Written By: Nik Herold of The Fitness Doctors

Most people have abdominal training all wrong.  They do zillions of crunches and expect to get a nice, flat stomach—and most of the time, they get absolutely zero results. 

So what’s so wrong with the crunch?   

The crunch actually recruits the hip flexors much more than the abdominal wall.  Plus, they only work the abs through trunk flexion.  And if you want to fully develop a sexy midsection, you need to train your abs through multiple types of movements. 

However, today we’re going to focus on one specific way to train the abs: stabilization. Stabilization is the primary role of the core and it’s often neglected.   

So I’m going to supercharge your ab routine and give 5 of the BEST stabilization exercises to start incorporating into your workouts. You’ll need an exercise ball like the one in these clips.  

1. Swiss Ball Leg Lifts 

I believe in getting the toughest exercise out of the way first.  And this is DEFINITELY the toughest exercise out of the bunch!  It involves hip flexion and stabilization—making it extremely difficult. 

You should feel this throughout your entire midsection—especially the lower abs and the obliques. 

Start by lying on your back on a Swiss Ball, making sure your low back is supported.  Make sure you have something to hold onto behind you.  Extend the arms back and keep a slight bend in the elbow while you hold onto a support.   

Elevate the legs off of the ground with a slight bend in the knee and lift them up as far as you can while keeping tension on the abs.  Pause at the top and slowly lower them back to the starting position.  Pause again at the bottom and then repeat. View it:

 2. Toe Touches Off of the Ball 

You’re going to really feel this throughout your entire midsection – especially the lower abdominals and the obliques.  You are going to place your feet up on swiss ball while your arms are in a pushup position on the floor.  From this position—keeping the leg straight—extend the leg outward off of the ball and lightly touch the floor.  Bring the leg back to the top of the ball and repeat with the other leg. 

To make this exercise more difficult, focus on increasing your range of motion.  Once you have established a full range, you can increase speed.  Maintain a neutral spine and avoid letting the hips drop throughout the exercise. View it:

3. Swiss Ball Jacknife 

This is a combo flexion/stabilization exercise.  With your feet on the ball and your hands in the pushup position.  Roll your knees in towards your chest, pause, and slowly extend the legs back until they’re straight and back in starting position. View it:

4. Ball Rollouts

This has to be my favorite exercise out of the bunch.  It requires you to stabilize while going through a forward motion with the hips and torso—placing a ton of stress on the anterior portion of the midsection.   

Starting from a kneel with your arms on the ball, slowly shift your weight forward while maintain a neutral spine.  Pause once the arms reach full extension and slowly bring the ball back to starting position. 

If your back arches at all during the movement, you should stop the exercise. View it:

5. Swiss Ball Mountain Climber 

This is another combination ab exercise involving hip flexion and stabilization—really worked the obliques and lower abdominals.  Plus it’s going to fry your triceps! 

Start from a kneel and go up into a pushup position on the ball.  When your arms are fully extended, bring in one leg at a time, slowly alternating between each leg and maintaining a neutral spine. View it:

Your abs WILL be sore if you have never done these exercises before, so don’t be surprised—especially 2 days after doing them.  

Now go get that flat stomach!

*Nik is a personal trainer in Southern California who has worked with Season IV’s Biggest Loser contestant Jez Luckett—who he led to an amazing 90 pounds of weight loss in 6 months, helping him drop 42% of his original body weight.