A question about "balls"

[honeybunch]

Swiss balls, physio balls, stability balls, balance balls or duro balls....you know, those inflatable quizmos used for core stability exercises?!!!

My questions is: do I need to buy one? You see so many articles in the fitness magazine promoting them, but I want an honest opinion from Cathe and the "educated crowd" as to whether I REALLY need to buy one!!!! I have very limited space for my exercise equipment, so I have to choose my purchases carefully.

Now for a dumb questions.....do you leave them inflated, or can you deflate them to save space when you're not using them?

Thanks again, guys!!!!!

I bow to your wisdom!

 

[Nancy C]

you do know....

that you risk bringing out the junior high humor in all of us with that thread title

.

I love the ball for abs. Nothing really hits and fatigues my abs like a ball does. I think it has to do with trying to balance on it..which causes more muscles to come into play helping you center yourself along with a constant tension on the working abs that are crunching.

As far as deflating it...you could, but you would want an electric pump, because it is a pain and takes awhile to pump up. I think you would rather leave it inflated.

As far as needing it??? Well, I do love mine, but I am not gaga over working my abs...so it sits unused a lot. So, if you are on the fence about whether or not you should give up space for it..ask yourself how much you do abs and how much you think you will really use it.
Then on the other side of that..go for it

...they are coming out with more and more good ball videos

hehehe

nancy:O)

 

[Aimee]

Well that got my curiosity going!

I just had to read a post with that kind of begining!! Ha Ha!! I have a ball also and I do use it for my abs like Nancy. But, I just saw an article in Fitness that uses the step the same way as I use my ball for my abs{ I think you have a step, right? hee,hee!}. I let my head,neck,and shoulders hang off the ball and just have my mid and lower back in the ball this gives more flex and makes my abs work harder. You can do the same with the step, just let the upper body hang off. I did this to the abs part of Step Heat and I couldn't even finish it. It wore my abs out!! Try it! I also agree with Nancy about inflating and deflating the ball. Keep it blown up, it's easier. Have a ball!!! Aimee

 

[honeybunch]

It DID get your attention!

Thanks for your reply! I dunno about it now that you said it's better to leave it inflated. I just spent $40.00 a "Door Gym" to help me to pull-ups and Navy Seal style ab work. I think I'll put the ball on hold. In my next life I want to own an exercise equipment store, and not sell any of the stuff....just use it myself.

That's almost as good as owning an ice cream store.

 

[Aimee]

How about

ownig a gym{no members allowed} and instead of a juice bar make it an icecream shop?

 

[kathryn]

big balls (vs. small "medecine" balls, of course ;-))

I have one (actually a couple, since some tapes I bought came with balls). Though I sometimes don't use it for long periods of time (and it sits in a corner of my living room), I'm glad I have it. I'm currently going through physical therapy for my knees (bad for 20 years, I thought it was chondromalacia patella, but it's probably just muscle imbalance), and I use the ball as a support when doing wall squats. When I do the last squat of a set, and hold for a count of 15, I'm glad the ball is behind me so I can push into it on the way up. I've also found it effective for doing back extensions (and about the only way you can do them without having a hyperextension machine. They also work for hamstring exercises and abs (as was mentioned). You can get a ball training manual from healthforlife.com that shows a lot of exercises. Since balls cost around 25 dollars, I consider them a good investment. (If you find you aren't using it, you can always use it as a chair--just sitting on one of these things is supposed to engage your core muscles).