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Can adding a fitness ball to your abs workout net you that six-pack with less sweat? A study by researchers at the Department of Kinesiology at Occidental College in Los Angeles says yes.
The study found that crunches performed on a stability ball (a.k.a. fitness ball or Balance Ball) boosted activation, or flexing, of abdominal muscles by 24 to 38 percent over crunches done without a ball. Participants in the study were fitted with electromyographic equipment that registered heightened activity in upper and lower abs as well as in obliques.
The new research may help explain why stability ball workouts continue to rank among the top 10 best-selling fitness DVDs, according to Nielsen VideoScan — and why you\'d be hard pressed to find a gym that doesn\'t offer them.
But there\'s another way a stability ball can help you get strong, sexy abs.
\"Abs workouts using a stability ball engage smaller core muscles that more traditional forms of exercise don’t,\" says certified yoga and fitness ball trainer Suzanne Deason. \"Those smaller muscles help you keep your balance on the ball. You\'ll sculpt all the muscle groups in the abdo ...
