Be Well Workout of the Week: Shred Your Arms and Abs with a Stability Ball
This week’s workout is going to zone in on — you guessed it! — your arms and your abs, with many of the moves in this workout done using a stability ball (otherwise known as a physioball). You’ll do a circuit of exercises three times, alternating between arm exercises and ab exercises. The rounds will decrease in reps, so you’ll do 20 for the first round, 15 for the second round, and 10 for the third round. Happy sweating, guys!
Be Well Workout of the Week: Shred Your Arms and Abs with a Stability Ball
Reps: 20-15-10
Chest flies on physioball
Decline push-ups on physioball
Crunches on physioball
Pullovers on physioball
Straight-arm crunches on physioball
Lunge rows on left side
Lunge rows right on right side
Reverse flies on physioball
Mountain climbers on physioball
Bicep curl to overhead press
Tricep extension
In-and-out V-sits
Lateral raises
Alternating front raises
1-minute plank
Explanation of exercises:
Click links below for how-to videos.
Chest fly on physioball: Lie on your back on the physioball with your head and neck on the ball. Keep your hips up and squeeze your glutes. Holding free weights, extend the arms up. Keeping elbows loosely locked, drop the arms out to the sides until the hand is in line with the shoulder, then raise them back up.
Decline push-ups: Put your toes on the physioball behind you, and put your hands on the ground. Do your push-ups in that position.
Physioball crunches: Lie on your back on a physioball with feet on the floor, knees bent at 90 degrees. Put your hands behind your head and tighten your abs as you perform a crunch, lifting your shoulders off the ball.
Pullovers: Lie on the physioball on your back so your head and neck are supported. Holding a weight in both hands, reach the weight over your head toward the wall behind you, keeping your arms slightly bent. Drive the weight back up towards the ceiling. Be sure to keep your hips up and squeeze your glutes the entire time. Repeat.
Straight-arm crunches on physioball: Position yourself on the physioball as if you are about to do a regular crunch. Place your arms straight above your head, with your biceps next to your ear. Crunch up, keeping your arms straight. Return to start and repeat.
Lunge row: Standing with your left leg forward in a lunge and left forearm on thigh, row a weight with your right arm like you’re starting lawn mower. Switch to opposite side lunge for left arm.
Reverse fly on physioball: With your feet against the wall and your stomach and hips on the ball, hold your chest up and raise the weights up and out to the side, squeezing your shoulder blades together.
Mountain climbers on physioball: With your hands on the physioball, get in plank position. Alternating legs, bring your knee into the chest, keeping your upper body strong. Extend leg and switch.
Bicep curls: Hold dumbbells at your side with palms facing forward. Pretend your elbows are glued to your midsection and curl the weight toward your shoulders, keeping your upper arm still. Slowly return your weight to the starting position and repeat on the other side.
Overhead press: Holding a pair of free weights at your shoulders with your palms facing forward, press the weights up over your head. Return the weights to your shoulders and repeat.
Tricep extensions: Holding a dumbbell with both hands, behind your head. Raise the dumbbell directly above your head, toward the ceiling. Return the dumbbell to the starting position. Repeat.
In-and-out V-sits: Sitting on the ground, balancing on your tailbone, extend your legs straight out in front of you, keeping them off the ground while reaching your arms out to the sides. Hug your knees back into your chest and repeat.
Lateral raise: Holding dumbbells, stand with your feet shoulder-width apart. Raise your arms out from on your sides to shoulder height, return to start and repeat.
Alternating front raise: Stand with feet hip width apart, holding a dumbbell in each hand. Hands are resting on front of the quads with palms facing towards you. One at a time, raise the left arm to shoulder height and lower, then raise and lower the right arm.
Plank: Get in push-up position, resting on your elbows; keep back, hips, and legs in a straight line. Hold.
» Did you complete this week’s BeWOW? Tell us how you did in the comments! Or, feel free to tweet at us about it using the hashtag #BeWOW. Check out all the BeWOW workouts here.
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Audrey McKenna Hasse is the owner of A.M.Fit, a personal training and healthy consultation business on the Main Line. You’ll find her workouts every week right here on Be Well Philly.
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