Crunches are an effective exercise that can be used to tone and strengthen your abdominal muscles. Crunches can be modified to train your abs from a range of angles. Crunches on a Swiss ball, also called a stability ball, recruit your core muscles and develop your sense of balance, while adding weight to crunches increases the tone of your abs. Add weighted Swiss ball crunches to your fitness routine three times a week to strengthen and tone your abs.
Weighted Ball Crunch
The weighted swiss ball crunch will tone all the muscles of your abs and target the front of your stomach. Sit on the ball with your feet on the ground hip-distance apart and hold a 5-lb. to 10-lb. weight in your hands. Walk your feet forward as you lean back until the ball is supporting the middle of your back. Holding the weight between both hands, place the weight on your chest or behind your head. This is the starting position. To perform the exercise, squeeze your abs and crunch up as high as you can, then slowly lower back down with control to complete one rep. Perform three sets of 12 to 15 reps.
Weighted Oblique Ball Crunch
The weighted oblique crunch will tone your core and target the sides of your torso. To execute this exercise, sit on the ball a few feet away from a wall, holding a 5- to 10-lb. weight in your hands. Walk your feet forward as you lean back, until the ball is under your hips and your feet are against the wall. Keep your abs engaged as you turn your body 90 degrees so your right hip is pressed into the ball and your feet are braced against the wall. Place the weight in front of your chest or behind your head. Using your sides, lift your upper body up toward the ceiling, squeezing your oblique muscles, then slowly lower back down to complete one rep. Perform three sets of 12 to 15 reps, then repeat on the other side.
Weighted Twisting Ball Crunch
The weighted twisting crunch will target and tone the front of your abs, as well as your obliques. For this exercise, sit on the ball with your feet hip-distance apart and a 5- to 10-lb. weight in your hands. Then lean back as you walk your feet out so the ball is supporting your mid-back, and place the weight in front of your chest of behind your head. This is the starting position.
Next, squeeze your abs to crunch up, raising your shoulder blades and twisting at the waist to bring your right elbow toward your left side, then return to the starting position. Repeat, twisting your left elbow toward your right side, then lower down to complete one rep. Perform three sets of 12 to 15 reps.
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