Your Position

Begin by sitting on the ball and walking yourself out until you are lying on the ball with your head and shoulders supported by the ball. Make sure that your chest is not extended.

Your legs should be just outside of the hips, with your feet pointing straight ahead. Make sure that your hips are higher than your chest but that your low back is not hyper-extended.

Target Muscles

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. While lying on the ball and maintaining the abdominal contraction, focus on driving your hips up ashigh as possible without arching your back.
2. As you balance your trunk on the ball, relax your head and neck, and use your hips to stabilize your position.

Common Errors and Their Correction

Your hips may be too much higher than your chest which can cause an excessive low back extension and possible low back tightness and pain. Avoid this by allowing your hips to drop sufficiently for the chest to also drop. Concentrate on keeping your chest down.

Your legs may begin to move out of line which causes the glutes to engage. To avoid this, imagine that your knees are squeezing a ball; this will help to keep your knees in but not touching.