One for the Resolution folks....Prone Pike Press (2nd edition)

Yeah, say it a few times and try to say it fast. Good luck with that. Here's another: try to do them without either breaking your wrist, doing a somersault, laughing OR cussing incontrollably. Here's what ya do.....grab a big Swiss Ball, glare at it for a minute so it knows you're good and serious. Throw in a couple of threats for good measure. Bonus round: have a heart-to-heart with your abdominal muscles before this - come to an agreement that what you're about to do will, in fact, be a good thing in the long run. It's going to hurt like hell, you're going to feel quite awkward, but it will be good. So tell them to shut the hell up, don't be girls, and get on board.

Now...there are two ways to get into the proper starting position for this exercise. NC might recommend standing behind the ball with your shins touching it, then leaning forward until your hands are on the ground and walking them out into a "plank" or "pushup position" with the middle of your shins on the top of the ball. I prefer the "beached whale" approach: stand behind the ball, dive onto the sunuvabitch and bounce forward and walk your hands out until in the aforementioned "plank". (That's Step 1) Be forewarned that you'll have to start much further back that you realize, your body is longer than you realize, and if you're not careful you'll put your forehead into the mirrored gym-wall.

From here, the fun begins. With hands shoulder-width or a smidge wider apart on ground, tighten your core and pull your butt straight up into the air until your toes are on the ball. STOP YOURSELF BEFORE YOU GO OVER IN A SOMERSAULT (challenge #1)!! Lower your butt back into a plan position. STOP YOURSELF BEFORE YOU BECOME A SWAY-BACKED COW (challenge #2)!! Breathe, rinse, repeat. Do 3 sets of 10. Remember to breathe throughout. Might I recommend exhaling while lifting one's butt.

General notes: this is a true ass-kicking exercise and will gain you respect from some of the Gym Barbies around if you can do it with some style. Yes, everyone will be staring at your ass. Get over it. If it's good enough to get up there, you deserve a little ogling. I haven't figured out the smoothest way to get up (read: dismount) without a reverse beached whale effect. This is part of what makes this so fun to me. You will feel like Jell-O. I haven't quite figured out the best place for my hands, but slightly "duck-footed" seems to offer me the best opportunity to save my ass JUST before I topple forward into that somersault. (I seem to have mastered Challenge #2 much easier than Challenge #1 as this is the hardest part of it for me....)

So have fun, boys and girls, and let's compare rock-hard abs when you master this. Or....let's compare stories of general hilarity once you, too, have busted your knees, ripped your abs and mastered the somersault like I.