4 Ways to Use an Exercise Ball
With the current pandemic situation, a lot of people are stuck in their home either doing work, binge-watching their favorite series, or playing games meanwhile other people prefer spending their times at home doing something productive like working out. Not only is working out perfect for those who want to kill time, but also for people who are also aiming to maintain their healthy well-being. It has been proven that exercising and overall physical activity may lower the chance of potentially fatal illnesses like Heart disease, colon cancer and many more. One way to exercise at home is by using an exercise ball and here are 4 ways to use an exercise ball to accompany us in working out.
1. An aide for proper lifting
Lifting weights can make a person’s lower back hurt overtime when it is not done properly. With the help of the exercise ball, we can practice how to lift something up from the ground without the ramifications of having back pain in the future. The process of doing so involves placing the exercise ball behind the back, and spreading feet shoulder width apart and 1 to 2 feet in front of hips. With hands on the hips and knees bent, squat down without leaning back into the ball, but instead using it as a guide of the position of the back. Then, return to the standing position and repeat the process as many times as we can.
2. Substitute to a chair/stool
An exercise ball can be a dandy substitute for a chair or stool. Not only will it be comfy but will also improve your balance since the lack of a back rest would mean that the upper body will need to find balance. It also helps stimulates the trunk muscles (multifidus and transverse that are help support the spine, and reduce loading on the structure in the spine.
3. Support for the pregnant ladies
Being pregnant is hard, especially when your tummy starts to grow and add additional weight for you to carry. Exercise balls can help by supporting the extra weight and change the center of gravity caused by pregnancy. It can also be used when giving birth as it can give support for different positions.
4. Train the core strength
Exercise ball can also help you get the abs you’ve been dreaming. Exercise ball can be used for different varieties of abs workout, one of these exercise is Reverse crunches. Reverse Crunches are done by placing the chest on the exercise ball and walk forward until the ball is at the kneecaps, then pulling the ball towards the arms by bending the hips and knees then straighten to push the ball back, then repeat the process as much as you like. The round shape of the exercise ball can provide different positions that can affect different part of abdominal muscles.
In conclusion, exercise balls have a lot of uses mostly for correcting posture and preventing future back problems. There are numerous exercises that can be done with an exercise ball, like half crunches, full crunches, and oblique. Although some ball exercises may prove to be difficult to those people who are inexperienced with these exercises. People who have spinal injuries beforehand are not advised to exercise since it may do more harm than good. Therefore, these exercises and steps should be learned with the help of a professional the likes include athletic trainers, physiatrist, or a spine specialist.
