A New Addition to Your At-Home Gym

New exercise equipment can be intimidating, especially if you've never used it before. But I highly recommend investing in an exercise ball. It is an effective — and easy! — way to target your abs, and get that flat, sexy stomach you always wanted. And you can do it right from your own home, so you'll never have to go to the gym. Try this great exercise — it will give you washboard abs!

Traditional Crunch with Ball 

Step 1

Sit on the ball with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Walk your feet forward as you roll your torso down the ball, only until your hips start to clear the ball and the very bottom of your lower back presses into it. Cross your arms over your chest or place your hands behind your head. Now, here's where you really need to focus on your posture. Lie back on the ball so that your upper body is almost parallel with the floor. Then tuck your tailbone in and lift your hips toward the ceiling. You should already feel your lower tummy and buttocks firming in this position — and you haven't yet performed a single crunch!

Step 2

Exhale as you lift your torso, pull your navel in, and contract your abdomen. Imagine that you are curling the bottom of your rib cage and your pelvic bone toward each other, creating a firm arc with your lower body. Keep your chin up, as if you were holding an orange between your chin and neck. Inhale as you return to the starting position, lying all the way back on the ball.