{"id":5350,"date":"2010-03-19T10:53:48","date_gmt":"2010-03-19T16:53:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.withamymac.com\/news\/2010\/03\/19\/stability-ball-exercises-ball-crunch\/"},"modified":"2011-02-07T12:06:59","modified_gmt":"2011-02-07T18:06:59","slug":"stability-ball-exercises-ball-crunch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.withamymac.com\/news\/2010\/03\/19\/stability-ball-exercises-ball-crunch\/","title":{"rendered":"Stability Ball Exercises: Ball Crunch"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Get ready for spring break, summer vacation or just for the warm weather with this ab workout exercise! Using a swiss ball\/ balance ball\/ stability ball for this ab exercise helps you to obtain a bigger range of motion and also helps to support your back. Quality is more important than quantity on this exercise.<\/p>\n

You want to make sure your core is engaged, you are looking and crunching toward the ceiling and make sure to never strain the neck. Breathe throughout this exercise and never pull your head upward. \u00a0Keeping your back centered on the ball helps to engage your ab muscles instead of your hip flexors. \u00a0In the beginning, you might really struggle with keeping your balance both getting into position and staying laid back on the ball. \u00a0If you are unstable, hold onto a partner or just practice balancing before actually crunching. \u00a0Keep the crunch slow and controlled and double check that you are feeling the stomach muscles working. \u00a0Never get the shoulders too far over the ball, because this will lead to too much spinal movement and can cause injury. If you have mastered this exercise, make it more difficult by holding a dumbbell over your head (not directly over it, obviously) while you crunch. You can also work on lifting 1 leg and balancing as you crunch- (prepare to lose your balance!).<\/p>\n