Torso Roll With a Medicine Ball

A torso roll builds your abs, stretches your back muscles and improves spinal mobility. Envision doing a situp and lifting your trunk one vertebra at a time. Spinal flexion begins with an abdominal contraction and the hip flexors then activate to pull your trunk up. The last phase of the exercise involves a back stretch. Add a medicine ball to boost the roll's intensity and strengthen your upper body.

  1. Roll with the Ball

    • To perform a torso roll with a medicine ball, begin by lying supine with your arms overhead and holding the ball. Keeping your legs together and straight, point your toes. Inhale and pull your navel toward your spine. Exhale and start the lifting motion with your arms. Follow the movement with your head and shoulders and then your spine, vertebra by vertebra. As you raise your arms, ball and body forward, contract your hip flexors. When your shoulders align with your hips -- the peak position of the roll -- inhale and hold for a second. Exhale and return to starting position, rolling your spine one vertebra at a time on the descent. Perform 15 reps for three sets.

    Play Catch

    • By adding a throw and catch to the torso roll with a medicine ball, you can combine a core-strengthening exercise with a plyometric drill for your upper body. Assume a situp position with your body facing the wall. Brace your toes against the wall for support. Begin by lying supine and holding the ball overhead. Use the same form as you did for regular torso roll. When you reach the peak position, throw the ball against the wall and catch it by your chest. Slowly return to starting position, rolling your torso back down to the floor. Perform two sets of 12 reps.

    Benefit of Dual Roles

    • The main benefit of a torso roll is that your abdominal muscles function not only as primary movers but also as stabilizers, according to Rael Isacowitz in "Pilates." In the first phase of the exercise, your abs are responsible for lifting your head and shoulders off the ground. As you roll up, your hip flexors take over, lifting your body, while your abs work to stabilize your torso. In the peak position, scooping the navel helps to strengthen your transverse abdominis -- the deep muscle that corsets your waist -- and also achieve a stretch for the lower back. In addition, the forward rolling motion of the exercise conditions your spine.

    Choose the Weight

    • You may have used a 20-pound leather ball for gym class but medicine balls have evolved. You can buy balls made of rubber that bounce as well as ones with handles or ropes. Unless you want to bounce the ball against a wall for an advanced exercise, you can use any type of ball for a torso roll. A medicine ball’s weight can range from 1 to 30 pounds. Start with a lighter weight -- a 4- to 6-pound ball -- and progressively increase the weight by a pound or two every month. If you’re doing core exercises for fitness, four- to eight-pound balls are typically used.