by Bob Lachniet
President -
Fitness 4 Home Superstore
You’ve seen those big, inflatable stability balls before – either at the gym, or maybe someone’s kids were playing with one. Well, although kids might find them fun to play with, stability balls are actually a very effective exercise tool! You might be thinking that “Exercise on a ball – seriously?”. Yup – stability ball training is “serious” – seriously effective, and seriously fun! It’s amazing the ways you can challenge your body in ways you never thought on an inflatable piece of rubber!
You might be a bit skeptical, especially when bombarded with infomercials for “the newest equipment and programs”. But, unlike the “newest” fad, stability balls actually got their start with physical therapists and orthopedic specialist looking for tools to help rehabilitation – back in the 1900’s! Besides being a great tool for treatment and rehabilitation of injuries, they are also used to help prevent more serious physical problems prior to their occurance.
Stability balls are large, heavy-duty, inflatable balls that are generally rated to hold up to 600 or 700 pounds. And, they are comfortable and supportive, since they conform to your unique anatomy due to being air-filled. Using the ball makes it easy to get into and out of different exercise positions because it gets you off of the floor. Stability balls offer you a fun, safe and highly effective way to exercise.
The ball is a great way to improve muscle strength and endurance in all of the major muscle groups. Training with the ball improves muscle tone, increase muscle endurance and strength, restore or improve flexibility, enhance spinal stability, complement your resistance and aerobic training programs, help you lose weight, and lastly, improve your balance, posture and coordination.
Maintaining proper alignment on the ball stimulates your body's natural motor reflexes and encourages the body to react as a whole, integrated unit. Movement like this is similar to how you move about in a normal day - and training on the ball challenges the whole body to maintain correct posture and balance, and to perform dynamic exercise movement. When using the ball correctly, your body uses not only your major muscle groups, but also utilizes various “stabilizer muscles” that may not have been previously challenged using traditional exercise equipment. Not only does this help you increase overall muscle strength, but those “stabilizer muscles” help you keep your body in proper position during your other workouts, helping you to avoid injury.
As you work out on the ball you will find that it is especially effective in targeting your abdominal and lower back muscles. The ball is especially well-suited to improving ab and lower-back strength, as well as to bettering functional strength, flexibility and balance. Even while training other muscle groups, the ab and back musculature is simultaneously working to balance and stabilize the body. Strong postural muscles and proper posture are important for relieving and preventing low-back pain.
The ball is ideal for stretching and offers additional options to traditional static stretching. Traditional stretching usually requires you to stretch on the floor and it can be difficult to move into and out of stretching positions.
The brilliance and simplicity of the stability ball is rolled into one word--balance! Because the ball demands balance, you'll work muscles you never knew you had or challenge them in different ways. The challenge of maintaining perfect posture, on a round and mobile surface--is exhilarating, fun and incredibly effective in building functional strength, and challenging your ab and back muscles like never before! So, add a stabilizer ball to your next workout – and have a ball!
