The stability ball is a light, versatile and portable piece of exercise equipment that builds strength and stamina. Ball exercises elevate your heart rate, burn fat, improve your posture and balance and create fun and challenging ways to tone and tighten all of your major muscle groups, including those of your upper body.
Pushups
Pushups on a stability ball help strengthen and tone arm, abdominal and chest muscles while creating defined shoulders and triceps. Position your body on the ball so that your knees rest on the ball. Extend your legs straight back with your arms extended down to the floor below your chest, fingers pointing forward. Inhale, tighten your abs, bend your elbows and lower your torso toward the floor. Your legs should rise to a straight 45-degree angle with the floor. After holding the position for 2 to 3 seconds, slowly straighten your elbows to the start position. Perform 10 repetitions.
Pikes
The American Council on Exercise recommends the stability ball pike, an advanced level exercise for the shoulders and abs that requires excellent balance and flexibility. Lie with your stomach on the ball, both hands and feet on the floor hip-width apart. Exhale, tighten your abs, lift your legs off the floor and walk your torso forward. Rest your toes on the ball so that your body is parallel to the floor. While keeping your legs straight and toes on the ball, pull the ball toward your chest as you raise your hips. Continue to roll the ball and raise your hips until your upper body is in a hand-stand position. Inhale and slowly lower your body to the start position.
Biceps Curls
Adding weights to the instability of the ball creates a more challenging version of the basic biceps curl, resulting in strong, sculpted arm muscles. Sit on the ball with your feet hip-width apart. Hold light dumbbells down at your sides, palms facing inward. Tighten your stomach as you slowly curl your weights toward your shoulders, palms facing your body. Hold for 5 seconds and then return to the start position. Perform 15 repetitions.
Standing Biceps Curls
The standing biceps curl with stability ball adds a new twist to the basic biceps curl, combining upper body strengthening with lower body toning. To perform the exercise, hold a dumbbell in each hand, palms facing inward. Place the stability ball between your back and a wall. Slowly lower your body into a squat position. Then slowly straighten to the start position while simultaneously curling your right bicep. Repeat on the opposite side. Complete 15 repetitions.
References
- Whole Living: Stability Ball Exercise: Upper Body Strength
- American Council on Exercise: Stability Ball Pikes
- "Tank Top Arms, Bikini Belly, Boy Shorts Bottom"; Minna Lessig; 2007
- "Exercise Balls For Dummies"; LaReine Chabut; 2005
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