Swiss Ball Total Core Workout

Here's a great workout that'll really blast your core from a number of angles and hit every part. The best part is all you need is a swiss ball! Working out with a swiss ball is a great way to take stress off of your lower back and neck, and directly target your abdominal region. The swiss ball also requires you to stabilize your core throughout the movement in order to stay balanced. This added stabilization is a great way to train your entire core with each movement as opposed to only the target region.

Rest for only 20 seconds between sets to keep the intensity up! This will not only help burn more calories, but it will keep the stress on your abdominals continuously throughout the workout.

Swiss Ball Ab Crunch - 3 sets, 15 reps. Your lower back should be in contact with the ball, curved against the top. Movement should be slow and deliberate. Make sure to fully extend your back and abs at the bottom of the motion and fully squeeze your abs for 1 second at the top. Once your abs get stronger and this gets too easy you can either hold a medicine ball/weight plate behind your head or increase the amount of reps. This should really tire your abs out if you do them slowly and fully contract at the top of the movement.

Swiss Ball Jackknife - 2 Sets, 15 reps. Start with the top of your feet/shins on the top of the ball and your upper body in pushup position. Tighten your abs, keep your upper body steady, and pull the ball into your chest. Hold it for .5 second and roll the ball back out.

Swiss Ball Plank - 2 Sets, 60 seconds. Place your forearms on the top of a swiss ball and straighten your legs as far as they can go. Tighten your core, balance the swiss ball, and hold that position for 60 seconds. If you can't hold it for 60 seconds hold the position for as long as possible. With each successive workout you should aim to beat your best time. Once 60 seconds becomes too easy progress the hold to 1m 15s, 1m 30s, 2m etc.

Swiss Ball Twisting Crunch - 1 set, 12 reps pet side (24 total) - This is very similar to the swiss ball ab crunch, but it's tailored to hit the obliques. Crunch up and bring your left elbow across your body, return to the starting position and repeat by bringing your right elbow across your body. Repeat for the full set.

Swiss Ball Hip Raise - 1 set, 20 reps - Start with your back flat against the ground and the back of your heels on top of the swiss ball. Dig your heels into the ball and push your pelvis upward until your body forms a straight line at about a 30 degree angle. Finally push your middle back off of the ground and your knees into the air. Return to the starting position and repeat.

Swiss Ball Back Extension - 1 set, 15 reps - Lie face down with your stomach stretched out across a swiss ball. Raise your back up off the fall as far as it can go, hold for 1s, and return to the starting position.