SB Abdominal Crunch
This is a great exercise to target the Rectus Abdominis (pictured below). The muscle’s actions include:
- Flexion of the trunk when the pelvis is fixed
- Lifts and posteriorly rotates the pelvis if the trunk is fixed
- Assists in forced expiration
How To
Sit on a swiss ball, place your hands on the ball and slowly move your feet forward. Roll down until you are lying back over the ball. Your low back should be supported by the ball and your head supported with both hands (pictured below).
From this position exhale and slowly curl up (pictured below). Focus on bringing your rib-cage closer to your pelvis and be careful not to pull on your neck. Inhale on the way back down to the start position and try to extend as far back as you can between reps to get a stretch through the muscle.
Start by performing 2 sets of 12-15 repetitions with a 2-1-2 tempo. This means that is will take roughly 2 seconds to curl up followed by a 1 second pause and finally 2 seconds to return to the start position.
Important Note: If you feel dizzy at any point during the exercise STOP IMMEDIATELY.