Being obese means that you're carrying too much body fat, not just that you are overweight. Overweight individuals may have excess bone, muscle and water weight. Obesity is a major risk factor for heart disease, stroke, diabetes and some kinds of cancer. Losing 5 to 10 percent of your body fat can greatly reduce those risks. Finding exercise equipment, such as stability balls, on which you can work out comfortably is a key step in fighting obesity.
Overcoming Obstacles
Much of the equipment in gyms and fitness centers is difficult to use if you're obese. Stability balls, also called exercise balls, have become popular mainstays in most facilities and are widely available for home use. They are inexpensive and easy to learn. Using an exercise ball at home can help you overcome your resistance to working out in public. Using a stability ball can be a fun activity if you don't like exercising.
Effectiveness
According to the American College of Sports Medicine, a stability ball provides you with a well-rounded workout. It improves endurance and muscle strength, helps with flexibility and balance, makes a unique platform from which you can do strengthening workouts and improves core stability and functional fitness. In addition to providing a good base from which to build slowly, exercise balls safely work your joints if you suffer from arthritis, a bad back or other muscular or skeletal damage.
Sizes
Exercise balls come in a variety of sizes to suit your height and weight. You should be able to sit on the ball with your knees bent at a 90-degree angle and your feet resting flat on the floor. The largest, an 85 cm, is ideal for the obese. It will sink with your weight, yet keep you at the proper height to exercise. Smaller balls, ranging from 35 cm to 45 cm are ideal for performing arm exercises. You can hold them between your hands and do balance and range of motion exercises. Small exercise balls also work well to perform leg crunches when you put the ball between your knees.
Variations
Just sitting on the ball engages core and leg muscles to maintain your balance. Muscles that you may not have used in years get activated. Place a chair on each side to maintain your balance until you become comfortable sitting on the ball. Set it against a wall to keep the ball from moving out too far. Once you've mastered balancing on the ball, try other movements, such as moving your feet close together and walking the ball forward and backward. Progress slowly to more intense exercises such as crunches and leg lifts. Eventually you can lift free weights or pull resistance bands while sitting on the ball.
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