Core Exercises: Torso Rotations

Video Transcript

"In this clip, we're going to be doing a torso rotation with the inflatable ball. You want to go ahead and have a seat on our mat. Now if you get to where this inflatable ball is not challenging enough for you you can always add a small weighted ball. I always start off with anywhere from one to four pounds because you don't want to put too much stress on the shoulders. So you're going to lean back slightly. Feet flat on the floor. Knees bent. Remember you can do this with the body in an upright position, back nice and straight if you have back issues. For our purposes, we're going to lean back slightly and challenge ourselves a little more, open up the arms and the chest. OK, we're going to start off passing the ball to the opposite arm. We're going to use that lever. Take it across the body and rotate that torso. Shoulders should stay nice and relaxed. Twist that torso, relax those shoulders. Take it across, head should stay facing forward. Now if you find that that bothers your neck too much to keep your head facing forward, you can always move your head with the ball. You want to keep those shoulders nice and relaxed. Take the arms across the body and twist that torso. Now for an extra challenge you can add that leg. As you go across try to and keep the back nice and flat on that angle. And maintain your breath, making sure you're getting oxygen to those muscles. One of the biggest mistakes people do sometimes is holding their breath when they exercise."