The Bender Ball exercises can help shape your abdominal muscles. Here are some exercises which you can perform at home and in the gym…
The Bender Ball is a 9” inflatable plastic ball developed by master trainer, Leslee Bender, that is used to work on your abdominal muscles. Including the abdominal or core exercises with Pilates, this ball has taken over the market. If you wish to perform the exercises using it, then the first thing you will have to do is purchase it online.
Different Exercises to Perform
The manufacturers of this stability ball claim that this equipment provides you with a higher range of movement during your workouts. As compared to the normal crunches, this equipment is at least 400% more effective. Plus, the size of the ball also has more advantages that a regular stability ball.
Exercise #1
- Place an exercise mat on the floor, and keep the ball on it.
- Lie on the ball, and place it between the small of your back and buttocks.
- Place your hands behind your head, knees at 90º angle, and hip-width apart.
- Inhale, and while exhaling, do normal stomach crunches.
- While coming down, you will notice that you are going further down the ball, closer to the floor.
- Do 3 sets of 20. Increase the number of sets overtime.
Exercise #2
- For this workout, place an exercise mat on the floor and sit on it.
- Bend your knees, and place the ball between your inner thighs.
- Keep the palms behind you on the floor for support; keep arms straight.
- Lean back, pull shoulders in, and bring both feet together to squeeze the ball and touch the feet.
- With the ball tightly squeezed, move your knees from one side to another; keep upper body stationary.
- Do 3 sets of 20. Increase the number of sets overtime.
Exercise #3
- Place an exercise mat on the floor, and keep the ball on it.
- Lie on the ball, and place it underneath the small of your back.
- Place your hands behind your head, knees at 90º angle, and hip-width apart.
- Inhale, and whole exhaling, lift your right knee and bring it back down.
- Do 10 knee lift on each leg. In between changing the legs, stop for 30 seconds.
Exercise #4
- Place an exercise mat on the floor and keep the ball on it.
- Lie down on the mat, and place your ankles on the ball; keep legs hip-width apart.
- Place your hands on your side with palms facing down.
- Inhale, and while exhaling, lift one leg slightly up and do buttock raises.
- Do 3 sets of 20 on each leg. Take 30 seconds break in between. Increase the number of sets overtime.
Exercise #5
- Place an exercise mat on the floor, and keep the ball on it.
- Lie down on the mat, knees at 90º angle, keep arms on the floor, palms facing down.
- Keep the ball between your knees, inhale, and while exhaling, raise hips off the floor.
- Hold this position, and twist your hips towards left to touch the floor.
- Come back to starting position (hip raised).
- Repeat on the right side. Do 3 sets of 20 on each side.
- Take 30 seconds break while changing sets. Increase the number of sets overtime.
Besides these exercises mentioned above, once you purchase the ball, you will get a DVD as well. This DVD shows all the different types of workouts that can be done. You can follow the core workout routine mentioned in the DVD on a regular basis, to get firm abs; toning and shaping your abdominal muscles was never this easy.
