With all the information out there about new Swiss ball exercises knowing which one to choose from and what is the most affective can be confusing. So that’s why we have put together a list of the top five Swiss ball exercises Including the dos and donts of exercises on a Swiss ball so you can achieve the best results without worrying about hurting your self.

Swiss Ball Exercises: The Crunch

This is the exercise that maybe people claim to have mastered but most people do incorrectly. The main difference between a crunch and a traditional sit up is the range of motion. The crunch focuses the abdominal muscles into a smaller range of motion instead of bring your body all the way up right the crunch is aiming to contract only abdominus rectus which is the muscle the is commonly know as the six pack muscle.

1. Lie down on the Swiss ball with the weight of your body on the lower half of your back and both feet flat on the ground with your legs at right angles
2. Contract your abs bringing your belly button towards your spine
3. Slowly flex your abs bringing the bottom of your rib cage closer to your pelvic bone in turn lifting your shoulder blades
4. Slowly your self down keeping your neck straight and your chin up

As you come down to starting position again, start the movement again to keep your core muscles working the entire time with no rest.

The Key thing to remember with this exercise is to keep your neck straight and don’t let your body become totally upright because that will switch off your core muscles and will reduce the results you achieve from this exercise.

Checkout this great video on how to do a crunch on a Swiss Ball.

Swiss Ball Exercises: The Swiss Ball Push up

The push up is one of the oldest exercise in the book but still one of the best. Working both your chest, arms and shoulders the push up is a great upper body exercise and one of the first you should master.

Push ups on a Swiss ball are much more difficult because your body is not stable on the ground forcing your core and shoulders to support your body as you move.

Place both of your hands on the floor and both of your legs resting on the Swiss ball. Bend your elbows and lower your self down as you would a normal push up but since feet are not on the ground stabilizing you body you will also have to focus on controlling your self on the way down with both your arms shoulders and core muscles.

You can also do push ups on a Swiss ball with your feet on the floor and both hands on the Swiss ball with a strong focus on balance and triceps development.

Swiss Ball Exercises: The Jack Knife or Knee Tuck

You might have seen other people at the gym or on tv doing this Swiss ball exercise.This is primarily a core exercise but it also works nearly every muscle in your body. There are many different names for this Swiss ball exercise but most people call it a jack knife or a knee tuck.

The basic movement involves you getting into a push up position on the Swiss ball then rolling your knees towards you using your core muscles to balance and bring your knees together, this Swiss ball exercise can be difficult for beginners.

Swiss Ball Exercises : The Swiss Ball Back Extension

With so much focus on core exercises many people forget the importance of the lower back in overall core strength and the Swiss ball back extension is the perfect lower back exercise to include in your Swiss ball exercises routine.

The advantages of doing this exercise on a Swiss ball instead of a machine is the increased activation of the core muscle in your lower back and your spine.

Swiss Ball Exercises: Swiss Ball Squat

The Swiss ball squat is a great exercise for the lower body and a perfect rehabilitation exercise for anyone with bad knee or hips.

The area of the body this exercise develops is the quads which is the largest muscle group in the body which means it also burns the largest amount of energy which is a great bonus for anyone looking to also lose weight.

1. Place the Swiss ball on the wall with your back leaning up against ball
2. Make sure your hips, shoulders and knees are all facing forward and your neck straight with a slight chin tuck. Keep both of your feet on the floor shoulder width apart
3. Lower your body down until your legs are at right angles and parallel to the ground
4. Slowly come up again focusing on flexing the muscles in your back side at the top

The great thing about this exercise is it can be done with just your body weight or for a more advanced workout weights held in each hand.Check out he video below for more information .