to extend further back and are training the strength of your abs in that extended position of the spine (rather than the flexed position. This is highly important because in many activities in life your spine will be in an extended position rather than a flexed position. If you have not trained it through this range of motion your abs will not have the full strength to properly support your spine and torso effectively.
Once you have finished the rep at the top, make sure to squeeze your abs very hard, intentionally, and then reverse your motion again and smoothly lower yourself back into the stretch position and continue on to the next rep.
Disclaimer - We do not recommend performing any exercise without the supervision of a highly qualified bodyweight strength professional present with you. This detailed exercise description is for informational purposes only. Consult your physician before attempting any strength training program or attempting this exercise or any of the other exercises on www.bodyweight-strength.com