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The Bender Ball: Crunch-less Core
By Leslee Bender
Leslee Bender has worked in the fitness industry for over four decades and has been a pioneer in creative, functional training since the early years of her career. In 2000, while teaching in Germany, she discovered a small ball that would ultimately revolutionize the way core training is approached. Introducing it to the traditionally classical world of Pilates, Leslee quickly saw its impact. Students felt a notable difference—specifically, they could perform core exercises without compromising their lower back or neck. This innovation became the first small ball program recognized in the industry, known as The Pilates Coach.
In 2006, Leslee met the owner of Savvier Fitness at an IDEA conference. After he experienced the unique value of the small ball firsthand, a powerful collaboration was born. That partnership led to the creation of the Bender Ball and the Bender Method of Core Training. Since then, Leslee has received numerous accolades, including the 2020 IDEA Personal Trainer of the Year and the 2024 CanFit Specialty Presenter of the Year. While she lectures internationally, Leslee still works with clients weekly and remains passionately committed to advancing the fitness profession.
History of the Bender Ball
- The Bender Ball was developed in collaboration with Savvier Fitness and awarded the 2007 “Fitness Short-Form Infomercial of the Year.” Its popularity was driven by a focus on affordability and accessibility.
- Originally designed in 2000 by Leslee for Pilates practitioners, the ball was intended to protect the back during traditional Pilates exercises.
- Leslee presented the mini ball at conferences worldwide, showcasing how it could enhance traditional movements with a safer, functional approach.
- In 2006, Leslee and Savvier formally launched the Bender Method of Core Training.
- By 2007, the method had achieved widespread consumer and professional adoption around the globe.
Using the Bender Ball enhances core training by supporting the spine, encouraging better form, and creating safer movement patterns.
Why Crunches Are Outdated
Crunches are outdated, and we now understand far more about authentic human movement. Despite this, many people still perform floor crunches—straining their necks and compressing their spines—in pursuit of visible abs. If you were to throw a ball, your body would instinctively extend and rotate through the hips and spine. Movement happens in relation to gravity. In real life, your fascia transmits energy while your muscles generate force.
Lying on the back for core exercises misses this point. It doesn’t simulate how the body naturally moves. There are many other body positions that recruit the entire body more effectively and with less risk.
Science Behind the Bender Ball
A study published in The Journal of Applied Research (2007) led by Dr. Petrofsky from Loma Linda University and Azusa Pacific University used electromyography (EMG) to compare different types of core activation:
- 10 subjects were evaluated using EMG while performing core exercises with a small ball, a Swiss ball, and traditional crunches on the floor.
- Results showed 50% more muscle activation on the Swiss ball compared to floor crunches, but balancing on the ball made the exercise more difficult for the average person.
- The highest core activation came from using the small ball behind the lower back, which allowed for greater spinal extension and the recruitment of more muscle fibers in the rectus abdominis and obliques.
- Repetitive floor crunches produced the lowest core muscle recruitment and are linked to back injuries—costing millions in worker compensation claims each year.
The small ball offers significantly greater core muscle recruitment—especially in the rectus abdominis and obliques—due to the 50–90 degrees of supported spinal extension and flexion. It provides a safer, more functional alternative to traditional crunches by supporting the spine while allowing authentic movement.
