You wonder why good gyms don’t have abdominal machines like the ab king pro, and ab circles pro, for their customers? It’s because they don’t work. But you will see a ton of peopld doing Swiss ball ab exercises at the gym. The next time you see one at the gym or a friend’s house, do a normal crunch on it, then do a crunch on the ground, and you’ll see the difference immediately. First, you’ll notice how much more comfortable it is to lay down on an exercise ball than on the floor. Second, you’ll notice how the crunch on the Swiss Ball requires you to activate a lot more muscles to stabilize yourself and stay on the ball. You don’t get that with a floor-crunch. And third, you’ll notice you’re not limited to just one movement or motion to work your abdominals- there are dozens of different moves you can do to work your abs. The other ab crunch machines out there offer one exercise motion only.

Here are a few examples of moves you can do on an exercise ball to work your abdominals:

• Ab Roll
• Ball Rotation
• Ball Twist
• Exercise Ball Crunch
• Swiss Ball Side Crunch
• Ball Ab Stretch
• Swiss Ball Reverse Crunch
• Swiss Ball Torso Twist
• Prone Torso Twist

You can purchase Swiss balls pretty much anywhere now (buying the swiss ball online is probably the cheapest) – amazon.com, eBay, Wal-Mart, Target, etc. But you might want to look into the type of ball you’re getting. Not all of the are created equal. The best balls I’ve found are from Thera-Band and SPRI. Most gyms buy these which means they’re made to withstand a lot of use. There also not much more expensive than your Wal-Mart type. Specifically the Thera-band exercise balls support up 300 lbs. and have a 3 year warranty. Other than the brand, take a look at the recommended size of the ball. Here’s a quick table to help you out:

Height Ball Height Ball Size
Up to 4’10” 45 cm Small
4’10” to 5’5” 55 cm Medium
5’6” to 6’0” 65 cm Large
6’0” to 6’5” 75 cm Extra Large
Over 6’5” 85 cm Extra, Extra Large

(When you sit on the ball, it should be inflated enough so that your thighs are parallel to the floor or slightly above parallel.)

So please don’t go and buy one of those As Seen on T.V. ab crunch machines. You don’t need it! Just get the one best simple ab machine there is- the Swiss ball. You won’t regret making this addition to your home gym.