Hip Crunches with
the Exercise Ball
Starting
Position
- Lie on
your back on a mat with knees bent and your arms stretched out to your
sides.
- Squeeze the exercise ball between your legs as
illustrated below.
- Engage your
abdominal
muscles through the technique of
abdominal
hollowing before you even think of moving your legs. This
will help ensure you maintain
lumbar
stability.
Action
- Use your hips to lift your legs toward your
chest
Prime
Movers
Physio
Tips
- Always et your abdominals before lifting the
ball.
- This ball exercise is easier with a smaller
ball.
Progression
Try this exercise to challenge your abdominals and other lumbar
stabilizers under the load of the hip flexors.
A way to ensure you maintain a nice neutral lumbar position during this
exercise is by putting your hand under your lower back. While in the
starting position you should have about 2 cm under your lower back.
Slide one or both hands in this space. As you raise the ball your lower
back should not move significantly. If you find that your lower back
arches away from your hand or if it pushes down on your hands you are
not maintaining your neutral lumbar position. Go back and practice your
abdominal hollowing exercise and some
leg raises on the floor without the ball.
Repeat this ball exercise 6
times.
Repeat this ball exercise 10
times.
Repeat this ball exercise 15
times.
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