How to Do Exercise With an Exercise Ball
Exercise balls are popular with fitness instructors and provide an easy way to make your workouts interesting at home or the gym. These balls are also referred to as fitness, swiss and psyio balls, and have been in use for over half a century. The balls add a balancing act to your routine workout, helping you develop your core and abdominal muscles quite easily.
Instructions
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1
Choosing the appropriate size
It is essential to choose the right sized exercise ball for your workout. This consideration will depend on your body size. For a general rule, the taller you are, the larger the ball. The ball comes in a variety of sizes – 45 cm, 55cm, 65cm- use the one which supports your back.
For instance, if you are 5 ft tall, then you may require a 55 cm ball. Moreover, the size will be determined by the types of exercises you perform. Ask your instructor or trainer to guide you if you have any difficulty in choosing the appropriate size. The maximum diameter will be printed on the ball, so make sure that you don’t over-inflate it. An over-inflated ball can easily burst, causing multiple injuries.
Check for exercise balls that don’t lose their shape or texture quickly. Always buy a plug puller with your exercise ball so that you don’t damage it when deciding to re-inflate it. -
2
Start your workout
The ball can easily be used for a full body workout, where you can work your legs, chest, back, and abdominal muscles. One can try a variety of positions – incline, decline or seated, to enhance strength conditioning. Studies reveal that working out your core with an exercise ball is the most efficient way to get the best results.
One does not need to go into too much detail on the exercises one can perform with the ball as all are easily available on the internet. A few include, push ups (engaging core and chest), quads, oblique, weight press, planks for lower back, crunches etc. The challenge here is to use unstable objects such as exercise balls to find the right balance, and get flexibility. -
3
Exercise ball as a chair
If you want to improve your seating habits and burn calories at the same time, try replacing your office chair with an exercise ball. Not only you will be working your body, but avoid potential back injuries which come a result of sitting in the same position for hours.
