Pilates Ball Exercise: Heel Squats

Video Transcript

"In this exercise, we are going to use the stability ball to increase the difficulty of squats. So, we are going to take the ball and put it up against the wall. Right at the level of our lower back. So, you want to make sure that the ball is right there. Bring the ball here. The other position is that you want to make sure that your feet come out far enough and that you lean into the wall so that when you come down, the knees are right in line with the ankle. If they are too close, the knees will come over the toes and that is not so hot for your knees. So, we are just like this. I could come in a little bit, yes. Now, we going to, keeping the feet straight about shoulder distance apart, we are going to squat down. Pick the toes up. Exhale. Squeeze the glutes in the back of the leg and push up. Inhale. Lower. Exhale. Up. Squeeze those glutes. Push from the heel. The next position that we are going to do is we are going to separate the feet just a little bit. Still, we want to make sure the knees are over the ankle. This is called lateral rotation. Once again, we are still pushing from the heels. Picking up the toes. Inhale. Lower. Exhale. Squeeze those glutes and push up. Inhale. Lower. And, you will notice that you will be working a whole different set of muscles in your legs. Exhale. Up. Our last position is medial rotation. Take a nice inhale and lower, bringing the knees together. Exhale. Push up. You can do this on the heels again. On the toes. Or, the full foot. Inhale. Lower. And, exhale up. Always squeezing the glutes. You can increase your workout against the wall by using weights."