Incorporating an Exercise Ball Into Your Routine Is Life-Changing

Start using an exercise ball — STAT. Here’s why.
Are you looking to spice up your workout routine and improve your health? Exercise balls are a great place to start. They’re in practically every gym, but working out with an exercise ball is one of the best inexpensive, yet effective alternatives that you can take advantage of right at home.

In 1963, Italian plastics manufacturer, Aquilino Cosani, invented the exercise (“Pezzi”) ball — they’ve drastically increased in popularity over the years. From physical therapy in clinical settings to athletic training in fitness facilities, exercise balls are used in a variety of different ways. They’re used for prenatal support and yoga sessions, and it’s even become popular to use stability balls instead of traditional office chairs.

Read on to check out the benefits of using an exercise ball. Plus, get ready to master our step-by-step instructions for top stability ball exercises!

 

BENEFITS OF USING AN EXERCISE BALL

 

Exercise balls are popular and trendy among fitness enthusiasts. Here’s why:
Engages more muscles. When pushing off of an exercise ball, instead of a flat surface, more muscles are used to keep the body balanced.
Decreases back pain. A study in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research concluded that the use of a stability ball could improve posture and might benefit individuals who sit often or are prone to back pain.1
Strengthens the core. The muscles in the core are used to hold your body in an upright position when you simply sit on your exercise ball. Over time, your core muscles will become much stronger. Plus, you can use your stability ball to intensify exercises that are specifically designed to strengthen abdominal muscles.
Increases Circulation. While using your exercise ball, all of the muscles in your body will be working to help keep you stable — this increases blood flow.

TOP STABILITY BALL EXERCISES

An exercise ball can be used in a variety of ways. Here is a full body stability ball workout routine that can be performed with or without weights:

EXERCISE BALL CHEST EXERCISES

Stability Ball Pushups

• Start with either hands on the ball and feet on the floor or with your feet on the ball and your hands on the floor
• Push yourself up by extending your arms and then slowly lower yourself
• Inhale while lowering your body and exhale while pushing your body up
• Perform two sets of 10-20 reps

STABILITY BALL BACK EXERCISES

Stability Ball Back Extension

• Lie face down on your stability ball with your hands behind your head. The ball should be under the center of your mid-section
• Squeeze your glutes and lift your torso up until your body forms a straight line. Repeat
• Perform two sets 10-15 reps

Stability Ball Reverse Hyperextension

• Lie face down on the exercise ball with your legs down and extended
• Keep your legs extended and slowly raise both legs as you exhale
• Lower your legs slowly as you inhale
• Perform two sets of 10-15 reps

EXERCISE BALL SHOULDER EXERCISES

Use your DynaPro resistance bands with these workouts!

Rear Deltoid Raise

• Lie face down on your exercise ball with your back and legs extended
• Keep your arms bent at the elbow with your fist pointing towards the ground
• Rotate your arms upward until your forearms are parallel to the floor
• Inhale as you bring your arms up and exhale when lowering them
• Perform two sets 10-15 reps

Side Deltoid Raise

• Place your left side on the exercise ball
• Use your left arm to hold onto the ball for stability as you extended your legs outward
• Extend your right arm upward and exhale
• Slowly lower your arm toward the ground and inhale. Repeat
• Perform two sets of 10-15 reps

STABILITY BALL CORE EXERCISES

 

Stability Ball V-Pass

• Lie face up on the floor with your arms extended and hold your exercise ball with both hands
• Extend your legs in the air, place the ball between your feet, and then lower your legs toward the ground
• Raise your legs and grab the ball with your arms extended. Then lower the ball with your arms. Repeat
• Perform 15-30 reps

Stability Ball Knee Tuck

 

• Start in the pushup position with your legs resting on stability ball
• Inhale, tighten your abs, and bring your knees closer to your chest by pulling your legs forward
• Exhale and hold for two seconds
• Extend legs to their original position. Repeat
• Perform 10-20 reps

STABILITY BALL LEG EXERCISES

 

 Stability Ball Wall Squats

• Place the ball between the wall and your lower back
• Place your feet shoulder width apart
• Inhale and slowly lower your body toward the floor in a squat position as you continuously push back into the ball. Repeat
• Perform two sets of 10-15 reps

Lying Hamstring Curl

• Lay flat on your back and place your exercise ball under your feet
• Dig heels into the ball and extend arms into floor for support
• Inhale and use your feet to roll the ball towards your body slowly and keep your hips as still as possible
• Exhale and slowly extend legs back to the straight position. Repeat
• Perform two sets of 10-15 reps

There are so many different ways to incorporate an exercise ball in your lifestyle. Using these techniques will help strengthen your back and core and stabilize your muscles. Plus, exercise balls are easy to store, portable, and affordable. To maintain your exercise ball, just wipe it clean with soap and water and keep an air pump on hand!

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Supercharge Your Health With An Exercise Ball

Add an exercise ball to your workout routine and daily life to maximize results. Here’s how.

Shake up your get-in-shape sessions with a high quality exercise ball that won’t deflate on you when you’re in the midst of molding your body. Use the ball for full-body toning, stabilizing your muscles, strengthening your core, and improving your posture and balance. Bring the ball beyond your gym (or home!) and use it in the office as a chair — trust us, you’ll love it!

Exercise balls come in all different colors, sizes, and materials. Choose a ball in you favorite color with a thick lining that supports your body in the healthiest way. Go with a larger size (75 cm) if you’ll use it as a chair, and go for a standard size (65 cm) if you just want to use it for working out. If you have a smaller frame, or you want your kid or tween to start using the ball, then a smaller size ball (55 cm) will suit your needs. DynaPro Direct offers the highest quality lining, in colors like bright pink, blue, grey, and black — in all three sizes.

If you’re brave enough — or smart enough — to swap out your office chair for an exercise ball, or switch between the two throughout the day, there’s a few things you need to know:

• It’s important to change it up at work, since a classic office chair can be the source of major back and neck discomfort
• Exercise balls in the office are ergonomics-approved, and your boss (and coworkers!) won’t think it’s strange that you’re swapping your seat for a healthier option. In fact, it might inspire others in your workplace to do the same
• You’ll notice your core and back muscles strengthening naturally, which will improve your posture, confidence, and mood
• Sitting on an exercise ball is plain fun, and it might help you focus a bit more. Plenty of European schools encourage their students to sit on stability balls to improve focus and concentration throughout the school day 

If you’re ready to incorporate an exercise ball into your workout routine for lower-body training, here’s what you need to know:

• Be prepared to get down: The ball will act as a weighted tool when you’re doing floor workouts, like leg lifts, reverse leg curls, bridges, ball squeezes, V-presses, knee tucks, toe raises, and more!
• Don’t forget to squat: One of the most popular exercise ball moves is a wall squat. Place the ball between your back and the wall, and lowering down into a squat. You can do this with weights to increase the intensity of the move

If you’re ready to incorporate an exercise ball into your workout routine for upper-body training, here’s what you need to know:

• Push it: The ‘push’ motion will become your new best friend. Whether you’re doing body-balancing push-ups on top of the exercise ball, or working modified push-ups by executing the move while your hands (or feet!) are resting on the ball, you’re going to notice a huge difference in the strength you feel when the workout is over
• Love your six pack: Whether you can see it (yet!) or not, your core is going to be strengthening like never before. No matter what exercise you do with a stability ball, the core benefits big time, but if you choose to target your core while using the exercise ball, you’ll experience a satisfying burn that didn’t burn you out in the process. Try different variations of crunches — by the way, your back will be strengthening the entire time, too!

Source: https://www.dynaprodirect.com/how-to-use-an-exercise-ball-3-new-ways/