Abs, Hips & Thighs on the Ball

Ball Squeeze & Lift

Lie on right side with ball between shins, squeezing it to hold it in place. Keep hips stacked and abs tight to stabilize your body. Squeeze inner thighs and contract the waist and hip muscles to lift the ball in the air. Lower and repeat before switching sides.

Medicine Ball Lunge

Begin in a lunge position with right leg forward, knee over ankle. Lower into a lunge bringing the ball down towards right hip. Straighten knees, bringing ball straight up overhead and then lower back into a lunge, sweeping the ball towards the opposite hip. Movement of medicine ball will be like a figure 8. Repeat other side.

All Around Crunches

Lie face up on ball and hold medicine ball in both hands. Begin with body draped over the ball, arms extended behind you. Contract the abs to lift upper back off the ball and bring the medicine ball towards your right thigh as you twist to the right, contracting the right side of waist. Repeat for all reps and then switch sides.





Ball Balance

Sit on Exercise Ball with strong abs and straight spine, arms extended on either side of you and one foot resting on medicine ball. Once you feel stable, lift other foot off floor and hold it for a few seconds, then rest it on the medicine ball with the other foot. Hold for 15 or more seconds and repeat.

Chest Squeeze with Med Ball

Sit on ball or chair, back straight and abs in. Hold a medicine ball at chest level and squeeze hands to contract the chest. While continuing to squeeze the ball, slowly twist towards the left while simultaneously pushing the ball out a few inches. Pull the ball back in, return to center and repeat on the other side, alternating sides.

Medicine Ball Crunches

Lie on your back with knees bent, medicine ball right below the knees. Squeeze inner thighs to hold ball in place. Put hands behind head (cradle your head gently) and without straining the neck, lift shoulders and hips off the ground in a crunch, flattening the belly like a canoe at the top of the movement. Lower back down without completely relaxing and repeat.

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Abs, Hips & Thighs on the Ball

Combining a medicine ball with an exercise ball is a great way to strengthen your abs and work on endurance and stability. Check out the exercise below to learn unique ways to work your entire body.

• Warm up with 5 minutes of light cardio
• Perform each exercise as directed, clicking on the pictures for a closer view
• Beginners, do 1 set of 10-16 reps. Intermediate/Advanced, do 1-3 sets of 10-16 reps
• Steady the ball against a wall or chair for extra stability in some exercises
• Combine this workout with regular cardio exercise for maximum results

Leg Extensions with Medicine Ball

Position the ball under upper back to engage your abs and to stabilize the hips. Hold a medicine ball straight up over chest and make sure knees are at 90 degrees. Lower arms behind you while simultaneously extending the right leg straight. Return to start and repeat, alternating legs for 10-16 reps. For less challenge to balance, do the leg extension without the medicine ball.






Sit and Squeeze

Place your back against a wall with hips & shoulders squared. Slide down until knees are at 90 degrees, knees over ankles and weight in heels. Squeeze a medicine ball or towel just above your knees and hold for 15 or more seconds. Repeat 2-3 times.

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Types Of BOSU Ballast Ball Exercises

Squat

Place the BB on the floor so that the circles are on top of the ball. Stand in front of the BB and squat down, sitting on the inner circle. Stand up and repeat for 10-16 reps. To make it harder, don't sit all the way down and hold weights for added intensity. Try to keep your movements controlled so that the BB doesn't move at all when you stand up.




Squat Crunch

This fun move targets the lower body and the abs. With the circles directly on top of the BB, squat down and sit on the outer edge of the larger concentric circle. Lean back all the way, do a crunch and then sit up and stand. Repeat for 10-16 reps. Add intensity by doing more crunches or adding a jump as you stand up.




The Spider

This is a favorite of mine and quite challenging. Get on all fours to the left of the BB (the circles should be showing on each side and on top of the ball). Lean the right hip into the outer concentric circle of the ball and keep turning the body until you're on top of the ball. Add a crunch here if you like or keep rolling over until you're on the right side of the ball. Continue rolling over the top of the ball for 8-12 reps.




Lunge Stretch

The BB is also great for stretching because it doesn't roll away. For this one, stand behind the BB and lunge forward to the right of the ball. Lean the left hip into the ball and stretch the right arm up and over, feeling a stretch in the right waist. Go back to the start and repeat on the other side for 8-12 reps.

Reverse Impact Shifts

This is another tough ab move. Hold the ball between the lower legs off the floor and lean back on the forearms, keeping the back straight. Don't sink into the shoulders. Getting a good grip on the ball, explosively straighten the legs, taking the ball up and trying to move the weight to the other side of the ball (you may not get it all the way there). Lower and repeat for 8-12 reps.




Ball Rotations

This is an advanced move and requires good hamstring flexibility. Lie down with the ball between the feet, gripping it hard. Rotate the ball and bring the right foot in front, left foot in back. Lower the legs towards the floor. Bring them back up and rotate the ball with the left foot in front, right foot in back. Lower again and then repeat for 6-10 reps.

Ball Exchange
This is a common move you can do with a regular ball, but the added weight of the BB adds intensity. Start with the ball between the feet and lower the legs down while reaching the arms out and way. Bring the ball in and grab it with your hands, stretching the arms and legs away from each other. Continue, exchanging the ball between the hands and feet for 8-12 reps.

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Diffrent BOSU Ballast Ball Exercises

Rotations

Hold the BB on either side, hands inside the smallest circle. Turn to the right while rotating the ball, bringing the left hand on top, right hand on the bottom. Turn back and keep going to the left, rotating the ball and bringing the right hand on top and left hand on the bottom. The ballast should move smoothly as you continue rotating . Repeat for 8-10 reps.






Around the World

Continue the side rotations, but take the ball in a full circle while rotating the ball, first going to the right, up and left for 8 reps and then in the other direction for 8 reps. Keep the movement smooth so that you hear a steady shushing sound from the ballast.





Impact Shifts

This move challenges both the core and the arms. Hold the ball on either side with bent knees. Brace the abs and explosively lift the ball up, causing the ballast inside to hit the top of the ball. Repeat for 8-12 reps.




Diagonal Shifts

This move is just like the Impact Shifts above, but you're moving diagonally. Start by holding the BB down and to the right. Brace the abs and explosively lift the weight diagonally up and to the left, making the ballast shift to the other side of the ball. Repeat for 8-10 reps and switch sides.

The Wave

This is another one targeting the arms and core. Hold the BB on either side and move it in small circles to the right, making the ballast move all the way around the ball. Go as quickly as you can, keeping the abs braced, for 10 circles to the right, then 10 to the left.

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BOSU Ballast Ball Exercises

The BOSU Ballast Ball (BB) is a great tool for working on balance, stability and core strength. It's shaped liked a stability ball, but inside is a loose filling that adds 5-8 pounds of weight to the ball. It moves and shifts inside which engages the core and stabilizer muscles in a new and challenging way. You can use the Ballast Ball the same way you use a regular ball, but there are some unique moves you can do because of the shifting weight (e.g., impact shifts really challenge the core) and the stability of the ball (the weight inside keeps it from rolling away).

The following exercises offer a few ideas for using the BB to target the entire body including the hips, glutes, thighs, abs, back and arms. A few points to keep in mind:

• The ballast inside offers audible cues for different exercises. For the impact shifts, you'll want to hear and see the weight actually move from one side of the ball to the other. For the rotations, you'll want to keep the ball rolling smoothly, hearing a steady shushing sound of the weight inside.
• When the BB is on the ground, it won't roll away, but you may need to look behind you for seated exercises in order to feel comfortable.
• The BB has concentric circles on four sides of the ball, like bull's eyes which serve as guidelines for where to hold or sit on the ball.
• Take your time with the exercises and skip any moves that cause pain.

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Getting Your Best Body - Lifting Weights

Your Best Body - Lift Weights

Strength training is essential for getting your best body because it improves both appearance and function. You build lean muscle tissue which raises your metabolism and helps you lose body fat. At the same time, you build strong bones and connective tissue, which gives you a solid foundation for all your daily activities.

Functional strength training has become popular for getting a better body because you focus on whole body movements that mimic the activities you do each day. Rather than isolate muscle groups, you work the body as a whole, just the way it works in real life.

Think of it like this: A bicep curl is great for strengthening the biceps, but how often do you lift and lower a weight like that in real life? In real life, you might squat down to pick up a laundry basket and lift it as you stand up, much like this squat, curl and press exercise.

These functional exercises not only burn more calories, because you're working more muscle groups, but train your body to be strong for the dynamic movements you make in a typical day.

Make Your Workouts More Functional

When you isolate body parts, as you sometimes do with traditional strength training, you end up training your muscles but not your movements. One way to change that is to look for ways to make your strength exercises more functional:

• Incorporate free weights: Machines have a place in strength training, but they offer so much support that the body doesn't have to work as hard to maintain balance and good form. In real life, we don't have that kind of support. Using dumbbells, bands or cables forces your body to create it's own support, which leads to a stronger body overall.
• Use a stability ball: Doing some exercises on a ball, such as chest presses or pushups involves more stabilizers, the muscles that work to protect joints and maintain alignment.
• Combine movements: We usually do a combination of motions throughout the day. We lunge forward to open a door and then rotate while stepping through. Combining strength exercises together, like lunging forward with a reach or squatting with an overhead press can mimic this dynamic way of moving.
• Try unilateral exercises: Doing one-legged squats or using one arm at a time for moves like flies or chest presses forces your core to engage as well as your stabilizers, making these moves more functional and challenging.

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