This weekend I got an e-mail from Holly with some great core exercises. They all use a balance ball, which is a really great way to strengthen your core. Physical therapists have used these for years for strengthening the core resulting in better workouts and less injuries. Fitness experts use the fall to strengthen the abs and back and increase stability.
If you’ve never used a balance (or exercise) ball before, you’ll want to make sure you get the right size for your height. You can test this by sitting on the ball with your feet flat on the ground. You want to make sure that you hips are level or slightly higher than knee level.
A good guideline is:
55 cm – 4’11”-5’4”
65 cm – 5’5”-5’11”
75 cm – 6’0’-6’7”
Balance balls work because as soon as you lie on one, your body becomes unstable and your muscles contract to help you stay on the ball. Add an exercise to the routine and you are simply increasing the intensity. And the great thing, they’re relatively inexpensive and you can use them for weight training, ab training, yoga and pilates exercises, or just sitting around (try sitting on one when you’re working on your computer or watching TV and notice how engaged your muscles are because it’s a challenge to stay balanced).
You can find a number of core strengthening balance ball exercises at About.com. They offer step-by-step instructions, photos, and sometimes even video to help demonstrate each move.
Good luck and happy balancing.
— Hannah
Print | posted on Tuesday, November 18, 2008 8:30 AM