How to Stretch Before Using an Exercise Ball

Series Summary

One could argue that shapely, sexy legs are the pillars upon which American standards of beauty are set. Cultural demands shift from generation to generation, and the twiggy models of the ‘60s were out. But, although the sinewy, sporty models of the ‘80s were short-lived, Kate Moss brought skinny back to the forefront of visual culture. Nowadays, hopefully, a healthier feminine image is being sold to male and female consumers of popular culture. The popularity of J Lo, Beyonce, and Shakira has brought curves back into the spotlight. Even if Americans are finally becoming open to more natural, curvy shapes, the pressure to be fit and trim still exists. You may totally disagree with standards of beauty and the patriarchal obsession with the female body, but regular exercise and strength training will also help you stay healthy. Period. And being healthy is not so bad.

Learn how to trim your body using an exercise ball in this free video series featuring expert and fitness model Jamie Smithers. Jamie will show you everything you need to build muscle and workout using an exercise ball. You learn how to stretch before a workout, how to do crunches, squats, push-ups, and v-ups using your exercise ball and more! Jamie also teaches you many exercises to trim your glutes (butt), inner and outer thighs, and calves. You'll even learn tips for sculpting your arms and triceps. It's all here!

Video Transcript

"Hi, I'm Jamie Smithers and I'm here today with Expert Village to show you how to use the balance ball. The very first thing that we're going to start out with before we begin any workout is to stretch. We're really going to focus on our hamstrings, our quads and our ab muscles today, that's going to be our core. And on the balance ball that's the prime thing you work on, is your core. Every single exercise has to do with using your stomach and keeping balance. Being able to balance something out all while you workout during, focusing on different muscle groups creates a whole different kind of workout because you have to focus on keeping everything really consistent all the way through, focusing on every single muscle from your shoulders down to your toes. So we're going to start out by stretching out those hamstrings. Just want to put one leg in, reach this one out, flex that toe and just reach out and try and pull on down towards your knee. You can do it until you feel a good stretch, you're going to rotate and do the other side. Really focus on your hip flexors, your hamstrings so that we really get a good stretch before we start working out today. Another important one is to come into the butterfly stretch. You're going to kind of use your elbows to push into your knees. Press your knees all the way down into the ground, as far down as they'll go. You should feel a really strong stretch through your inner thigh, your outside of your thigh and your hamstring. And one last important stretch here with our legs; we're going to reach out for your toes and just pull them in towards your chest. If you're really flexible you should be able to pull your elbows all the way down towards your shins. Obviously I'm not that flexible. And the final stretch that's going to be so important again, because we're going to be using our abs so much today is to stretch out those abdominal muscles. Lay on your stomach, kind of push back into a seal position. And feel a really good stretch all the way up through your back. It's always good to come back after you stretch those abs to here just to kind of stretch out your lower back as well because you're working on so much parts of your upper body and you need to make sure that you're stretching your back as well. Let's get started."