New ways to exercise are always being invented, but there is a new game in town that is all the rage – exercise balls. Some of the reasons for the explosion in popularity of these exercises are that it is very portable, it is low impact (therefore it is very quiet), it doesn’t require much space and it is very economical.
Probably the most popular exercise ball in use at the moment is the Swiss ball. This is an inflatable ball that is usually a around 65 or 75 cm diameter. Many folks simply use this ball in place of their chair at work. When sitting on a Swiss ball, there is a natural tendency to make small rocking movements which works the core and also provides a small amount of exercise even while just sitting there.
But when it is used in the course of normal exercise the Swiss ball is an amazingly versatile piece of exercise equipment. Most of the exercises using the Swiss ball work the core primarily but all of these exercises work secondary muscles at the same time and you can also emulate the same kind of exercises that you can do on home gym machines.
One day while I was working at the gym, a gym instructor showed me how to do press ups by putting my feet on top of the ball. While doing this, the feet attempt continually to roll off the top of the ball, therefore as well as the usual benefits that can be gained from doing press ups, you are also continually working the core which is trying to stop the feet from rolling off the sides of the ball.
Most of the Swiss ball exercises are based on the same principle – some part of the body is elevated on top of the ball and gravity tries to encourage this part of the body to dismount from the top of the ball. this may not sound very technical and you might assume that there are only a handful of exercises that can be done in this way. But you simply have to do a quick search on youtube for the term Swiss ball exercise and very quickly you will probably find that there are absolutely hundreds of exercises that you can usually do on a Swiss ball.
In fact, once you have tried doing these exercises and learning new ones you will probably begin inventing your own fresh ones before too long. Returning to the press up with the feet on top of the Swiss ball, once you have attempted this you will notice not only that it works the core, but it also adds a new dimension to the upper body work that you do. As you will discover during press ups the whole of your upper body will eventually start to shake and quiver due to the forces transferred from the feet all the way down the body to the arms. This is one of the many reasons why it is so effective to use the Swiss ball for your exercises.
As mentioned, there are literally hundreds of exercises that can usually be carried out using the Swiss ball. But if we scoot ahead to the advanced level one of the hardest but most advantageous methods of using the Swiss ball is to do exercises while standing on it. This is not advised for beginners as it can usually be particularly dangerous. Once one is ready to attempt these advanced exercises, you should first learn how to kneel on the Swiss ball. Then once this has been mastered, you can progress to standing on it.
Again, by looking on youtube you will discover some great examples of exercises that you can usually do while standing on top of a Swiss ball. When searching, you will find that they have a variety of names such as Swiss balls, balance balls and exercise balls. One of the most important things to bear in mind while attempting to master the skill is that when the ball throws you off the landing can usually be quite painful, therefore safety mats should be used to start at all times. Obviously, the normal occurrence is for the legs to slide off the side of the ball which is the equivalent of your feet going from under you – just like when slipping on ice. Please consider this because the fundamental reason for exercising in the first place is to improve your health, not to damage it.
When you have mastered standing on a Swiss ball, you are a Swiss ball master and will have developed incredibly strong core and legs and an incredible balance ability.
Tags: balance balls, exercise balls, gym balls, swiss balls
