Stability ball exercises get a bad rap. The gym bros look at it and consider how many benefits can be gained from this beach ball looking thing. Some women look at it and think, “I could have abs on that.” Many fitness professionals don’t like it, and some have even attacked it with a screwdriver (true story).
There’s a lot of love or hate for the stability ball, but when programmed and used wisely, the stability ball is a tool you need in your toolbox. A stability ball will help you become stronger and more resilient against injury, and you’ll have a ball. Sorry, not sorry.
Here we’ll look at three benefits of training with a stability ball, including three exercises you didn’t know you could do with a ball.
Benefits of Stability Ball Exercises
People turn a blind eye to the stability ball because they see it as a useless tool other than abs. But apart from its endless crunch, it has some important benefits.
- Better Balance: When you sit on a stability ball, you’ll quickly feel your core, so imagine what happens when you exercise with it. The most important benefit of these exercises is that your body engages more muscles to stay balanced.
- Increasing intensity without weight: A stability ball improves your ability to recruit more muscles without increasing the load. This is due to the greater involvement of your body’s stabilizer muscles to prevent your face from meeting the floor.
- Reduced risk of injury: Stability ball exercises, such as push-ups and ab crunches, increase activation of core stabilizers that help provide optimal resistance to injury.
How to Choose the Right Stability Ball Size for You
Before going into the three stability ball exercises below, size does matter but doesn’t it always? Stability balls come in three industry standard sizes: 55 cm, 65 cm, and 75 cm. These sizes indicate the height and diameter of the stability ball when properly inflated.
There is a simple test to determine what size stability ball you should use for most of the exercises you do on it. Sit on it – that’s right, sit on it. If your thighs are more or less parallel to the ground, that’s the ball for you. If your hips are above or below your knees, it’s too big or too small.
When performing stability ball planks, push-ups, rollouts, etc., the shorter ball will usually bring you closer to the ground to make the exercise more difficult and the longer ball a little easier. But it depends on personal preference and the length of your arms. Experiment quickly. See which ball is right for you. Regardless of the above test.
Top 3 Stability Ball Exercises
If you think stability balls are for the faint of heart, think again. Here are three stability ball exercises that will challenge you in ways you never thought possible.
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