Four at-home ab exercises from a personal trainer to fire up your core
THAT dusty old exercise ball that’s been lingering around your living room floor or in the corner of your gym is actually a pretty useful piece of kit.
In fact, if it’s been a while since you used it, aside from as a spare seat when needed, it’s time to put it to good use.
Also known as Swiss balls, physio balls or stability balls, they can put your balance to the test.
And when used correctly, they can help fire up your core muscles.
Fancy working your abs using just a stability ball?
Chloe Thomas, a personal trainer, women’s health and mindset coach, and founder of online coaching platform Chloe Inspires, has shared four of her favourite core exercises which can be done at home or in the gym using just an exercise ball.
You’ll need to engage your core throughout each of the exercises to really reap the full benefits of these moves.
Not sure how to do this?
Firstly, exhale and relax your entire belly area.
Then, slowly inhale and pull your belly button towards your spine, feeling your stomach muscles tighten.
Essentially, if someone was about to punch your stomach, you’d suddenly engage your core; that’s the feeling you’re going for.
Before you start your stability ball ab workout, Chloe recommends doing a five-minute warm up, to help prevent you getting injured.
“Do each exercise for 30 seconds and then rest for 20 seconds and move to the next exercise,” says Chloe.
“Aim to do three to four rounds of the whole circuit.
“I would recommend doing this workout three times a week maximum as you need to let the muscles rest, recover and grow.
“Each time you workout aim to increase time or reps on each exercise so you are progressively overloading.”
Chloe does stress, however, that this workout will not get rid of belly fat.
“No workout alone can do that; that comes from diet,” she adds.
“But this workout will build ab muscles, so when you lose belly fat, you have a toned and defined stomach.”
If you really want to feel the ab burn, avoid resting between each exercise, and instead, go straight from one move into the next.
Now, grab your ball, and get going.
1. Plank
For this exercise, kneel in front of your ball, with your shins up against it.
Then, place your hands on the ground, making sure your arms are straight from your shoulders down to your wrists.
Now, push yourself up so that the tops of your feet are on the ball and your body is in a straight line.
Keep your core tight and make sure your shoulders stay directly above your wrists. Look slightly forward.
“Make sure your hips do not dip and do not over-arch your back,” advises Chloe.
2. Plank to crunch
Get back into the plank position you were in for the first exercise with the tops of your feet on the ball and hands on the floor, directly under your shoulders.
Next, engage your core and bring your feet in, moving the ball closer to your body and crunching your feet to your chest.
“Keep your core tight and bring your feet in as far as you can, then extend back out,” adds Chloe.
3. Ball pass
Get out of your plank position for this exercise.
Lie on the ground or on a mat and bring your feet up into the air.
As you do this, make sure your back is engaged with the mat and avoid overextending your back.
Next, place the ball between your feet, then extend your legs out and reach your arms out straight over your head.
Crunch your legs in and then pass the ball from your feet to your hands.
Then, extend the ball over your head with your arms and lengthen your legs and feet back out.
Keep repeating this, swapping the ball between your feet and your hands.
Move slowly through the exercise, keeping your core tight and making sure you don’t arch your back.
4. Ball crunch
Lie on your mat again or the floor and bring your feet up into the air.
Place the ball between your feet before straightening your legs upwards.
Place your arms straight above your head and crunch up to the ball.
Tap it lightly. Then, lower yourself down and repeat.
Why can't I see my abs?
IF you can’t see your abs muscles, it’s probably because there’s a layer of fat lying on top of them.
But, there are things you can do to burn fat.
Firstly, personal trainer Chloe Thomas suggests putting yourself into a calorie deficit.
“To do this you would need to start eating slightly less than you are burning and move your body more,” she says.
“Calorie intake depends on height, weight, age, activity levels, muscle mass and gender – so every person will need a different amount of calories to lose body fat.
“To speed up results I would also recommend cutting out alcohol as this slow results and can contribute to belly fat.”
Chloe also recommends sticking mainly to whole foods and foods that are minimally processed.
“The best foods for reducing belly fat are lean proteins like chicken, fish, and eggs, which support muscle building and metabolism,” she adds.
“You also want to eat fibre-rich whole grains, vegetables and fruits.
“Aim to have healthy fats like avocados, nuts, some fish and olive oil which help to regulate your blood sugars and reduce cravings.”
Manage your stress levels too.
“Cortisol is a hormone that is released when we are stressed and high cortisol can lead to increased belly fat,” she says.