According to the Mayo Clinic website, working your core muscles, including your abdominals, helps improve balance and stability while making it easier to perform physical activities. You can perform most abdominal exercises, such as crunches, sit ups and leg lifts, without equipment, but when you want to ramp up the intensity level, add equipment to increase the resistance or instability of the movement. This type of equipment can help you see greater results in less time.
Stability Ball Sit-Up
Pick a stability ball that's right for your height. When you sit on the ball with your feet flat on the floor, your knees should form a 90-degree angle.
Sit up tall and gain your balance by adjusting the distance between your feet. If you move them closer together, you'll become more unstable. Cross your arms over your chest and tighten your abs. In a slow and controlled motion, begin leaning your torso backward until your body forms a straight line from your knee to your forehead. Reverse the movement and return to the sitting position. Some people don't have strong enough abdominals to lie all the way back. If this seems too difficult, only lean back as far as you can before returning to the sitting position.
Stability Ball Leg Lift
Lie flat on the ground with your legs fully extended and a stability ball between your feet. Place your hands palm down against the floor to stabilize your body. Squeeze the ball between your legs and lift your legs straight off the ground, raising the ball into the air. Concentrate on tightening your abs and keeping your back in contact with the floor. Slowly return to the starting position.
Medicine Ball Twist
Sit on the ground with a lightweight medicine ball in your hands. Bend your knees and place your feet flat on the floor. If you would like, you can lift your toes off the ground, keeping only your heels in contact with the floor. Lean backward slightly so that your torso forms a 45-degree angle with the floor. Holding the medicine ball directly in front of your chest with both hands, twist your torso to the right, return to center, then twist your torso to the left. Continue the motion, steadily twisting from left to right while concentrating on holding your abs and torso tight.
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