Fitness Friday :: Week Eleven
If you missed a week, here are the links:
Week One – Quads
Week Two – Core
Week Three – Triceps
Week Four – Shoulders
Week Five – Core, Back, Glutes
Week Six – Inner Thigh
Week Seven – Glutes and Hamstrings
Week Eight – Core
Week Nine – Calf Stretch (Deleted due to technical difficulty)
Week Ten – Core Exercise Using a Stability Ball
I spend about 20 minutes of my gym time using a stability ball. I showed you one of my favorite core exercises last week and I though I’d share another this week, the pike.
Start by getting your upper body in a plank position with your lower body balanced on a stability ball with the bottom part of your quad, your knee, and a bit of your shin on top of the ball. ((Just holding this position is a workout and would be a great starting point if you are just starting a core workout plan.))
Using your stomach muscles, pull yourself into a pike position. (I am afraid of heights and of falling and it took a long time before I had the nerve to try this exercise.) When I look at the pictures, I’m not so sure why doing it made me so afraid.
Slowly lower back to the starting position.
Repeat.
In the video below, I demonstrate the exercise pictured above, then I switch to an easier version where your knees are pulled into the body instead of extending into a pike position. I don’t have still pictures of this version of the exercise, but I think you can understand how to do it from the video.
As always, I love your feedback and I’m open to suggestions for ways to improve this series or to make it more helpful to you.
That looks like fun!! If I had one of those balls I don’t think I’d ever get to use it–I’m sure the kids would commandeer it. š
Almost missed this week! I’ve only done those once or twice, and they kick my butt! I need to add them in, but it’s so humiliating for people to see me. Maybe I need to practice at home so everyone at the gym can’t see the big dorky girl whose feet keep rolling off the ball because her arms are shaking so bad and she has zero balance.