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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The Katie Austin Package Will Change the Way You Work Out Forever

Your fitness routine should be fun, effective, and easy to do in any location. Now, there’s a box that gives you just that and more!

Breathe life back into your fitness routine by incorporating easy-to-use gear by DynaPro Direct and fun workouts created by Katie Austin. Austin is a millennial fitness leader who inspires and teaches thousands on social media to strive for and reach healthy goals. Now, there’s a box that brings our products and her inspiration right to your doorstep! The package includes portable and trendy fitness gear - plus access to energetic videos, featuring Katie Austin, that show you exactly what to do with the gear. Read on to see what you can do with the package to get results you’ll love!

1. Get dressed for your workout:

   Okay, so this isn’t something you have to do, but it’s something you might really enjoy getting into the habit of doing! Push that old t-shirt to the left, and sport activewear that makes you feel good. Set an intention to collect a few pieces of clothing just for your fitness sessions. Dressing for the occasion helps get your head in the game, and it will boost your confidence too. Austin’s always showing off trendy fitness wear and she’s definitely onto something! Most importantly, don’t forget to wear your smile.

2. Learn more about your body:

   Shake up your regular gym sessions and open up the lines of communication with your body. The workouts included will get your heart pumping and blood flowing, while the resistance bands will help stabilize and stretch your muscles. You’ll learn how important it is to balance your body as you continue to build strength. That’s a key to take with you through life.

3. Become better at jumping rope:

   It is a foolish fitness-minded person who ignores the jump rope! Seriously though, jumping rope has been a staple workout for years - and for a good reason.
   
   Get excited to pick up the rope and learn how to use it the right way. Jump ropes are super portable too, so you can take your jump rope anywhere to get a quick workout in.

4. Have fun while you pump up:

   It's literally impossible to work out with Austin and not have the time of your life. She knows when to be serious, when to push you, when to break out in laughter, and when to "shake it off." Whether you’re working out to better yourself, tone your body, relieve your stress, or go on a mental vacation, your body will naturally learn the importance of feeling good when you exercise after getting through these videos. This is another key that you should take with you through life.

5. Get your blood flowing:

   Austin's workout series with DynaPro is far from boring or predictable. The millennial fitness guru is on trend, and combines several fitness styles - including cardio HIIT - to execute energetic routines that any beginner or seasoned strength-training professional would benefit from.

6. Try new exercise ball techniques:

   Learn to love your exercise ball and keep it close by! You can stretch, build strength, wind down, or pump up with it. Try using it as a chair and learn moves from Austin that you can use for a lifetime. By reaching for the exercise ball when you work out, you end up strengthening your abdominals without even realizing it.

7. Tone your muscles:

   You know what's not included in this package? Weights - and it's meant to be that way! By working out with Austin and DynaPro gear, you’re still going to see your muscles toning up and strengthening as if you were lifting weights. This will empower you to strength train even when weights are not accessible!

8. Get obsessed with mini bands:

   You’ll receive four DynaPro mini precision loop bands (at different levels of resistance) in your workout package - learn to love 'em and use 'em! Stick one in your wallet (yep!) or in the pocket of your sweatshirt on your next run.
   
   Austin will show you the ropes, but you’ll likely discover new ways to use these bands to stretch and strengthen your muscles on your own, too. They are so easy to use. #trendalert

9. Slim down:

   All of the DynaPro fitness gear will help you decrease your body fat percentage. By using them in the right way, you'll maximize your results. Austin will give you the confidence you need to learn new techniques and execute them properly. You’ll never have to second-guess or question yourself again!

10. Experience how powerful resistance bands are:

    You'll never underestimate the power of resistance bands again! Not only can resistance bands have a profound effect on your pump-up sessions, but they’ll naturally help stabilize and balance your different muscle groups, too. This is crucial to building healthy muscle mass, and it’s been so often overlooked.

Source: https://www.dynaprodirect.com/fitness-package-and-workout-plan/

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/

Exercise Ball: Make the Smart Choice to Stay Fit at Work!

You may have heard of people replacing their classic desk chair with an exercise ball, but doesn’t it seem a bit odd to replace a sleek, leather-covered, padded, rolling chair with a big ball full of air? What, exactly, is all the hype about?

There is much more to an exercise ball than first meets the eye. While sitting on an exercise ball, the body is constantly making small adjustments to remain balanced. Though these adjustments are usually unrecognizable, they are repeatedly working various muscle groups in the core and back. Using these muscles strengthens the core muscles and increases balance through improved posture.

A classic office chair is often considered a major source of back and neck pain. Most office equipment is built in a way that promotes poor posture, rather than good posture. This improper sitting can decrease productivity by reducing oxygen intake, and, in turn, energy. Slouching, or poor posture, has various short-term and long-term effects, so it should be ended sooner rather than later. Luckily, the option of using an exercise ball in place of a traditional office chair is now becoming commonplace.

Short-term, improved posture will help you to walk a little taller and sit comfortably for longer time periods, but those are not the only benefits. Improvements to your posture will take tension away from your entire body. Blood flow and breathing are quickly improved. Improvements in posture have also been shown to improve brain function and memory, along with mood increases and stress reduction. Beyond just that, improving your posture can eradicate back pain or put a stop to it before it even happens.

Sneak some exercise into the work-day. You can easily toss in some hip exercises by rolling backward or forward. You can also work your quads simply by sustaining a slow bounce. Beyond that, there are various exercises that you should probably hold off on until your lunch break, and these exercises will leave you feeling fresh for the second half of your day.

When beginning with an exercise ball in the office, you may want to use the ball for short periods of time until you become used to sitting on the ball. You will be surprised at how quickly your muscles grow tired at first, but your core and back muscles will soon adapt and strengthen with increased endurance. While on the ball, your thighs should maintain a position parallel to the floor, with upper arms remaining parallel to the spine. Keep in mind that your face should be pointed toward the middle of your computer screen rather than looking up or down to the screen.

Using an exercise ball in place of a desk chair has very clear benefits that will help you not only now, but years into the future. Your health, energy and posture can quickly be improved by making this small transition. It is time to make the smart choice to roll your desk chair out of the door and roll an exercise ball in.

Source: https://www.dynaprodirect.com/blogs/articles/118095619-exercise-ball-make-the-smart-choice-to-stay-fit-at-work