Abs flex 38 percent more on stability ball

My physical therapist tossed me a free stability ball when they hit the market years ago. Later that day I left it in the front yard -- for a second -- and the wind blew it away. Never found it. And the few times I've tried a stability ball, I tweaked my lower back (old injury). Maybe these ominous signs mean I'm relegated to a variety of crunches on the floor for the rest of my fitness life.

Too bad -- a study by researchers at Occidental College in LA found a person flexes 24 to 38 percent more abdominal muscle when performing crunches on a stability ball. Participants crunched away with electromyographic gear measuring abdominal muscle activity, which registered heightened activity in upper/lower abs and those sexy obliques.

I'm off to the gym in an hour and a half for a pre-dinner cardio/strength training blitz. With a 24 to 38 percent boost in ab activation, I will try leaning back on that stability ball one more time. Picture from www.resistaball.com