How to Work Out With a Gym Ball
You can use the gym ball for dozens of exercises, working most parts of your body with or without weights. Also known as an exercise, Swiss or stability ball, it is constructed of soft elastic PVC and is very light. Unlike the much smaller and heavier medicine ball, the gym ball is filled with air that needs to be replenished periodically for it to retain its firmness. The ball comes in different sizes, and the taller you are, the bigger a ball you need.
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Instructions
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Strengthen your core by doing basic crunches, jackknives and planks on the ball.
Do a basic crunch by lying face-up on the ball with your feet flat on the floor. Your lower back should be in the middle of the ball. Keep your upper body and thighs parallel to the floor. Perform crunches as you would on the floor, contracting your abs to lift your shoulders and upper back off the ball.
Do a plank by placing your elbows on the ball, keeping your body extended with the balls of your feet on the ground. Hold, contracting your abdominals, for as long as you can without falling off the ball.
Do a jackknife by placing the ball under the front of your ankles, extend your body and keep it taut like you did in the plank. Place your hands one hand width outside your shoulders, arms extended. Hike your hips toward the ceiling and back to the floor. Imagine a jackknife opening and closing.
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Do exercises such as the wall squat, hamstring curls and lunges to work your legs.
Do a wall squat by standing with your back to a wall, feet shoulder width apart. Place the ball between the wall and your lower back. Sit down, letting the ball roll along your back, until your knees form a 45-degree angle, and return to the starting position.
Lie on the floor, face-up with your arms at your sides and your heels on the ball, to work your hamstring. Bring the ball toward your buttocks and back.
Do a lunge by standing up, your back facing the ball and approximately one foot away from it. Place the front of one ankle on the ball, and bend the standing leg as far down as you can without losing your balance. Stand back up.
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Perform modified dumbbell exercises such as pectoral and back flys typically performed on a bench.
Lie face-up on a ball, and hold dumbbells to do the pec fly exercise. Make sure your feet are flat on the ground, your hips parallel to the floor and the ball under your upper back. With your palms facing each other and arms extended out to the sides, bring the weights toward each other until they meet and then back down to the starting position.
Do a back fly exercise by flipping over and kneeling in front of the ball. Lean onto the ball so your chest connects with it. Hold the dumbbells in both your hands and bring the back or your hands toward the ceiling, squeezing your shoulder blades together. Bring the dumbbells back down to the floor, and repeat.
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References
- Photo Credit shiny blue ball image by Dale Mitchell from Fotolia.com
