About The Exercise

This exercise is a must for most training programs as it is suitable for both beginner and advanced trainees. It is also a great option when time is limited as it recruits and trains both the abs and obliques. The obliques – as mentioned throughout the site – are often overlooked as most people concern themselves only with training the abs. Don’t make this mistake! The oblique region is extremely functional when it comes to both athletics and regular day to day activities. This is actually one of the best medicine ball core exercises that you can do.

Exercise Video

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Exercise Instructions

1. Sit in an upright position with the legs bent to a 45 degree angle. The feet should be in contact with the ground. From this position, grasp an appropriately weighted medicine ball and lean back slightly until you feel a contraction within the abdominal region.
2. With the arms extended and the medicine ball positioned over the chest, perform a semi-circular motion by shifting the arms from side to side.
3. Repeat until the desired number if repetitions are completed.
   Note: Remember to breath constantly throughout the exercise.

Exercise Variations

Elevating the feet will decrease stability and increase the reliance on the abdominal region to maintain the position. This will increase the difficulty.

Bending the arms will make the movement easier. You can use this technique in combination with the straight arm method to decrease the difficulty when first stage of fatigue is reached. This will produce an end result similar to a drop set.

Performing the exercise on a BOSU balance trainer will increase the stability recruitment and therefore, the movement will be more difficult to perform.