Stability Ball Side Jackknife

With 33 weeks of pregnancy behind me, I am even more aware of my limitations. Baby is making some pretty significant strides right now—literally and figuratively. We might be up to five pounds by the end of the week, and we're certainly reaching our max birth length. That I can truly feel as Baby loses the room to stretch and tumble inside me, which means the pressure from all the kicks and jabs is starting to feel like something fierce.

Baby aside, my own workouts are also getting more difficult as my energy levels continue to dip. Don't get me wrong, I still feel great (honestly). But I stopped running a week ago, opting instead for some quality time on the stationary bike. I can push harder when I'm not on my feet, which ultimately feels really good. So a bike/walk combo is where my cardio's at right now. Of course, I'm still doing very little ab work. Prenatal Yoga is helping to keep them in check, as are the planks, v-sits and side bends I continue to work through.

I think not being able to work my abs is truly one of the hardest modifications I've had to deal with. Sounds silly, but I love me some ab work. I was really proud of my ab strength pre-pregnancy, and I hope to get them back there once Baby is born and I'm up and at it full-force. Until then, I continue to live vicariously through my clients, my students and through you. Which is why I haven't stopped noting any new and exciting ab exercises I might come across.

For example, I found this in Oxygen and desperately want to try it.

You'll have to try it for me.

The jackknife itself isn't anything revolutionary, but I love the addition of the stability ball. Just a smidgen of weight, that's what it provides. I imagine it might be hard to keep those hips stacked, so be sure to fight hard to stop them from rolling forward or backward during the exercise. Remember, this is the type of ab exercise done in smaller moves, so don't feel silly if you can't get your feet very high off the ground.

It's all about how the exercise itself makes your muscles feel.

And that goes for just about any exercise, really.

Now go, do it for me. And let me know what you think.