Some people are so obsessed about maintaining their “six-packs” that they over-exercise their abdominals, leading to a lot of physical problems, including congestion of the internal organs, poor posture and constriction of their body’s natural energy flow.
To remedy those problems and more, the Forward Ball Roll, using a Swiss ball, is an excellent and very simple exercise that activates the inner-unit or core musculature that comes from my video correspondence course on Scientific Core Conditioning.
This exercise helps to re-establish inner-unit conditioning, meaning the muscles have a capacity for long-term stabilization and more slow twitch muscle fiber, therefore they can hold us in postures and work situations for long periods of time. Very simply, the muscles work to stabilize the joints and stiffen in the pelvic girdle and rib cage, allowing the arms and legs to have a dynamic, but stable working foundation.
This exercise is very safe to do for pretty much everyone. I’ve rehabbed countless spinal pathologies of every type, including many people who have endured multiple surgeries. If they can do this exercise without pain — usually where there is pain it’s because people try to do it with too much intensity — then it’s a safe thing to do.
I hope this exercise helps you better appreciate the very distinct differences between training with functionality in mind versus maintaining those vanity muscle “six-packs.”
Love and chi,
Paul