I have another core exercise for you for this weeks Home Exercise of the Week.  It’s called a Jackknife and it’s one of the more challenging ab exercises but once you get the hang of it you will feel how effective it is!

The Jackknife works all areas of your core as well as your hip flexors and at the same time it isometrically works your upper body muscles.  This exercise can put a lot of strain on your lower back if not done correctly so let’s take a look at the key points to doing it properly.

• getting on the stability ball can be challenging so the best way is to put your hands on the floor and one leg up on the ball first then put your other leg up.  Your shins should be resting on the ball.
• it is very important to keep your abs contracted by pulling your belly button in towards your spine.  This will help keep your hips from sagging down which will put a lot of pressure on your lower back.
• once you have stabilized yourself, pull your knees slowly in towards your chest squeezing the abs and then return slowly to the starting position
• if you find it hard to do this exercise with your hands on the floor, try using a bench to rest your arms on.  This raises you up a bit and can take some of the pressure off your upper body

So there you have the key points to doing the Jackknife effectively.  Add this to your routine and you will be well on your way to a strong and toned core!  If you want an extra challenge and some extra upper body work, try adding a pushup in between each roll in.  You can also do a side roll to target your obliques more but that is a video for another day! 🙂