Exercise balls.

Hi everyone... I've recently gotten an exercise ball and am determined to make use of it.

I was wondering if anyone who has them or knows of them could share some good exercises on them. Has anyone gotten good results with consistent use of them?

Thanks, and good luck with reaching all of your fitness goals!

I have an exercise ball, havent used it much until the other day. I was watching fit TV and they had an hour long show for it...I made it thru 20 mins and was worn out! Pretty high impact but I also have a DVD that is more concentrated movements. You can burn calories just by bouncing on it.

Is this like a stabalization ball for Yoga, or more like a medicine & toning ball?

stabalization or exercise ball both the same

I use one for a series of cruches, and occassionally at work to improve my posture at my desk... but havne't seen any full workouts with it.

my dvd came with the ball

I have an exercise ball that I use twice a week it really helps tone your core muscles you can feel it. But I have not seen any results on the out side. Do to the layer of fat that is hiding my six pack (hehehe). You can finded work out videos for exercises on the ball and with the ball. I found mine at wal mart but try an on line search it will bring you many options. Happy exercising.

I would like to use mine more. Shhhh got my hubby one!
He didnt mind using it, but did it mostly to motivate me more. I would like a good routine on it, any ideas

let me just say -- i LOVE the exercise ball. you can do any resistance training you like on it, and it'll work your whole body. the thing about it is that even if you're just doing bicep curls or military presses while sitting on it, you're not just working your arms, your working your core and your legs too because your whole body is moving to make sure you don't fall off the darned thing! :)

here's some exercise ideas:
- you can just sit on it to to curls or presses (arm work). -if you roll it so that it's under your shoulders and neck/head while keeping your knees at a 45 degree angle (so your whole body is table-top straight), you can do chest presses (this will work your abs, glutes, and claves too).
-if you lay on it belly-down with the ball just under your hips and hands on the floor (essentially the rest of your body is held straight) and raise your rear-end in the air (think of the inchworm) your working your abs and glutes. you have to be willing to look a little silly for this one, but it's good. and who the hell cares how you look- working out is about you, not anyone else.
-if you lay on it with your hands on the floor and keep your body straight with your feet shoulder-width apart and simply raise your legs as high as you can (while keeping them straight) then lower them to the floor and repeat, you'll work your back and glutes.
-you can put the ball behind you on the wall and do some really deep squats. this really helps protect your back and can keep your form good.

and i could go on. even if you're just sitting on it while watching tv, your core will be working (well, at least WAY more than it would if you just parked it on the couch).

have fun with those, and drop me a line if you want any more hints (because i obviously love this thing and use it all the time). but be creative, this thing is a good workout tool.

-kadie

Hi jsun,

Did you or anyone else feel this way ?

Is there some sort of trick for not falling off the ball, or does it just take practice ?

When I try to do sit ups I feel like I'm gonna fall off and break my neck.

Am I doing something wrong ?

Thanks
Lulu

No, I felt that way.... part of the exercise ball, which usually is used to target the core area is developing those core muscles which are central to balance.

This is why sit ups are more effective on the ball, not only do they impact your primary surface muscles (as they do when done on the floor) they also target your innner core muscles.

Incorporate some more balancing postures into your workout (yoga is great for this), and you will find the ball easier.

hello,
I wasn't sure if there was some sort of trick to it. I guess the trick is to get a stronger core. I will keep working on it.

Thank you for the info on that
Lulu

ok I taped a exercise routine today with Cathe Friedrich (think that was the name) KICKED MY BUTT! My kids were watching, I fell off a couple of times. It was tough but I feel like I really worked my abs, especially the lower abs which I need!

that's it i'm getting a tape

;)

lulubelle- I have seen stabilizers for the ball, holds it in place so it doesnt move around on you. Maybe that would help? I also saw a ball with straps on it so you could do resistant training with your arms. Believe it or not I saw all of this at Barnes and Noble.

I think I am gonna git me a ball. It sounds like a lot of fun. huggers

Saw a good thing yesterday while I was at the doctors office on the exercise ball. It was a step by step instruction in the January/February 2006 issue of Women's Health magazine. It shows photos of the exercise and all. If you can find a copy. I personally have to see a pic sometimes to understand how to do what they describe, otherwise I stand looking longingly at my silly exercise stuff going................huh, I don't get it? Ha ha ha! But, that may just be me. Good luck! Michelle

Exercise balls are indeed a great workout (and fun!)...

You can buy one from our Nutrifind.com site.

-Erik

Thanks Slappy and to everyone else too :)

I really appreciate reading and hearing that I am not alone in this. It's been a great encouragement for me to find this site.

I am going to keep working on it and if I don't make any progress I might try looking for one of those stabilizers

Lulu

I agree....the balls are GREAT for workingout...they not only help with your lower lumbar which makes it easier and i can do more abs then in the floor...but when using free weights it works your inner core and helps hit the abs which is what is keeping you from the whole "falling off" feel to it too....I found it kinda hard until your body adjusts to it and your abs start getting stronger...its like a few workouts in one at the same time..how nice is that!

My personal trainer does a lot of stability ball excercises with me. I'm a big fan. Here are a few:

* Chest, arms, lats: Push-ups with feet on the ball. These are pretty hard - you might want to work your way up from floor push-ups first, if you're out of practice.

* Abdominals: Lie with your feet on the ball, face down in a plank position (as if you are going to start doing push-ups as above), arms extended to the floor. Roll the ball toward you, bringing your knees to your chest. Extend your legs back out. Repeat. Make sure you don't let your core sag - it should become pretty obvious if you're sagging because your back will start to hurt.

* Hamstrings: Lie with your shoulders on the floor, your feet on the ball and your butt firmly in the air. Now, roll the ball in your with your feet and back out. Again, make sure you keep your butt and core firm. Focus on your hamstrings. You can change the difficulty by your arm position - extended down underneath you, straight out to the sides, or crossed on your chest.

* Chest: If you have weights, you can do chest presses or chest flies with your head and neck supported by the ball, and your knees bent at a 90 degree angle, feet on the floor. Again, do not let your butt sag.

* Lower back: Put the ball under your hips, and lie face down over it. Extend your feet to the floor (I sometimes have to put my feet against a wall for this one), put your hands behind your head, and extend your body off the floor. This is like a superman, if you're familiar with those, with a larger range of motion.

* Upper and lower abs: Sit on the floor holding the ball between your ankles (you will need to keep your weight a little further back than a normal sitting position, but you will figure this out pretty quickly). Now, keeping your legs as straight as possible, bring your legs up off the floor. Take the ball from between your legs with your hands. Keeping your arms extended over your head hold the ball and lie back, keeping your legs in the air. Sit up with the ball (arms still extended) and return the ball to between your ankles. Remain seated while you bring your legs down and back up. Continue to switch the ball between feet and arms.

* Abs: This is an ab roller variation. Kneel on the floor with the ball in front of you. Place your forearms or elbows on the ball. Roll the ball out as far as you can go, and pull it back in until your arms and elbows are in a neutral position. When you pull back in, really focus on working the motion through your abdominal muscles. I'm not the biggest fan of this one, because I find it really easy to use muscles other than abs and get no workout at all, especially if I'm distracted.

* Obliques (abs): Stand up and hold the ball above your head. Lean to one side as far as you can go without moving your legs or hips. Return to starting position. Lean to the other side and return to the starting position. You should really feel your obliques contract when pull back up. This is another one I find it really easy to "cheat" on without too much trouble, you really have to focus on the obliques.

* Upper body: You can sit on the ball through most of your upper body excercises - bicep curls, tricep pull-ups, lateral raises, etc to add a little core action in there.

Shape magazine often includes some stability ball exercises in their issues. It might be worth flipping through when you see a new one on the newsstands to get some ideas. In fact, here's a link to some of their ball workouts that I just found (including the chest presses and lower back exercises I was referring to): http://www.shape.com/workouts/130

Good luck!