[Schwartzie]

Hello everyone! I have extremely bad knees and my doctor recommended I give up using weights for my lower body (squats, lunges etc...) I bought myself one of those big balls but haven't tried it yet because I have the worst cold and am taking the week off I hope I can still see results with this thing? Anyone else use one???

[MrsJim]

Hi there!

I saw your post and thought you were inviting us all to a big event!!! Okay I admit it...that AC/DC song went through my head...remember "Big Balls"? :bc:

ANYway, I don't actually OWN a Swiss ball (or Physioball or whatever you want to call it) but I do use the ones we have at our gym, mostly for crunches, pushups, as a 'bench' for pressing exercises and I also have some horseback-riding-specific exercises that I practice (I found 'em in a book called "Fitness, Performance and the Female Equestrian" by Mary Midkiff if you're interested).

And of course Mistress Krista Scott Dixon has a page on the Swiss ball at her MUST-VIEW website... http://www.stumptuous.com/swissball.html

Here's the beginning of that article...

The Swiss ball is essentially a giant beach ball made of durable vinyl. It's one of the few fitness thingamajigs that is actually useful and, dare I say it, almost indispensable. Not only is it great for abs, but you can also use it in place of a bench for some exercises. If your gym doesn't have one, buy your own and use it at home. At $25-$40, it's a pretty cheap piece of equipment. With that price, and with the ball's wide range of uses, it's definitely money well spent.

The Swiss ball has two advantages: one, it provides an unstable platform on which to perform exercises (greater instability supposedly leads to greater recruitment of stabilizing muscles, thus you theoretically reap more benefits from each exercise); and two, it provides an excellent range of motion for ab exercises. I think the first aspect is a tad overrated, since I don't think there's a whole lot to be gained by substituting the ball for a bench, although it does provide some variety. That being said, I quite enjoy doing chest work on the ball, since the curvature of the ball provides the perfect lateral alignment of my upper body. Nobody else I've showed Swiss ball chest presses to seems to like it as much as I do, so you can decide for yourself whether or not I am just a crackpot on this subject.

Since, as I said, the Swiss ball provides an unstable platform, it will take some getting used to before you will feel comfortable balancing on it. Don't despair; you will get the hang of it. Because the ball is squishy and made of vinyl so it won't slip around, you can actually get away with putting yourself quite off-balance without falling over.

Before you try anything on the Swiss ball, just get comfortable with how it feels. Sit on it, holding on to something if you are really timid. Roll your butt around on it, and feel how you have to balance when you shift your weight. Practice moving your hips from the front of the ball (so that the ball moves up to the small of your back) to the back (so you are sitting on it), and side to side. One thing which helps to maintain balance is to keep your feet relatively wide apart.

[susanje]

I love my swiss ball. I can do different types of crunches and leg exercises on it. I really like it in place of a bench for UBWO. I highly recommend one. It makes working out a lot of fun!