Get Abs for Summer with Stability Ball Crunches

Winter is packed with holiday calories that just seem to accumulate on the waist and the hips as if drawn by magnets. A short-term strategy is to hide the winter accumulation under baggy clothes for a few months, especially when it seems like winter will never end. However, the truth is that very soon, summer will be here, and with it comes the shedding of the baggy sweatshirts. The good news is that there is still time to get your waist into a super thin, tight and flat shape for unveiling this summer. If you become serious about your abdominal training, you must elevate your metabolic rate to help consume the adipose (fat) tissue that has taken up residence on your waist over the winter. A workout will elevate your metabolic rate for several hours even after your last set or stride has been completed, so it is very important that you don’t miss any scheduled sessions. However, you will also need to step it up a bit by adding 30 to 40 minutes of aerobicseach training day. Assuming that you are in good health, the cycling or running/walking should be intense enough to push your heart rate to 70 percent of your maximum (your predicted maximum heart rate is 220 minus your age). If you have the time, the best approach is to do your aerobics at a different time of day than your weights because this will give two chances to increase your metabolic rate each day (but who has that type of time?). If your schedule is just too crazy to do this, then pack both your resistance and aerobicworkouts together, because that is much better than missing out on either part of your training quest.

The best abdominal exercises shorten the fibers in the front and sides of the abdominal wall and they do not stretch these muscles. Crunches on a stability ball will do exactly that by inducing strong shortening contractions while also challenging your core with the extra stresses associated with balancing on the ball.

MUSCLES USED

The rectus abdominis muscle is the primary anterior abdominal muscle that is activated in crunches on a stability ball. The left and right halves of the rectus abdominis is separated by the thin tendon-like linea alba. When both halves contract, the rectus abdominis muscle pulls the trunk forward so that your head and chest will move closer to your hips.

The external and internal oblique muscles are also activated by crunches on a stability ball. The fibers  of the external oblique muscle are angled in the same direction that your  fingers would point if you were to put  your hands in your pockets. When both sides of the external oblique  muscles work together, they flex the  trunk and move the head towards the feet. The internal oblique muscle sits  just deep to the external oblique muscle and connects to the iliac bone of the hip. Its fibers run around the side of the trunk at right angles to the external oblique muscle and attach to the lowest three or four ribs.Like the  external oblique muscle, the internal oblique flexes the trunk at the waist  and moves the head towards the feet.  Both internal and external oblique  muscles can help twist the torso from  side to side.

You should work up to three sets of 25 to 30 repetitions. As your abdomen gets stronger and tighter, you can increase the intensity by holding the top position for up to four seconds in each repetition. Another way to elevate the intensity for the internal and external oblique muscles is to add a slight twist to one side,  then the other as you are coming upwards  on successive repetitions. However, if you  choose to twist, make the twist slow and not fast. Moving your feet closer to your hips will  also make this exercise harder to do. Finally, as you progress and your abdominals are really getting in shape, you can make the exercise  more challenging by placing your fingers along the side of your head (not behind your head)  instead of on your chest or beside your thighs. Alternatively, you can hold a light weight in outstretched arms as you do the exercise. Crunches on a ball might look easy enough from a distance, but it is really pretty chal- lenging and effective. If you set your goals,  tighten your diet, increase the frequency of  your aerobics and hit the ball with crunches as  part of your regular abdominal training, your  thin, tight and flat abdomen should be ready  just in time for summer.

STABILITY BALL CRUNCHES

1. PLACE A STABILITY BALL ON THE FLOOR, THEN LIE ON IT WITH YOUR LOWER BACK PRESSED INTO THE BALL. YOUR KNEES SHOULD BE BENT TO 90 DEGREES AND WITH YOUR FEET PRESSED FIRMLY AGAINST THE FLOOR.

2. YOUR STARTING POSITION IS WHEN YOUR UPPER BODY IS PARALLEL  TO THE FLOOR AND YOUR UPPER TORSO IS HANGING OFF THE TOP OF THE BALL.

3. CROSS YOUR ARMS ON TOP OF YOUR CHEST TO REDUCE NECK  STRAIN THAT COULD RESULT IF YOU PLACED YOUR HANDS BEHIND THE BACK OF THE HEAD POSITION, AS THIS PREVENTS PULLING YOUR HEAD FORWARD AS YOU ARE COMING UP ON EACH REPETITION.

4. KEEP YOUR HIPS STATIONARY AND YOUR FEET ON THE FLOOR AS  YOU FLEX YOUR TORSO BY CONTRACTING THE ABDOMINALS AND CURLING  YOUR SHOULDERS AND TRUNK UPWARD. RISE UP AS HIGH AS YOU CAN  BUT DO THIS SMOOTHLY OVER ABOUT TWO SECONDS AND WITHOUT  JERKING YOUR TORSO UPWARD. ALSO ENSURE THAT YOUR LOWER BACK  MAINTAINS CONTACT WITH THE BALL.

5. SLOWLY CONTROL YOUR UPPER BODY AS YOU RETURN TO THE  STARTING POSITION. TAKE ABOUT THREE SECONDS ON THE WAY DOWN.  ONCE YOU REACH THE STARTING POSITION, IMMEDIATELY BEGIN THE NEXT  REPETITION UPWARDS.

6. EXHALE AS YOU COME UP AND AS THE ABDOMEN FIBERS SHORTEN AND INHALE AS YOU COME DOWN.