The good old Swiss ball can give you a great all-over workout.
The Swiss ball can be found in almost every gym and is available to buy in most sports stores - meaning that it's great for a home workout. The roundness of the ball adds an extra element of instability, meaning that it's great for engaging your muscles on another level, causing you to focus on your balance and core strength.
Body position: Seated flexion
Targets: Six-pack abs
Lie with the small of your lower back on a Swiss ball. Press your fingers to your temples, elbows out to the sides, and lie back. Flex your abs and draw your chin to your chest. Peel your back off the ball, using your abs to generate the movement, until you reach just short of sitting upright. Pause and, keeping your abs squeezed, lower to the start.
Sets and reps: 3 sets of 10 to 20
Body position: Prone
Targets: Core, hip and shoulder stabilisers
Place both hands on the ground and one shin on the ball. Carefully raise your other shin onto the ball. Now roll the ball away so your body extends out in a straight line. Switch your core muscles on so your abs don't sag and your back doesn't arch. Roll the ball in again. Keep rolling the ball in and out, keeping a straight back in the extended position.
Sets and reps: 3 sets of 8 to 20
Body position: Seated upright
Targets: Shoulders and core muscles
Sit on the ball, holding a dumbbell in each hand beside your shoulders, palms forward, elbows below wrists. Press the weights up overhead until they almost touch. Without pausing, lower back to the start. Don't arch your back, keep your spine long and engage your core muscles. Keep your palms facing forward and your gaze focused in front of you.
Sets and reps: 3 sets of 8 to 15
Body position: Supine
Targets: Backside and core
Lie on your back and place the soles of your feet on the ball and your hands by your sides. Push through the soles of your feet and raise your hips up until your body forms a straight line from shoulders to knees. At the top of the movement, clench your buttocks to activate your gluteal muscles. Hold for a second, then lower to just off the ground.
Sets and reps: 3 sets of 10 to 20
Body position: Side on
Targets: Obliques
Lie side-on on the ball, resting on your hip. Prop your feet up against a wall, one behind the other. Press your fingers to your temples. Bend sideways over the ball, from the hip, not the waist, and lower your elbow towards the ground. Stop just before your side rests on the ball and curl up until your torso is almost vertical. Do all reps on one side, then switch.
Sets and reps: 3 sets of 8 to 15 each side
A workout shouldn't be a group of exercises thrown together without thought. Today, my strategy was to give you different exercises using the Swiss ball so that each position challenges your core muscles, balance and coordination in a different way. It's a thorough workout that'll pump your abs and core and work your upper and lower body. Follow this idea in your own workouts, regardless of the equipment you're using, and you'll be effectively working your whole body.
Gerri Powys, 40, from Sydney, is a business development manager and mum of three. She enjoys touch footy, netball and squash.
Got a question for Damien Kelly? Ask him here.
Find out more about Damien Kelly.
Don't own a Swiss ball? We've handpicked six Swiss balls to suit every budget.