Working out with an exercise ball forces your core muscles to work overtime, compensating for the ball's inherent instability. As with any other piece of workout equipment, you'll get more out of your stability ball workouts if you have a well-defined goal, and a plan designed to get you to that goal in small, measurable, manageable steps.
Uses
The American Council on Exercise recommends that every exercise program should include regular aerobic exercise, stretching and strength training. Exercise balls are well-suited for stretching your back or stomach; just drape yourself over the ball and relax. Stability balls also make an excellent makeshift weight bench, and you can use the ball for body-weight resistance exercises like push-ups and planks. Cardio training is not recommended on a standard exercise ball; the extra force can weaken or burst the ball. If you want to do cardio exercise on an exercise ball, look for a ball specially designed to withstand the extra force of bouncing.
Sizes
Having the right-size ball automatically lines your joints up at the proper angles for most exercises. A properly inflated, correctly sized exercise ball will compress about 6 inches beneath your weight when you sit on it, and position both your knees and hips at a right-angle bend. You can also make a rough estimate of proper ball size from your height. The American College of Sports Medicine recommends that a 55cm ball is usually the right size if you're between 5 feet, 6 inches tall and 6 feet tall. A 65cm ball is usually appropriate if you're between 6 feet and 6 feet, 5 inches tall.
Frequency
You can use your exercise ball for stretching every day. Theoretically, you could use it for strength training every day, too, as long as you gave each muscle group at least a day of rest before working it again. But your core muscles need a day of rest between workouts, too. Since every stability ball exercise gives you a core workout, limit intense exercise ball training to every other day. If you want to strength train every day, do non-exercise ball strength training on the off days, working different muscle groups than you exercised the day before.
Repetitions and Progression
One set of eight to 12 repetitions for each exercise is usually sufficient for building strength, endurance and stability. But unless you want to hit a plateau, you must keep challenging your ever-increasing capabilities. If your primary goal is building muscular strength and endurance, increase the weight by 5 to 10 percent once you can do 12 repetitions. If your primary goal is building core strength, keep the same weight and do a more difficult balance variation on the ball. For example: Shift your knees closer together or lift one foot slightly off the ground, both of which make balancing more difficult.
Best Exercises
A 2001 study commissioned by the American Council on Exercise found exercise ball crunches to be one of the best overall ab exercises, recruiting significantly more activity in the rectus abdominus and obliques than a standard floor crunch. Two other excellent stability ball exercises, the hamstring curl and bodyweight pullover, allow you to use the ball's tendency to roll in your favor. These exercises work muscles -- the hamstrings and lats, respectively -- that are almost impossible to target without weights or other gym equipment.
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