This bosu ball ab workout tightens and tones your abs from every angle. Do this workout anywhere—from the gym or the comfort of your home!
The bosu ball is incredibly versatile. It adds comfort to your spine, and it can even be used as a weight to make your ab exercises more challenging.
This easy-to-follow workout focuses on your core, and it gets your blood pumping!
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Perform the first three exercises as a warm-up. Spend one minute on each exercise. To engage and awaken your core muscles, move slowly and breathe deeply.
Once you complete the warm-up, perform the next six exercises as one big circuit for two rounds. Work in intervals of 40 seconds, and take a 20-second break between each exercise.
The total workout should take you 15 minutes (with the warm-up included).
The Warm-Up
Bosu Rollbacks | 60 sec
Start by sitting right in front of the bosu ball. Rest your heels and calves on the top of it. Reach your arms out in front of you. Begin raising your arms up overhead as you roll back. Eventually, reach your hands all the way to the ground behind your head.
Roll up one vertebrae at a time, and fully contract your abs at the top.
Go at a slow pace, and focus on your breath. Exhale on the way up, and inhale as you roll down.
Continue for 60 seconds, continuously moving without taking breaks at the bottom or top.
Bosu Crunch | 60 sec
Lie on top of the bosu ball, with the center of your back aligned with the center of the ball. Place your feet firmly on the ground with your knees bent. Your fingertips should be resting just behind your ears. Don’t clasp your hands together, or pull on the back of your head or neck.
Stretch back so that you feel a stretch across your abs. Then flex your abs and crunch up, raising your shoulders off the ball. Inhale as you lower and stretch; exhale with force as you crunch upwards.
Make sure to flex your abs with each rep. Continue for 60 seconds, focusing on these contractions.
Bosu Side Crunch | 30 sec per side
Start by sitting on your hip on the bottom edge of the bosu ball and lying across the top, so that your elbow touches the ground on the other side. Place your fingertips behind your head, lightly touching the backs of your ears.
Crunch up as far as you can, keeping your elbows wide open and your chin lifted off your chest. Lower your upper body back to the starting position and repeat. Inhale as you lower, and exhale as you lift and crunch. Focus on the contraction happening on your side oblique area.
The Workout
- Rest 20 seconds between exercises.
- Perform 2 rounds.
Complete each of the six exercises as one big circuit, working hard for 40 seconds and resting for 20 seconds between exercises. To finish the workout, repeat one more time.
Bosu High to Low Planks | 40 sec
Planks are great for strengthening and toning your abs. This one is especially challenging; your core works harder to stay balanced, while the rest of your body is moving. And as a bonus, you work your triceps and shoulders.
Start in a high plank position, with your hands on the middle of the bosu ball. Bend one arm, placing the forearm on the ball. Then do the same with the other arm. Maintain your plank throughout the transition.
Hold the low plank for one breath, then push back up to the high plank. Repeat moving up and down, controlling your plank for the entire 40-second interval.
Bosu Sit-Ups | 40 sec
Sit-ups are tougher than crunches. So you might find that you don’t feel this exercise in your abs, and your hips are doing the brunt of the work. If so, you can scale back and do crunches instead.
One key tip for sit-ups is to focus on the ab contraction, rather than the end result. If you sit up too far or fast, you’ll lose control and miss out on the ab contraction.
Start by sitting on the front edge of the bosu ball. Hold your fingertips behind your head (without pulling on your head or neck). Stretch back to feel your abs elongate. Round your spine and roll up until you’re sitting upright, but keep your abs contracted. Don’t sit up straight.
Bosu Overhead V-Up | 40 sec
V-ups are challenging with or without a weight. I like this bosu version because the handles make it easier to hold onto than a dumbbell or medicine ball.
Start by lying flat on your back. Holding the handles of the bosu ball, lift it over your head. Contract your abs, and simultaneously lift your back and legs off the floor. Then you’ll create a “V” shape with your body.
It’s okay to keep your knees bent if you find it hard to straighten them. Tight hamstrings may restrict your ability to fully straighten your legs.
(Tip: Try these mobility exercises to help relax tight legs.)
In a smooth motion, lower your legs down. Then without resting on the floor, rise up again. Do as many as you can in 40 seconds, but maintain control. Exhale on the way up, and inhale as you lengthen to the floor.
The ‘X’ Crunches | 40 sec
The X Crunches are great for training your transverse abdominis (the deep core muscles that keep your midsection slim and tight).
Start by lying flat on top of the bosu ball with the middle of your back, aligned with the center of the ball. Flex your feet, straighten your knees, and place your fingertips behind your ears.
You body should make a sort of an “X” shape as your legs are separated shoulder width apart and your elbows extended towards the sides.
Do a crunch with you upper body while simultaneously raising one leg straight up into the air.
Reach towards your toes with the opposite hand and tap your toes with your fingertips as you exhale. Focus on contracting your abdominal muscles.Tip: If you have tight hamstrings, you can do this with a bent knee.
Keep the opposite elbow bent and stretched back, with your hand supporting the base of your head, making sure not to pull on your neck. Your neck should stay relaxed and supported throughout the movement.
Slowly lower hand and foot back to the starting position. Take a deep inhale and then switch to do the other side. Repeat, alternating sides for 40 seconds
Bosu Russian Twist | 40 sec
Twists train all areas of the core. I love the bosu Russian twist because the ball’s weight is distributed evenly, making it easier to keep good form.
Start by sitting on the floor with your knees bent and feet planted. Grab the bosu ball by the handles (with the rounded side facing away from you). Lean back to a 45-degree angle. Contract your abs, so your back is slightly rounded. (You don’t want your back to be too straight, or you’ll feel it more in your hip flexors).
Next, twist to one side and exhale the air out, and lower the ball towards the floor. Raise the ball back up to the middle. Take a deep inhale, then lower to the other side. Repeat and alternate sides for 40 seconds.
Bosu Scissor Kicks | 40 sec
Scissor kicks target your lower abs. Holding the bosu ball helps you engage your upper abs, so you can reach a wider range of motion with your kicks.
Start by lying on the ground, and hold the ball so that the rounded side is facing your feet. Lift up into a crunch position. Keep the ball as high as you can. Tighten your legs, and point your toes.
Raise one leg up, and press the top of your foot into the ball’s rounded side.
As you’re lowering the top leg, simultaneously raise the bottom leg, so they switch in the middle. Repeat, and deeply inhale and exhale with each switch of the legs.
Final Workout Tip
I recommend adding this bosu ab workout to the end of your total-body strength-training sessions, or using it on days when you can’t get to the gym. If you don’t have access to a Bosu ball, all of these moves can also be done without it!
(Your Next Workout: The Bosu Booty-Sculpting Workout)
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