I thought that I would try something else new this month and use
the Swiss Ball. They are reported as being the most effective method
for core conditioning, So exercising on the Swiss Ball develops your
abdominal muscles, stabilises your lower back as well as improving
posture. There are many different names for the Swiss Ball – here’s
a list…
Exercise ball
Gym ball
Fitness ball
Stability ball
Gymnic Ball
Yoga ball
Body ball
Swiss ball
By the way, the reason it is called a Swiss Ball is that it
originated from Switzerland in the 1960s and therapists used it for
physical rehabilitation.
Pros
Using the Swiss Ball ensures that exercises are concentrated on
core areas such as
abdominals - often a key area for women to tone and condition.
It’s portable, easy to store, versatile and pretty cheap. Also,
using the Swiss Ball can really help prevent back injuries by
strengthening this area.
Cons
Don’t try to blow up by hand!
Conclusion
The Swiss Ball is a really excellent piece of equipment for home.
It’s inexpensive and you can do lots of great exercises on them.
There are loads of example exercises on the internet to make it fun
and interesting. Just remember though to also do some aerobic/
cardio work as you do not get this from using the ball.
Fun Accessories
I also recently came across covers for the Swiss Ball – amusingly
named Furriballs, these are a funky accessory to your Swiss Ball and
I have recently bought a black Furriball cover one for my
long-haired teenagers ball which I encourage them to sit on in front
of the television.
What is a Fitball?
Balls come in three diameters: 55, 65 and 75 centimetres. The
right one for you is dependant on your height. It is also well worth
checking the ‘load’, the one I tested was tested to 250kg if this is
not quite enough the
Fitball is tested to 300kg. Worth making sure you get a
pump too and a good
quality ball that won’t burst.
You often see rows of Swiss Balls in little plastic rings lining
the back of the gym, ready to burst out and roll around the floor!
Swiss Balls allow you to do many variations of abdominal and back
exercises. The range of motion allows you to take the strain off
your lower back. And excellent results can be achieved if you stick
with it. And guess what Ladies, they are supposed to help with
continence!
The extra benefit of using a Swiss Ball to do abdominal exercises
is that as opposed to exercising on a flat surface, the body has to
respond to the instability of the ball, challenging your muscles
more and using more to do the exercise – all good stuff methinks!
Here’s what I did…
Warm up – of course.
I tried some of the exercises in
The Great Body Ball
Handbook and really felt them, it is definitely worth trying
this especially if you want to isolate the abdominals, get a better
posture and build up your lower back muscles. The Swiss Ball
Exercises included:
I have used the Swiss Ball for about a week and I definitely sit
straighter and my abdominals feel stronger, it is also supposed to
help with pelvic floor muscles (hooray!). What is great about the
Swiss Ball is that it suits all fitness levels as you can vary the
level of exercise by taking one or both feet off the floor during
sitting exercises, so as you get better at using the Swiss Ball you
can make it harder. In addition, deflating the ball slightly makes
it easier if you are just starting out as the ball is more stable.
Having recently visited an Osteopath because of a problem with my
shoulder, he advised that using Pilates-based exercises like the
ones on the Swiss Ball would help ease this and mean that I wouldn’t
have to visit him so often, certainly helps my finances!
As an added extra, I put one in front to the TV for the kids to
sit on; it’s amazing how much exercise they get as just sitting on
it makes you want to wriggle. So if you have slug-like teenagers at
home like I do, replace the chair with a fitball…
Using it as a chair is becoming quite popular and advice is to
build up from about 15 minutes a day. Basically you will be building
your core fitness without even realising it. Using the fitball in
this way helps by introducing ‘active sitting’ where you are
stabilizing your body constantly when sitting on it and prevents
slouching – so get your boss to buy you one!
Classes with Swiss Balls
Joining a class is often fun and the instructor can help you get
the best from using the Swiss Ball. I am a member at a gym and have
now started to go to the
Pilates on the Ball sessions. These in conjunction with a Swiss
Ball DVD I bought
are really good and have improved my technique considerably.
And finally…
Get one! It’s easy just to do a quick set on the
Swiss Ball, they don’t
take up too much space and the rest of the family will get some use
out of it too.
