Start Position

Position a Swiss ball in front of something sturdy you can hold onto, like a power rack, a Smith Machine, or a very heavy-duty exercise bench. Position the Swiss ball a couple of feet in front of whatever you're going to hold onto, then sit down on the Swiss ball, take a step forward with your right foot, a step forward with your left foot and lie back. Then, extend your arms behind your head and grasp whatever you're going to use to anchor your body. Make sure your hips and shoulders are positioned on the Swiss ball, and that you're not too far back or too far forward. Bend your knees a bit and slightly point your toes.

The Movement

Take a deep breath and begin contracting your lower abs, lifting your legs, and curling your hips up toward your shoulders. Be sure to keep your neck in a relaxed position with your vision focused upward toward the ceiling. Continue to slowly raise your legs until your toes are pointed straight up, with your legs at a 90-degree angle. Then, very slowly, lower your legs to the starting position. The slower you lower your legs on this exercise, the better.

Once you've reached the starting position, take a deep breath, get your balance, and lift those legs again.

This is an absolutely outstanding exercise for Region 2, the lower abs! Like most Swiss ball exercises, it allows you to work through a greater range of motion, activate more muscle fibers, and is very intense when performed properly.

The Swiss ball will have a tendency to roll just slightly to the left and right, forward and back. Every time it does, you'll feel a different area of the muscles in your midsection contracting to help you catch your balance. This is a good thing! However, if you simply swing your legs up and down, you may lose your balance and fall off! So please, go slow, especially when you're lowering your legs. And, hold on tight with your hands to something sturdy.

I do not recommend you do this exercise with additional weight. (I've seen some people at the gym doing it with a dumbbell between their feet.) This just isn't necessary. If you learn to contract the abdominal muscles intensely, you'll get all the work you need without putting a weight between your feet, which, in actuality, only makes the hip flexors and lower back more involved in this exercise.

AbSolution Book by Shawn Philips
Fitness expert Shawn Phillips says it's time to forget fad diets, miracle pills and trendy exercise machinery-it's time to get back to basics.