Invention Of The Exercise Ball

Two types of exercise balls populates health clubs and private fitness studios. The large balls, called stability balls, Swiss balls or therapy balls facilitate balance, strength and flexibility exercise, whereas the medicine balls enhance strength and coordination. Both balls have a long, colorful histories.

The Medicine Ball

Historians do not know the true inventor of the medicine ball, but they know that it dates back more than a thousand years. A 1,600-year-old estate in Sicily features a mosaic portraying two women holding early forms of exercise equipment. One holds a set of halteres, precursors of the dumbbell, and the other holds what Italians call a paganica or medicine ball. The Italian Renaissance physician Hieronymus Mercurialis advocated balls filled with sand in his "De Arte Gymnastica Aput Ancientes," his 1569 treatise on exercise and health, says fitness historian Jan Todd, of the University of Texas.

The Eastern Bloc

During the 1960s and 1970s, the former Soviet Union and East German athletes dominated the Winter and Summer Olympics, says ESPN Sports. The opening of the Iron Curtain in the early 1990s opened the pages of Eastern bloc athletic training manuals. When these manuals made their way into the United States, American coaches remarked on the frequent allusions to medicine ball training. They adapted the method to team training for strength, agility and speed. As the words "functional training" echoed into mainstream fitness venues, the medicine balls rolled into health clubs and private fitness studios.

Hoppity Hops

The stability ball began its life as a toy. During the 1960s, Italian toymaker Aquilino Cosani invented large, colorful plastic balls for his company, called Ledragomma. He used the company's patented durable plastic product called flexton silpower. The balls, called Hoppity Hops, Kangaroo Balls or Space Hoppers had vinyl handles. Children sat on the ball, held the handles and raced their friends as they hopped around the room.

Therapy and Beyond

Cosani's invention drew the attention of European physical therapists and medical professionals. Dr. Elsbeth Kong and her colleague, physical therapist Mary Quinton used the ball to treat children with neurological disorders, and Swiss physical therapist Susan Klein Vogelbach prescribed ball exercises to adults with orthopedic and other medical problems. American physical therapist Joanne Posner-Mayer studied with Kong, Quinton and Vogelbach, and brought the method back to the United States. Meanwhile, in 1992, Mike Morris attended a National Academy of Sports Medicine personal training course, which introduced exercise ball training. Mike's wife Stephanie had a dance background. They collaborated, founded Resist-a-Ball and presented the method at the 1993 IDEA conference in New Orleans. The original balls resembled Cosani's Hoppity Hops, with one difference. Morris put the vinyl handles on the bottom of the ball, and used them to hold it in place during group exercise classes.