Physioball Crunch

Physioball Crunch Basics

Primary Muscles Worked: Rectus Abdominus

Synergist Muscles: Transverse Abdominus, Obliques

Mechanics: Compound

Equipment: Open Floor Space

How To Perform Physioball Crunches

• Sit on the physioball with your butt slightly forward of center so that your feet sit flat on the floor.
• Place your arms across your chest with each hand touching the opposite shoulder.
• Lean back until your back is parallel to the ground.
• Crunch up by contracting your abdominals and bringing your body about six inches up from this parallel position.
• Hold this six inch up position for one to two seconds.
• Lower your upper body back to the horizontal position.
• Repeat until your target rep count is completed.

Physioball Crunch Tips

• Do not allow the ball to roll under your back when you perform this exercise. Try to keep it stationary.
• You may need to tighten your leg muscles and glutes to help you maintain balance on the ball.
• You can also improve your balance by contracting your traverses abdominus muscles by drawing your belly button in.

Physioball Crunch and Sports Application

The physioball crunch is great for teaching the abdominals to stabilize while dynamically contracting. This slight motion can be seen in the breast stroke while swimming. It is a great intermediary exercise to transition athletes from easy core exercises to more difficult core exercises that require even more dynamic stabilization. This exercise can also teach athletes how to be comfortable on the exercise ball which will transition into other more dynamic movements, such as the dumbbell stability ball bench press.