Leg Lifts build strength, endurance, and coordination of the lower abdominal wall and test the recruitment of important core muscles like the transverse abdominus.
In my opinion hamstring curls on the ball beat any hamstring machine I've ever used. This exercise precisely targets your hamstrings and also engages your muscles in your hips and back.
Ridgeline Fitness's podcast will focus on health, fitness, and dynamic living. The Swiss Ball is integral to building strength and conditioning in your abs and core.
The Knee Tuck or Jackknife is a challenging exercise that works your body from head to toe. The exercise is somewhat similar to Rollouts, requiring your lower abdominals to contract isometrically, stabilizing your spine.
The Superman or Alternating Superman exercise on the ball is all about precision. This exercise integrates countless muscles in your back and core. Especially the small stabilizer muscles in your spine that attach one vertebra to another thereby stabilizing and supporting your spine from the inside out.
The Swiss ball brings an element of instability to basic exercises like the straight leg bridge. This stimulates and conditions your deep core muscles improving spinal stability. In addition to these small but important joint stabilizer muscles the Straight Leg Bridge also targets larger prime movers in your back, glutes and hamstrings.
Reverse crunches on the Swiss Ball allow you to train your abdominal through a full range of motion while challenging your balance and coordination. This movement requires more lower abdominal strength than regular crunches.
Like the side crunch torso twists work the obliques but with a rotational movement. Resistance is created by momentum rather than leverage alone. Therefore increasing the speed increases the resistance and difficulty of the exercise. Torso twists are great for golfers and anyone who wants to enhance the rotational mobility and power.
Bridging movements are some of my favorite Swiss ball exercises. They generally offer a wide progression difficulty. I've used the bent knee bridge with de-conditioned clients in their seventies and challenged young athletes with the advanced variations.
Reverse Extensions are another way to target your lower back and core with the Swiss Ball. Reverse Extension flex and extend your lumbar spine using the weight of your lower body for resistance.
Bicep Curls using the Swiss Ball are a great option for anyone who wants to do a little arm work but who doesn't have the time or equipment for regular curls with barbells or dumbbells.
The pike press with the Swiss ball is an intermediate to advanced exercise and requires significant upper body strength. Balance and coordination come into play but strength is usually the limiting factor.
The supine lateral roll like many other Swiss ball exercises is more about balance and stability than brute strength. In this exercises your stabilizer muscles to prevent your torso from bending and twisting as roll you upper back and shoulders across the ball.
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