A fitness ball, otherwise known as an exercise or Swiss ball, is a versatile piece of equipment that you may think is used only for more complicated crunches. You may also have caught onto the fitness ball fad from years ago and still have a large exercise ball sitting around your house without any new ways to use it. While fitness and exercise is what the ball is primarily used for, you can find other uses for your fitness ball to bring it back into your daily routine. You'll find hidden benefits like better balance and a tighter core.
Exercise
Using your fitness ball to exercise might have been what you originally bought the ball for, but there are so many ways to exercise with a fitness ball that it is almost impossible to get bored. If you're tired of doing the classic fitness ball crunch, lie on your belly and do back extensions. Use the ball as resistance for leg exercises, or do push-ups with your legs on the ball and your hands on the floor for added difficulty.
Chair
Swapping out your regular office chair for a large fitness ball is a good way to engage your body while you're doing something that is as seemingly inactive as sitting. You'll have to work harder to balance, which will engage your core muscles, and it will improve your posture since you don't have a seat back to lean or slump into.
Rehabilitation
Fitness balls are routinely used for back rehabilitation, or as aids for those who need chiropractic therapy. Extending your back over the ball is an excellent way to stretch sore back muscles, and using it between your body and the wall to complete assisted squats can strengthen your muscles as you complete your rehab exercises.
Pilates
Pilates is a form of exercise that is popular and effective, but it is often done incorrectly. In Pilates, a "neutral spine" is the proper way to begin most exercises. Doing your exercises on the ball can help you find neutral spine more easily, since it is found in the same good posture you utilize in sitting on a fitness ball.
Training
A fitness ball is a good way to teach workers and employees the proper way to lift objects so that their backs don't become strained. Lifting with the back can cause back pain. Use the ball to explain that their backs should remain straight and the lifting occurs in the knees. Place the ball between their backs and a wall and instruct them to pick up an object while keeping the ball on the wall. It's an easy way to help them to practice and remember the right way to lift to avoid injuries at work.
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