An exercise ball workout is a marvelous way to add variety and challenge to any exercise routine you may be doing as well as to your existing Pilates practice. If your daily grind is in need of tinkering, the addition of an exercise ball workout might be just the thing you need to funk up, expand your workouts and pump some air into your exercise schedule.
The exercise ball has many pseudonyms including stability ball, Pilates ball, and fitness ball. Developed by physical therapists for their rehab patients, the ball works on the belief that if you perform an exercise on an unstable surface, as you would in an exercise ball workout, you’ll recruit more core muscles to simply keep yourself from falling off.
In this age of “functional training”, the absolute best trend in fitness today, an exercise ball workout will be something you’ll want to try.
Some of the benefits you’ll get from an exercise ball workout:
• Increased core strength, stability and balance
• Increased coordination
• It helps to recruit the hard to reach muscles like the Transverses Abdominus
• Is an inexpensive bit of equipment
• Adds variety and fun to your workout
That last benefit is an important one. The ball is like a toy for adults! It’s fun to play around on it and feel challenged in a practical way. Though it was traditionally used for exercise, many other uses have sprung up for it such as a chair in the office or for pregnant women during birth. (They use it to support their backs) However, there are some guidelines for safe and effective use.
An exercise ball will hold your body weight and usually run about 65 centimeters in diameter, but you should pump the ball up until your knees form a 90-degree angle when sitting down on the ball.
Another tip: Get used to being on the ball first before you try to do any exercises on it. I had a client liken it to being on a rocky boat. You need to get your sea legs before you can enjoy the ride! And finally, try not to move too quickly the first few times you use your ball. Slow and steady wins the race!
Now, when adding the exercise ball to your Pilates routine, you’ll see immediately how you can perform most Pilates mat exercises with the ball. You can even mimic some of the reformer exercises using the ball. If you are a Pilates beginner, have your instructor work some ball into your workout.
If you are an experienced Pilates practitioner, experiment and try your Pilates exercises with the addition of an exercise ball
No matter your exercise level, if you’ve never done an exercise ball workout before, you’ll want to start off with some basic exercises first. Move onto more advanced exercises only when you have developed the strength to perform the basics easily.
Susannah Marchese is a certified Pilates fitness instructor and a senior contributing writer to http://www.everything-about-pilates.com/exercise-ball-workouts.html
Susannah Marchese - http://www.everything-about-pilates.com
Source: www.a1articles.com
