Exercise balls, also known as physioballs or stability balls, are popular tools in gyms and rehab centers for developing your core strength, balance and full-body stability. Rehab specialists have used them since the 1960s and personal trainers started to use exercise balls since the 1980s. Exercising on a ball helps you be more aware of your body's alignment.
Function
The unstable surface of exercise balls requires you to activate the deep layers of muscles in your spine, torso and hips to maintain balance and posture. According to Vern Gambetta, director of Gambetta Sports Training Systems, the activation process in your core is reflexive, not conscious. This means that your core should turn on and work without any conscious effort to function.
For example, when you sit on an exercise ball, your spine and deep abdominal muscles should automatically work to support your body and maintain balance. Otherwise, you would fall off the ball or wobble constantly.
Benefits
Exercise balls help you increase your proprioception, which is your awareness of your body's position and space, and strengthen your stabilizers, such as your postural muscles that support your body. They also help you burn more calories than training on gym machines because you need to support your whole body rather than letting the machine do that job for you. You can substitute stability balls as office chairs and workout benches, which helps improve your stabilization strength.
Misconceptions
Core training is not about sit-ups, flattening your tummy or anything to do with working on your abs. According to Gambetta, core training is about maintaining your center of gravity and posture when moving in various directions and speeds. Your core covers the region below your chest to the top part of your thighs. Core training will not burn the fat off your belly, but it will make you look taller and younger because core training will improve how you stand and move.
Sample Exercises
The two types of core exercises are static and dynamic. Static is holding your body in a certain position for a period of time. Dynamic is movement-based, and demands control of your body's movements.
An example of a static core exercise is the push-up plank, which places your arms about shoulder-width apart on the ground and your feet together or slightly apart. Keep your spine in its natural curves throughout the exercise.
Based on the plank exercise, a dynamic core exercise would be a push-up, where you lower your body and push it back up. A strong core enables you to maintain the neutral spine during the exercise.
Transition these concepts by integrating the exercises with an exercise ball.
Expert Insight
According to Juan Carlos Santana, director and owner of Institute of Human Performance in Boca Raton, Florida, training on exercise balls has a good carry-over of strength to more traditional weight-training exercises with free weights. For example, if you maintain proper form and range of motion in a dumbbell chest press on an exercise ball, then you should be able to lift more weight if you do the same exercise on a bench.
References
- "Athletic Development"; Vern Gambetta; 2006
- "Essence of Program Design"; Juan Carlos Santana; 2004
- "Stability Ball Training--The Science and Practice of Stability Ball Training"; Juan Carlos Santana; 2002
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