Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Wednesday Workout - Killer Ab Exercise ~ Swiss Ball Arm-Leg Switch

Last week I was teaching my kickboxing class with tabatas. I like to change things up. Different exercises to hit the same spots. I switched out some of the usual bag work for extra stations. In fact we had 10 stations and I added 4 new exercises. One new exercise had the boys groaning a lot more than I thought it would. It actually surprised me.

Last year when I got the personal training from the YMCA, Rachel showed me this ab exercise. I was kind of afraid that it would seem a bit girly. These guys come in to hit stuff and sweat. They really liked this one

Swiss Ball Arm-Leg Switch

  1. Lie down on your back with your legs straight on the floor, arms extended over your head, ball in your hands. 
  2. Bring your legs straight up to the ceiling, as you reach your arms up, bringing your shoulders and back off the floor (crunch).
  3. Place the ball between your feet, returning to the start position, arms and legs extended.
  4. Raise your legs to the ceiling once again, as you bring your arms up, reach, and take ball in your hands.
  5. Lower your arms and legs back to the start position

You can do this for a 20 or 30 count. Each time your arms have the ball, is one rep. Or you can do as many as possible in 2 minutes, which is what we did. You will be surprised how hard this is and how quickly you feel your abs burn.