Favorite Ab Exercise I created

[stormshadow]

I do now and I think I may have created it. After all these years Bruce, I would love an exercise named after me.

You need a small fitness ball or medicine ball about the size of a grapefruit. It can be a weight but the spherical shape works better that a kettlebell or weight. The one I use is only 4 pounds.

With feet shoulder width apart hold the ball at sternum level with the ball flush against your body. With the ball cradled in your right hand slowly turn to the right and as you turn slowly extend your right arm as you twist until your arm is completely stretched out to the side you are turning too.

Slowly come back to centerline, transfer ball to the left hand and slowly turn to the left as you extend the hand out.

I feel it everywhere in my abs including the obliques. You can also change the plane of rotation to shift emphasis. The ball shape allows be to relax the hand and eliminate any tension there. The leveraging of the ball at full arm length applies a great stress.

It is also very relaxing and meditative for me while I do it. I put the free hand on my abs and can feel everything tighten up and "ripple". Not sure what to call it. It is wave like or undulating.

Try it out. I have tried it outside with a cupped brick and that works ok, but with sphere you can let it move around and shift which for some reason increases tension.

Let me know what you think.

[Michael]

Stormshadow,

Are You applying any tension or does turning with the ball create enough tension itself? I'll try it tomorrow morning, Thanks. I think "The Stormshadow" would be a good name for this, .

[stormshadow]

Thanks Michael. Yes I keep tension throughout as much as I can and almost a light vacuum until I get to the extreme rotational point of the hand and then slowly exhale as I am coming back to centerline. The slower and more conscious the rotation the better. Let me know. I really like it. It also does a slight adjustment to your spine. Every now and then there used to be gentle crack like a chiropractor adjustment when I started doing it. Now it almost never cracks. Make sure you are standing as straight as possible so that you don't bend over and put any rotational torque on the spinal disks. You don't want speed and momentum on this exercise. I rotate far enough as if I am handing off the ball to someone standing about 3 feet or so behind behind me. I also try to roll the ball towards the ends of my fingertips as I hit the max range behind me.

[stormshadow]

Also keep both feet planted on ground hips facing forward while you rotate. That is way to get best stretch and ab activation. Every now and then may rotate hips but not often.