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Jackie Wright – A Total Body Stability Ball Workout

Jackie Wright / The Fitness Trail
Grand County, Colorado

Third in a three-part series

Last week we featured stability ball exercises for the lower body. This week we will highlight two abdominals/core stability ball exercises. Check out the stability ball tips in the first in this three-part series to ensure your safety and effectiveness when training with the ball. As always, consult your physician prior to beginning any exercise program.

Stability Ball – Abdominals/Core Exercises



Roll Outs – Abdominals/Core

• Choose a stability ball of the correct size for you following the tips in the first week’s column.



• Kneeling on the floor with the stability ball in front of you, place your chest and abdomen on top of the ball rolling your body out on top of the ball until you are able to place your hands on the floor in front of the ball, directly underneath the shoulder joints, with your toes tucked under on the floor and the thighs on top of the ball creating a plank position.

• Shoulders rotated back/down, rib cage lifted, and neck in neutral.

• Engage the abdominals/core muscles by pulling the navel deeply toward the spine and drive your tailbone toward the ceiling creating a pike position with the body.

• Think of pulling the pubic bone toward the breastbone.

• Body weight will be predominately in the hands/shoulders

• You should end up with the lower legs parallel to the floor on top of the ball.

• Then, slowly roll back out to the beginning plank position making certain that you maintain the abdominals/core contraction throughout never permitting the lumbar spine to hyperextend.

• This is a challenging exercise, so prior to attempting it; you should have mastered a full plank from the floor.

• Perform one to three sets of 8-12 repetitions, two to three times per week.

Lateral Flexion – Abdominals/Core

• Choose a stability ball of the correct size for you following the tips in the first week’s column.

• From a kneeling position, place the right hip against the ball with the bottom leg flexed back approximately 45 degrees at the knee joint and the left leg extended with the thighs parallel to one another.

• Wrap your right arm approximately half way down, around the ball, laying the right side of your torso on top of the ball.

• Rotate the shoulders back/down, rib cage lifted and the navel pulled toward the spine.

• Make certain that the head and neck are in neutral.

• Place the left fingertips alongside the left ear with the elbow open and at shoulder height.

• Engaging the lateral muscles of the torso, initiating the lateral flexion from the waistline, lift the torso off of the ball extending the right arm fully as you do but avoid pushing off of the ball with right arm.

• The top of the head should almost point toward the ceiling as you complete the lateral flexion, so think of your torso being tall.

• Then, lower the torso back to the top of the ball.

• Perform one to three sets of 8-12 repetitions on each side, two to three times per week.

Next week, we will begin a series focusing upon exercises which require no equipment, just your own body weight.

– Jackie Wright is the owner/manager of Never Summer Fitness LLC in Grand Lake, Colorado. She can be reached at her website http://www.neversummerfitness.com, her email at NSFGL@comcast.net and her blog at http://www.skyhidailynews.com


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