Professional pole dancer and calisthenics athlete Laura Verberne has created what she calls the “most diabolical” ab workout: a hanging leg raise combined with a tennis ball balanced on a weight plate. The athlete, known for pushing fitness limits, performed the challenge by sitting under a bar, placing a plate over her shins with the ball on top, then gripping the bar to raise her legs. The goal: maneuver the ball into the plate’s center hole-without it falling-by using only hip and leg movements.
The exercise demands serious core stability as the abs, obliques, and hip flexors fire to hold the body upright and control the plate’s angle. Your grip, shoulders, lats, and even quads are recruited to maintain the suspended position. Verberne admitted it took countless attempts and that the bloopers were many, but the result is a full-body stability challenge that has left her followers both impressed and intimidated.