Balance On A Swiss Ball
New ways to exercise are always being invented, but there is a particularly new and exciting way of exercising that has become very popular – exercise balls. Some of the reasons for the explosion in popularity of these exercises are that it’s extremely portable, it is low impact (therefore it’s very quiet), it can normally be carried out in a very small area and the cost is very cheap.
Probably the most popular exercise ball in use at the moment is the Swiss ball. It is an inflatable ball which is usually around 65 or 75 cm diameter. Many people simply use this ball in place of their chair at work. When sitting on a Swiss ball, it feels quite natural to make small rocking movements rather than just sitting still which works the core and provides a small amount of exercise even while just sitting around.
But when used for full-blown exercise the Swiss ball is an amazingly versatile piece of kit. Many of the exercises using the Swiss ball primarily work the core but all of these exercises work secondary muscles at the same time and you can also emulate the same kind of exercises that you can do on home gym machines.
The first time I came across a Swiss ball was at the gym where the teacher showed me how to do press ups with my feet balanced on the top of the ball. The natural inclination is for the feet to roll off to either the left or the right of the ball, therefore as well as the usual benefits that can normally be gained from doing press ups, the core is constantly working while trying to stop the feet from rolling off the sides of the ball.
Most Swiss ball exercises use similar principles – some part of the body is balanced on the top of the Swiss ball and gravity tries to encourage this part of the body to roll off the side of the ball. This may sound quite basic and you may assume that there aren’t lots of exercises that can be done in this manner. But you simply have to do a quick search on youtube for the phrase Swiss ball exercise and very soon you will normally find that there are literally hundreds of exercises that you can do with the Swiss ball.
In fact, once you try doing these exercises and trying new ones you will probably begin creating your own original ones before too long. Going back to the press up with your feet on top of the Swiss ball, once you have attempted this you will usually probably notice not only that it works the core, but it also gives a new angle to the upper body work that you do. As you will discover during press ups the whole of your upper body eventually starts to quiver and shake due to the extra forces transferred from the feet all of the way down the body to the arms. This is one of the many reasons why it is so effective to use the Swiss ball for your exercises.
As mentioned, there are loads of exercises that can be done using the Swiss ball. But if we jump ahead to the more advanced levels one of the hardest but most advantageous methods of using the Swiss ball is to carry out exercises while standing on it. This is not to be recommended for beginners as it can be particularly hazardous. Once you are ready to attempt these advanced exercises, you should initially learn to kneel on the Swiss ball. Once this has been achieved, you can then progress to standing on top of it.
Again, by searching youtube you will normally come across some excellent examples of exercises that you can do while standing on a Swiss ball. When searching, you will find that they have a variety of names such as Swiss balls, balance balls and exercise balls. The most important thing to consider while trying to master the skill is that when the ball throws you off the landing can normally be quite painful, therefore safety mats should be used to start at all times. Obviously, the most common occurrence is for the legs to slip down the side of the ball which is the same as your feet going from under you – just like when slipping on ice. Please bear this in mind because the main reason for exercising in the first place is to improve your health, not to damage it.
Once you have mastered standing up on a Swiss ball, you will be a Swiss ball master and will have developed amazingly strong core and legs and an amazing balance ability.