Anyone can use a core ball, regardless of fitness level. Core ball exercises isolate and strengthen muscles without putting any pressure on joints and ligaments. Core exercises are divided into upper and lower body and trunk exercises. The balls vary in size from 45cm to 75cm. Determine the correct ball size using your seated height, with your knees and hips at a 90-degree angle to the floor. Select a larger ball if you have back problems, poor balance or intend to use the ball as a chair, advises Simple Fitness Solutions in "Guidelines for Choosing Correct Exercise Ball Size."
Warmups and Cooldowns
Drapes and bounces are the two major categories of warm-up and cool-down exercises you can perform on a core ball. Drapes allow you to relax and stretch your muscles before and after each workout. The two simplest drapes are the back drape and the abdominal stretch. Begin with your body draped over the ball and your hands and feet on the floor. Relax into the ball while you roll back and forward. This relieves back tension from sitting in one position for too long.
For the abdominal stretch, sit on the ball with your feet flat on the floor. Roll your hips forward as you lay back, until the ball is under your lower back and you are draped over the ball with your feet still flat on the floor. Relax into the ball while staying balanced. Recover by sitting up slowly as you pull your hips back toward your original seated position.
Bounces help you learn to balance on the ball and provide a cool-down between more vigorous exercises. To perform a bounce, sit on the ball with your feet flat on the floor. Tighten your gluteal muscles and lift your bottom 1 to 2 inches off the ball with your feet still flat on the floor, as if you were about to get out of a chair. Rise up just enough to get tension in your gluteal muscles without putting stress on your knees and return to the rest position. Repeat bouncing for 20 to 50 counts, depending whether you are a beginner, intermediate or advanced core athlete.
Upper Body: Shoulders and Chest
Work your pectoralis major, triceps brachii, serratus anterior muscles and the anterior fibers of your deltoid muscles by placing a core ball against a wall while holding it in both hands. Hold your elbows straight while leaning into the ball and move your feet a few feet back. Press your body into the ball by bending your elbows and recover to the original position. The Sports Injury Clinic recommends this exercise for beginners and anyone undergoing shoulder rehabilitation.
Upper Body: Arms
The tricep dip works a small muscle in your elbow called the anconeus, which works with the triceps to extend the elbow, according to sports rehabilitator Heidi Mills at Sports Injury Clinic. You may have to push the ball into a corner between the wall and the floor the first few times you practice this exercise.
Squat with the ball behind you, with your hands spread on the ball on each side of your thighs and your rear off the floor. Your upper arms should be horizontal behind you and your feet should be flat on the floor. Straighten your arms and pull your rear up until your thighs are parallel with the floor, then lower back down until your upper arms are horizontal again.
Lower Body: Hamstring Curl
Hamstring curls work your biceps femoris, which is one of the muscles that comprise your back thigh. It also works the semimembranosus, semitendinosus and gluteus maximus. Lay on your back on the floor, with your arms outstretched on each side and your heels on the ball. As you lift your rear from the floor, you push the ball away from you until your legs are fully extended but your heels are still on the ball. To recover, you pull the ball back toward your body as you rock your feet from heel to toe.
Trunk: Curl-ups
Triathlete Mike Price recommends curl-ups and other trunk-strengthening exercises to improve stamina on triathlon training rides and prevent lower back pain from riding in the aero position. Curl-ups begin with the ball under your lower spine. Exhale and contract your abdominal muscles as you lift your shoulders and upper back off the ball. Return to the original position and repeat 10 to 15 times.
Diagonal curl-ups are performed in the same beginning position. As you contract your abdomen and lift your shoulders, twist to to the right and recover. Repeat, twisting to the left. Continue for 15 repetitions on alternating sides.
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