Best Exercise Ball Ab Workout At Home

Take your ab results further by getting on your exercise ball. My stability ball ab workout is the perfect combination of stabilization and strength in one routine. This effective exercise ball ab workout includes 6 exercises that are designed to flatten your belly, tighten your stomach, and tone your abs. Get ready, this is going to be a great ab burner.

Best Exercise Ball Ab Workout

Reverse Crunch
Pike
Reverse Oblique Crunch
Ball Transfers
Roll Outs
Crunches

Keep reading for a step-by-step guide of the workout with pictures and descriptions of each of these exercises.

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As a physical therapist I tend to learn a lot about the people I’m working with. One of the commonalities I tend to find is that many people have an exercise ball at home, but not a lot of people know what to do with it!

They’ll do crunches and a few push ups, but outside of that they’ll admit they don’t really know what else to do with them.

Well today is the day to pull out your exercise ball for a total ab burner!

Here we go.

IS AN EXERCISE BALL EFFECTIVE FOR ABS?

Exercise balls were designed by a Swiss doctor for use with physical therapy, but the stability ball can be used for a variety of exercise routines as well. They can help you build muscle, strengthen your core, improve posture, and develop flexibility and balance.

Exercise balls require effort to remain balanced by engaging multiple muscles while performing exercises and stretches. This makes them effective for building the muscles in your abdominal area. You can use exercise balls for many ab exercises such as crunches, plank variations, and more.

Try the exercises below for an effective ab workout with your fitness ball.

HOW DO I KEEP MY EXERCISE BALL FROM ROLLING?

As funny as it sounds, this is a common question. The best way to keep your exercise ball from rolling is to practice! Practice sitting on your exercise ball and bounce slightly to get used to it, then start your work out.

You’ll also want to make sure that your stability ball is properly inflated and carefully perform your exercises as best as you can. You can also stay close to a chair or a wall if you need some extra stability or try putting it on top of a towel or mat.

Just 10-20 minutes of practice 1-2 times per week can help you gain improved posture and balance to appropriately complete your workout without your exercise ball slipping out from underneath you.

WHAT SIZE STABILITY BALL IS BEST FOR ME?

These exercise balls come in a variety of sizes; most commonly 45, 55, 65, 75, and 85 cm (this measurement refers to the diameter of the ball once fully inflated). Typically the larger exercise balls offer greater stability and are ideal for beginners or larger individuals.

The smaller exercise balls require more muscle strength and control to perform exercises and are appropriate for more advanced exercisers or smaller individuals. You can see more info and purchase these balls at the following links:

55 cm ball 65 cm ball 75 cm ball 85 cm ball

Now on to the workout. This exercise ball ab workout includes 6 exercises that are designed to flatten your belly, tighten your stomach, and tone your abs. You’ll complete each workout 2-3 times. Get ready, this is going to be a great ab burner.

The Workout

Reverse crunch:

Start with your hands on the floor and the ball under your shins.
Suck in your stomach and use your abs to pull your knees up to your chest.
Slowly return to starting position.

10 reps

Pike:

pike exercise ball swiss ab tone tighten

Same starting position as above – down on your hands with the ball under your shins.
Keep your legs straight and use your lower abs to pull the ball up towards your hands by bending at the hips (finishing in a pike position).
Slowly return to starting position.

10 reps

Reverse oblique crunch:

reverse oblique crunch exercise swiss ball tone tighten

One more time in the starting position of down on your hands with the ball under your shins.
Keep your knees together, use your abs to pull your right knee up to your left elbow.
Return to starting position and repeat pulling your left knee up to your right elbow.
Return to starting position.

10 reps to each side (20 reps total)

Ball transfers:

Lay on your back with your arms over your head, legs outstretched, squeezing the ball between your feet.
Use your abs to pull your legs straight and the ball up towards the ceiling while also raising your arms up towards the ceiling.
Transfer the ball from your feet to your hands and slowly lower the ball over your head towards the floor.
Return the ball to your feet and finally back to the starting position by going through the reverse motions. That counts as one rep.

10 reps

Roll outs:

exercise swiss ball roll out ab exercise tone tighten

Kneel on the ground with the ball in front of you.
Put your wrists/forearms on the ball. Suck in your stomach and lean into the ball while rolling it along your forearms away from you.
Try to keep you back straight (not bowed) throughout the motion.
Use your abs to pull yourself back to an upright position.

10 reps

Crunches:

exercise swiss ball crunch ab tone tighten

Lay on your back on top of the ball with your feet flat on the ground. The ball should be placed under the small of your back.
Support your head lightly with your hands – try not to interlock your fingers to avoid pulling on your head/neck.
Use your abs to lift your chest/shoulders up towards the ceiling and then slowly return to the starting position.

10 reps

Repeat the entire series 2-3 times for an amazing ab burner!

What’s your favorite exercise ball exercise? Let me know how you #MakeYourMove by telling me about your go-to ball exercise in a comment below.

I would like to extend a special THANK YOU to Kohl’s for sponsoring Tone and Tighten in such an incredible campaign for the last three months. Together we encourage you to always continue to stay healthy, stay active, and #MakeYourMove.

Check out some other great posts I’ve written for Kohl’s #MakeYourMove campaign: