Lateral Flexion on a Gym Ball

Lateral Flexion is an exercise to help build on your core muscles by making the internal and external obliques work hard.

Body Part and Muscle Group
Lateral Flexion works the core – Rectus Abdominis, Internal and External Obliques

Joint Actions
The movement to perform Lateral Flexion involves Spinal FMobility.

Lateral Flexion on a Gym Ball

Instructions

• Lie on your side on a Gym Ball, placing the ball somewhere between your hips and upper ribs.
• One arm should be crossed over your chest and the other on the uppermost hip (The image shows the arms by the head, this makes the exercise harder). Your feet should be spaced apart for stability.
• As you laterally flex, slowly slide the hand down your thigh towards your knee.

Progression: Use a smaller ball for increased intensity.

Lateral Flexion on a Gym Ball
The Lateral Flexion exercise is focused on strengthening the Core muscles, these include the rectus abdominis, internal obliques and the external obliques. Things to remember when performing the exercise are, keep the exercise smooth and slow, make sure you keep your balance on the gym ball by doing small movements and use your full range of movement on the exercise.