How To Do An Abdominal Tuck With A Stability Ball Video

The ab tuck using a stability ball will work the abs in the center of the stomach. Learn how to do ab tucks using a stability ball from a certified personal fitness trainer in this exercise video.

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Use correct size ball
Lay on back
Ball to shins
Don't strain neck

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Amy McCauley has been a certified personal fitness trainer since 1995. She specializes in pilates, combat cardio, core conditioning and overall strength training. She works with clients ranging in age from 16 - 69. She has worked at Gold's Gym in Wilmington, NC since 2006. She loves her job because it gives her the opportunity to change peoples' lives in a positive way.

Hi. I'm going to show you how to do an abdominal tuck using the stability ball. And the size of the stability ball is dependent upon your height. If you are 5'4" and under, you're going to want to use a 55-cm ball, if you're 5'4" to about 5'7", it's a 65-cm ball and anything over 5'7" you want to try to use a 75-cm ball. All we're going to do is grab onto the ball, lay all the way down on your back to get started. Then you've got a couple of different versions. Just starting, you're just going to tuck, put the ball right at your shins and then just barely, barely lower. If you have pressure on your lower back, you're going to want to start here where you keep your back flat on the floor and you're just tucking here. The chin is tucked slightly, think about an apple underneath your chin, relax all the muscles in your neck as you pull your arms over your head. So this is your modification: Your full version of a tuck is to bring your upper body up just a little bit so that your shoulder blades are actually clearing the floor, you're in a C-curve. You're going to reach, lengthen the legs, coming in parallel to the floor is going to be a little bit more challenging. Bringing it up in the air is going to be a little bit easier. So your versions here are knees to chest, lengthen up towards the ceiling or knees to chest, lengthen parallel to the floor. You want to avoid coming all the way down and coming all the way up in this. Think about our Pilates move, you're going to lengthen, inhale, exhale as your contraction. Relax the hands on the ball as you lengthen and crunch. We're going to try to do up to 20 repetitions, take a break and do two or three sets. So again, modification is just a small roll out and back in. Full version is going to lengthen and contract. We are working the muscles in the center of your stomach, your rectus abdominis. So you want to make sure that there's no strain in your neck. If you feel pressure in your neck, let the ball go, put one hand behind your head, reach out with the opposite arm you're tucking and you're reaching until you get comfortable enough that you are able to use that ball over your head. And that is how you do a tuck using the stability ball.

How to Do an Abdominal Tuck With a Stability Ball Video

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