Research and News
Exercise ball more effective at activating abdominal muscles
The exercise ball is a popular device for core training, and is often used to increase muscle activation, particularly of the abdominals. Most studies have concluded that the exercise ball increases electromyographic (EMG) activity of the abdominal muscles. In England, Dr. Michael Duncan investigated the muscle activation in 2 different parts of the rectus abdominus muscle (the upper and lower portions) during exercise both on and off an exercise ball. The 3 exercises were the abdominal curl-up, roll-out, and jack knife. Subjects also performed a curl-up on the floor.
The exercise ball consistently had significantly more rectus activation than the curl-up on the floor. The chart below provides the percent of maximal contraction (MVIC) of each portion of the abdominals during each exercise:
| Floor Curl-up | Ball Curl-up | Jack knife | Roll-out | |
| Upper Rectus | 68% | 84% | 93% | 104% |
| Lower Rectus | 64% | 93% | 111% | 98% |
The study also found that the jack knife was the best exercise for lower abdominal activation compared to all other exercises. This may help clinicians choose an exercise that specifically targets one portion of the abdominals over another. However, some researchers suggest that isolating one muscle may not be beneficial for core stabilization, instead focusing on quick and strong activation of all abdominals simultaneously for lumbar stabilization. Therefore, the exercise ball should be considered an unstable surface used to elicit unconscious activation of muscle through the sensorimotor system, rather than a tool to simply increase voluntary muscle activity.
In summary, this study demonstrated significantly more activation of the abdominals using an exercise ball compared to a curl-up performed on the floor. Clinicians may use a Thera-Band® Exercise Ball for selective activation of the abdominal muscles, but should consider it as an unstable surface tool for neuromuscular training as well.
Visit the Exercise Ball Resource Center at Thera-Band Academy
Duncan M. Muscle activity of the upper and lower rectus abdominis during exercises performed on and off a Swiss ball. J Bodyw Mov Ther. 2009 Oct;13(4):364-7.
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| Print article | This entry was posted by Dr. Phil Page on April 8, 2010 at 1:20 am, and is filed under Exercise Balls, Research Updates. Follow any responses to this post through RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site. |
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