Swiss Ball Exercises » Intermediate

Gym ball abdominal exercises – Swiss ball jackknife

Gareth Hanson — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 09:08:42 +0000

Jackknifes are amazing for targeting your lower abdominal muscles, and as with all gym ball exercises, the ball provides instability which your body must correct. This means it’s a great core strength exercise too.

Start by kneeling with the swiss ball behind you. Place one foot then the other onto the top of the ball so that you’re in a press up position with both feet on top of the ball, hands placed slightly wider than shoulder width. Just allow your feet to rest naturally on the ball, you don’t have to balance on the ends of your toes.

Once you’re stable, keeping your back straight, draw your knees toward your chest. Breathe out, hold the position for a second or two before returning to the start. Repeat for as many reps as feel comfortable (up to 10 – 15) per set.

My good friend Jane demonstrates the technique beautifully in the video below.

Swiss Ball Exercises to Blast Your Core

Gareth Hanson — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 19:03:20 +0000

Check out this great video from Chris Comfort. He demonstrates and explains these core techniques really well.Included are:

Supine Swiss ball bridge
Supine Swiss ball hip extension
1 leg supine Swiss ball hip extension
Swiss ball upper-body Russian twist (plus a drop and recover variation. This is really dynamic)
Prone Swiss ball roll-out
Swiss ball prone pike

These exercises make use of all of your core muscles plus; hamstrings, glutes, back muscles and arms. I use at least 3 of these exercises as part of my regular workout routines, and can recommend all of them.

Swiss ball exercises: Swiss ball pushup

Gareth Hanson — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 11:11:27 +0000

Difficulty level: intermediate

This particular swiss ball exercises requires a fair degree of strength. You’ll need to already be able to do push-ups on the floor before you try this.

Adding the swiss ball makes you have to keep your core muscles tight and really improves your balance.

Get onto your hands and knees with a swiss ball behind you.
Put one leg out behind you so your foot is resting on your toes on the swiss ball, then bring your other foot up onto the swiss ball so you’re in a push up position with both feet on the swiss ball.
Get yourself balanced then slowly bend your arms to lower your chest towards the floor. Stop when you’re chin almost touches the floor. Inhale as you go (it should take a count of 2 – 3). Make sure you keep your back straight through the whole movement.
Push out forcefully with your arms until they’re straight again. Exhale as you go (for a count of one).
Repeat for between 8 and 12 repetitions.

Variations:
To increase the effect on your core strength, you can perform the exercise with just one foot an the ball. Hold your other leg out to the side. It will be much more difficult to balance. Swap legs for each set.

Muscles used:

Pectorals (chest muscles)
Triceps (the muscle at the back of your upper arm)
Anterior Deltoid (the front part of your shoulders)