The medicine ball and stability, or Swiss, ball are two common pieces of exercise equipment. Use these tools with other equipment, such as free weights, to improve stability, power, strength and balance, says fitness professional Juan Carlos Santana, author of "Essence of Program Design." These balls require you to use your entire body to see results.
Pushing and Pulling
Pushing and pulling are two basic upper-body movement patterns that you can perform with a stability ball. These exercises work on full-body stability while using the chest, back, shoulders and arms that produce the force. For pushing exercises, perform a dumbbell chest press with one or two dumbbells or pushups with your hands or feet on top of the stability ball. For pulling exercises, do a dumbbell row by lying on top of the ball on your stomach with your arm extended below your chest. Do a pushing and pulling exercise consecutively without rest between exercises. This method, called supersetting, allows one muscle group to rest while the opposing group works, increasing your muscular endurance and reducing your workout time, says physical therapist Gray Cook, author of "Athletic Body in Balance."
Medicine Ball Chops and Lifts
The chop and lift involve moving your arms and shoulders in a diagonal pattern across your body without moving your torso. The chop is moving your arms down and across your body while the lift is moving your arms up and across your body. These exercises work on all muscles in the abdominal, back and hip region that stabilize your body to protect your spine and internal organs. The strength and stability you gain from the chop and lift can be transferred to many sports and daily activities, such as golf, martial arts and weightlifting, says Cook.
To do a chop, stand with your left foot in front of you and hold a medicine over your left shoulder with both hands. As you swing the ball down across your body toward your right hip, do not move your body. From here, swing the ball up and across your body to the starting position. Perform this exercise for 30 seconds, switch leg position and perform this exercise in the opposite direction for another 30 seconds.
Medicine Ball Throws
Medicine ball throws use your entire body to generate force and stabilize your joints -- particularly your spine -- when you throw. Most of these exercises require you to use your lower body to generate force and abdominal muscles to transfer that force to your upper body, says Coach Vern Gambetta, author of "Athletic Development." This process of force transference functions reflexively and requires very little or no conscious thought to perform, much like blinking or breathing. You can combine various medicine ball throwing exercises in a circuit training pattern by performing each exercise for a short period of time with no rest between exercises. This helps you burn more calories in less time and improve muscular stamina and endurance. For example, perform 30 seconds of overhead throws, ground slams, push passes and rotation tosses without rest. When you have completed one circuit, rest for no more than one minute and repeat the circuit two to three more times.
Full-Body Stretches
Perform full-body stretches that work your entire body at once with a stability ball. These exercises stretch multiple muscle groups and the connective tissue -- or fasciae -- that link your upper body to your lower body. Two such exercises are the backbend stretch and child's pose. The backbend stretches from the front of your neck through your ribs and hips to your thighs, while the child's pose stretches from your posterior shoulders through your back to your buttocks. Hold each stretch for five to six deep breaths as you relax your body.
References
- "Essence of Program Design"; Juan Carlos Santana; 2004
- "Athletic Body in Balance"; Gray Cook; 2003
- "Athletic Development"; Vern Gambetta; 2006
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