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An Exercise Ball - Home Fitness All Round
An exercise ball is one of the quickest, easiest and cheapest exercise options for home fitness. It is also one of the most effective. They are also known as stability balls, fitness balls or balance balls. Historically, an exercise ball has been used in the field of rehabilitation, but due to their effectiveness in developing balance and core strength, trainers and coaches around the world have started to use in their own programs for their students.
The versatility of the exercise ball made it a great favourite when used as a rehabilitative tool. Sufferers of a wide range of ailments could relate to the exercise ball as a fun piece of equipment. From the early 90's and onwards, several star athletes used and endorsed stability balls, and their popularity grew as a consequence.
Can an Exercise Ball Really Help Develop Strength?
Those who argue against the use of an exercise ball, will usually quote the lack of scientific data available to support the hypothesis. Whilst their is a lack of specific scientific reserach on the exercise ball, there is an abundance of information that confirms the benefit of its use.
If one considers the anatomy of the spine, one would note that the deep segmental muscles, which are involved in stabilisation of the spine. These segmental muscles are critical to functional movements. The traditional way to exercise these areas, is to use exercises such as dead-lifts or squats, to strengthen the back. However, these traditional back strengthening exercises have not been effective in developing these very important muscles. Whilst these exercises can be effective for strengthening the hips and spinal erectors, the posture used during the execution of these lifts does not provide the stimuli for their development. The exercise ball allows gentle movement and extension of the back, which allows the multi-segmental muscles to be fully utilised. As a consequence, the development of these spinal muscles with an exercise ball allows better postural control and greater efficiency in movement.
Stability Ball Selection Criteria
You should select an exercise ball size that will allow the most amount of versatility. As a general guideline, exercises will allow you to sit on it with your knees and hips at 90 degrees.
Having said that, using different size balls will allow you more variation with your exercise ball training. Different ball sizes allow your body weight to be altered in a direction that will remove or add weight to any exercise. The size of the ball can also take flexibility differences amongst users.
Always exercise with a shirt. Using a stability ball will cause sweating, and a sweaty body can easily slide off the ball causing serious injury, especially if one falls whilst holding additional weights.
Your stability ball should be free standing, in other words, not tied down or restrained in any way. If you choose to use external resistance, try handling lighter loads than you would when training on a standard bench. Because the ball is not rigid, should fatigue set in, sudden movements can be unpredicatable, even if someone is watching, and injury could result.
