Swiss-Ball Rollout: Core Exercise
This difficult exercise works the abdominals and improves the core strength to maintain good balance.
Other names for this exercise: forward ball row, stability ball forward roll.
Swiss-Ball Rollout Exercise Instructions
Kneel behind an exercise ball and place your forearms and fists on the ball. You can place your palms together on top of the ball, close to your body. Your elbows should be bent 90 degrees. Engage your abdominals while keeping your upper body straight. Keep head in line with spine.
Slowly roll the ball forward, straightening your arms and extending your body as far as you can without allowing your lower back to “collapse”. Roll the ball forward until the hands, elbows, shoulders, hips, and knees are nearly in a straight line and the arms are across the ball. Use your abdominal muscles to pull the ball back to your knees.
Important Tips for Swiss-Ball Rollouts
- Keep your core braced.
- Your lower back should be naturally arched.
- Focus on using your abs, not your arms, to roll out and back.
- Go as far as you can while maintain a straight torso.
- Your elbows should be bent about 90 degrees.
- Don’t let your hips sag.
Muscles Engaged
The forward roll works the balance muscles of the lower back similarly to the plank. However, it does so more dynamically.
As you pull the ball back to the starting position, you will feel muscles in your shoulders and arms working, along with your core.
All the muscles involved: iliacus, iliopsoas, rectus abdominis, obliquus externus, obliquus internus, pectoralis major, serratus anterior, teres major, triceps brachii, rectus femoris, latissimus dorsi.
Benefits
- Strengthens the lower back and abdominals.
- Engages the core stabilizer muscles.
- Improves torso stability.
Exercise Variations
If you do not have a Swiss ball you can use an ab wheel or barbell with round weight plates on the end.
- Barbell Rollout
Conclusion
Proper form is vital to getting the maximum benefit from a forward ball roll. When done correctly, the exercise will increase your level of neuromuscular coordination. Neuromuscular coordination is the harmonious functioning of muscles or muscle groups in the execution of movement. It’s the finesse that is visible when someone makes an action look easy even when we know it’s not.
