They come in different colors and sizes. They’re both versatile and portable. They can be used to do lots of different exercises and work different muscles in ways that are different from machines and free weights. Best of all, this piece of fitness equipment can be bought for under $20.
A balance ball — or exercise ball — is something many people have, but seldom use. It’s great for a quick, down-and-dirty workout, but it doesn’t have that ‘warrior’ image that comes from lifting a piece of heavy metal. Yet it has the added bonus of being right there. Put it in front of the TV and get a quick workout while you watch your favorite show. Make it a habit. Learn how to increase or decrease resistance just by changing your position on the ball.
If you’re an athlete who travels, a deflated ball doesn’t add much bulk or weight to your baggage. Pumping it up gives a nice little workout to the glutes and thighs (remember to switch the pumping foot so each leg gets worked).
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Here are just a few exercises you can do with a ball:
—Pushup: Lay down with the ball under your belly button. Use your arms to ‘walk’ your body in front of the ball so it rests under your knees. Bend your arms until your head is lowered nearly to the floor. Straighten your arms and push your upper body back to its original position on the ball.
—Crunches: Lay with your head and torso on the floor, thighs upright, and calves and feet on the ball while you cross your arms over your chest. Use the closeness of the ball to increase or decrease resistance. If the ball is close to your hamstrings, you’ll have less resistance and it will be easier to lift your head and torso into a crunch. If the ball is six or more inches away from your thighs, resistance will increase. It will put more stress on your abs.
Crunch at a sideways angle to work the obliques, those small but important muscles on the sides of your abs. To turn the crunch into a spot-on core workout, lift your body up at the hips and keep it straight, almost like a plank. Hold that position until your core muscles begin to burn too much to continue holding it.
—Shoulder/biceps exercise: This one is not easy. Get sideways on the ball, positioned so that it’s just below one hip. Reach down to the floor and support yourself with one arm. Now bend that arm so that it makes a movement similar to a biceps curl. Push yourself back up and repeat about 10 or 12 times. Get your other hip on the ball and do the same thing with the other arm. You may feel this the next day.
—Backward balance squat: Put one leg behind you, with your metatarsal (top of foot) on the ball, bent at the knee. Hold your arms out in front. Squat with the free leg. This exercise seriously works on giving you better balance for any sport you do.
Exercise to prevent hip, groin or hamstring pull.
Lay flat on the floor in a relaxed position, with a ball between your feet. Grip the ball with your feet and lower legs, then lift it as high as you can. Repeat, but not to the point where anything hurts. You don’t want to put too much resistance on the tendons anywhere in this area of the body. But lightly lifting a ball with your lower legs and feet will give you protection against painful tendon pulls in the groin area.
So get that exercise ball out, or buy a new one, and learn how easy it is to get fit by staying on the ball.
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Wina Sturgeon is the editor of the online magazine Adventure Sports Weekly
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