Are Crunches on an Exercise Ball Better for You?

The Introduction of the Fitness Ball was one of the most significant changes to the fitness world over the last few decades inmy opinion. It sparked not only a whole new way to supply stimulus to the muscular system but also its own exercise classes and many other products based off it. I am always amazed at how the fitness industry works. I am sure it is just like anything else in Western Civilization, make a product, explain why it is better than anything before it, market the you know what out of it and there you have it, an industry changer.

In the case of the ball, it gave instant results because it was so incredibly different than what people had been doing. Unlike many other fads that come and go however, the ball has stood the test of time and become a staple in the training world. Its like the Ipod of the fitness community, whether people need them or not, they feel compelled to have one.

OK, now back to the point of this post. Are crunches on the ball better for you? Simple answer, yes. More appropriate answer, maybe. The main benefit of the exercise ball and the reason it enjoyed so much success when it first came out is that it forces you to do significantly more stabilizing to perform any exercise you choose to use it for. This will increase the number of muscle fibers your muscles must engage in order to perform the move. This creates better muscle tone, a higher number of calories burned and greater amounts of strength gained. All positives to anyone wishing to get in better shape. Once again though we have to look at the negatives of anything we do in fitness.

The negatives are always far more important to understand. With the additional amount of stabilizing your body needs to use to perform moves on the ball means that it will also lend itself to creating higher levels of tightness and compensation. Lets say you have an anterior tilt in your pelvis (your hips tilted forward) causing some lordosis (extreme curvature of lumbar spine). When performing crunches on the floor your lower back will have some  additional stress placed on it since the pelvis is rotated forward. To be honest this is why full sit-ups have disappeared in many training circles. It was decided that it was a bad move because it was hurting people backs. The move is fine, the problem is the people bodies not being in the anatomically correct position.

So with an anterior tilt laying on the ball forces you to contract everything in your abdominal wall and core to balance on the ball. This is the positive of the move, unfortunately it is also the negative. The imbalance in your pelvis puts the spine in a compromised position meaning that doing crunches on the ball is only going to make this problem worse. You are gaining strength through your core which helps to protect your spine but ultimately you are putting the spine under more pressure by not correcting the pelvic imbalance.

So is the Exercise ball better? Yes as long as you are not dealing with any lumbar spine problems. If your pelvis is out of alignment, correct that first before you go to the ball. I know most trainers will tell you that doing crunches on the ball will help your lower back problems. Close but it will simply make you stronger at dealing with your structural weakness in your back meaning you can do more with less of a chance of hurting it. In the short term it is a good solution, long term it is disaster for your back.

If you signed up for our newsletter you received a free abdominal routine that is designed to not only strengthen the abs but also to correct postural abnormalities. In the store we have a complete abdominal program consisting of three routines of progressive difficulty all designed to do the same. Try these out first before you go to the ball to help reduce the potential negative side effects of crunches on an exercise ball. Also here is some examples of ab moves we did in an Exercise of the week video.

If you are interested in purchasing a Workout Ball, Amazon usually has some great deals on them.