Are Stability Balls really a must-have??

B

beachgerrrl

Cathlete
Are Stability Balls really a Must-Have item?

When I first started out with Cathe a few months ago, I swore I was NOT going to buy a "ton of stuff". Well, aside from the ton of videos I keep buying, I also now have gotten 2 pairs of Rykas, a NEW aerobic floor put down, a yoga mat, a few new dumbells to add to my sets, some new lifting gloves, and of course, I just had to have some new workout clothes. :+

And now, I still have to get some bands (and maybe a tube with handles), a STABILITY BALL, a medicine ball, and a NEW step because my "old" step is the smaller one. x( My dh isn't so thrilled with my discovering Cathe now. lol

A-
So, do I really need to have the Stability Ball? Has it really really helped you in any ways? Can I just substitute doing the exercises (with wts) on an incline bench, instead? Or is the ball really worth it? How does the stability ball make a difference in the workout, aside from working on "balance"?

B-
I'm kind of on the fence about the medicine ball too, as I only saw it used in one segment of Boot Camp. Is the medicine ball used in any other Cathe videos? Is this a must-have? Or can I skip this expenditure?
 
I am SO the wrong person to answer, because I LOVE buying fitness equipment -- so, of course, I have a few different-sized stability balls & med balls.

But ... I use them all. A stability ball is a great prop for many different exercises, and Cathe does use both a stabilty and medicine ball in Core Max. She uses a stability ball in other workouts, too -- abs in PUB/PLB/KPC, Supersets/Push Pull, and her new DVDs coming out soon.

Weight training on a stability ball is excellent for range of motion, and because you use your stabilizer muscles to maintain balance while you lift.

Should I go on? :p

Marla
 
Marla, LOL ok. You're an enabler, alright! lol I love buying fitness equipment too, so I hear ya. But the aerobics floor and the weight station machine takes so much room, that a lot of my larger equipmt now is having to be moved to the storage rooms of the basement (my bench, roman chair, dh's heavy wts, etc). Slowly I think the rest of our home will become just one big gym.

Oh, I do have KPC, PUB and Supersets/Push Pull (haven't viewed that one yet! I must not have gone all the way through those dvd's, to the stability ball part! But at least now I have a valid reason to get the ball. But, where am I going to keep it? :+

And the pump. I need that too now. It never ends. ;-)
 
IMO, A stability ball is a standard piece of equipment that should be in everyone's home gym. They are just SO versatile and effective. Even when a workout doesn't use one, you can increase the intensity of many moves by using the stability ball as a bench or seat. And you can do a lot of ab work on the ball as well.

Definitely a worthwhile investment.

Anything you do while on the ball (even sitting!) works stabilizing muscles in the core. And you can use the ball to make more more intense: going,for example, from a wide-foot position (more stable) to a "feet-together" position (less stable) to a "one-foot-off-the-floor" position (least stable---only for moves that can be done safely that way, like seated bicep curls). I also use one as a bench to put my support hand on when doing lat rows. Adds just a bit of instability, and thus challenge to my body.

A medicine ball is more of an optional piece of equipment, as a dumbbell can be used for most moves using one, unless you are doing some medicine-ball-specific moves, or tossing it and catching it (wouldn't try that with a dumbbell!!). I have a whole collection of OOOf balls (fancy medicine balls), and I use several of them frequently for ab work (though I've recently been substititing another piece of equipment called a Smartbell that offers head support as well). Adding a bit of weight to ab work makes it more effective.

Balls also are "fun," like toys! And adding them to a workout can change it up and make it seem fresh again.
 
Oh, I swore I'd never by one of those weird balls. Never. But guess what? I have one! AND I LOVE IT. All this time, I thought I had pretty good abs. But just try to do a pike on a stability ball - I was so disgusted that I couldn't do it. If only for that, the ball is worth it. But really, it's very handy for other things to.. and I find myself just sitting on it because it's kind of comfortable. Besides - think of how much fun the kids will have with it (I have nieces and nephews). I don't know anything about the medicine balls though. I'll try to restrain myself on that one.
 
Do you ever go to discounters like TJ Maxx? They often have clear-out fitness equipment at great prices. I got a good burst-resistant ball with pump there for $9.99. We have 3 or 4 b/c we often have workout guests. :) Between my daughter's friends and our neighbors....we end up needing them all. You can deflate them daily- some people do. I leave them blown up, but I have a fitness closet under my stairs where everything fits. By the way, you can get the bands very inexpensively at www.fwonline.com
Have fun! Collecting fitness equipment is much better than collecting knick-knacks. :D
 
Is anyone here 5'5 1/2" or 5'6"? Which size do you prefer in the ball? I saw the chart that said up to 5'6" should use the 55cm. But then I read some posts that said the 65cm was more "comfortable" for a 5'5".

Which do you prefer? is it better to go with slightly larger? or smaller? for the type exercises on the ball? I do have long arms, but I'm not exceptionally long-torsoed or long-legged. About even, I guess? lol

Thanks for all the tips and responses. :) Will have to see if our TJ Maxx has any equipmt now.
 
man oh man does this stuff add up! x( -- at least, the way I shop. lol I went and ordered both sized balls. Thanks for letting me know you like the larger one. I think I might, also. I also picked up some new plates, springs, the air pump, bands and the medicine ball. whew!

I should be set now, I hope. The only thing I didn't get was the club sized step. I thought my smaller step's risers would fit, but they are not compatible. So, I'll hold off on getting the full sized step for now.

Thanks for everyone's help! :)
 
I'm 5' 5 1/2 (5' 6" if I stretch!) and I have both a 55 cm and a 65 cm ball. The 55 cm is fine for me. I use the 65 cm less inflated. I think if you're on the border of sizes, then the most comfortable size would depend on the length of your LOWER legs. Your knees should be at 90 or more (hips above knees rather than below) when you sit on the ball.
 
Stability balls really work you in ways you can't get from a mat or a bench. These are awesome to work the core, glutes and hamstrings all at the same time, as you use all those muscle to stabilize yourself just to do a simple crunch. They can also speed up your workout, as you can work your body more efficiently, or you can at least make every muscle fatigue faster.

Also the stability ball can make an exercise easier or harder, so they are very versatile. Which means you won't be spending your money on something that you can only use with a handful of exercises. Also it can be used as a buffer for standing upper body exercise, when you sit on it; it can take in the negative impact off the lower back.

HTH,

Kit
 
Stability ball = useful, especially for GS legs and core work.

Medicine ball = totally not required. Sub with dumbell and save.

Clare
 
Hey Beachgerri, follow-up!

Hi Beachgerri!

I hate to be an enabler, too, but you are going to kick yourself with all the equipment that you have if you don't get a full-sized step. Add risers later when you can (you can find them as cheaply as $12-ish a pair, in my experience), but the full-sized step in the meantime will double as a weight bench for all kinds of exercises for chest and back, a seat for biceps and shoulder seated work, a triceps dip bench, a place to do leg presses (even doing them on a double-riser'd step is better than not doing them), and on and on. Not to mention plain old stepping, which is a whole other world on a full-sized step. Honest -- this will bring your workouts and your Cathe enjoyment to a completely different level!!! :) :)

Another question -- can you tell me all about the aerobic floor you put down? This is #1 on my eventual To Do List and I would love to hear about what you got, how you selected it, what it's installed over (concrete, carpet, subfloor, etc.), how big it is, how expensive, did you install it yourself, what you think of it -- all that stuff! Thanks in advance for the info! :)

http://www.click-smilies.de/sammlung0304/sport/sport-smiley-003.gif Kathy S. http://www.click-smilies.de/sammlung0304/sport/sport-smiley-001.gif
 
RE: Hey Beachgerri, follow-up!

Clare, I wish I had read that info yesterday. Oh well, too late, as I had already placed my order, and I did get the med ball. I hope I see a benefit from it now. LOL

Kathy,
where can you find the risers for $12? I already placed my order, but didn't order the larger step. I guess I should have. The only thing is that my aerobic floor area is only about 6' x 7'. And I have to work with the 6' side of the floor (for side to side length), as that is how I can see the tv screen. There's just enough room for me to work with side movements OFF the step, right now. I don't think I'd be able to have much room with the longer step now. Our basement has these 2 metal reinforcement colums right where we had to place the floor, so 6' was the most we could go. I guess I could try to work with the 7 ft side, but that will make it really awkward, as I'd have to face sideways to see the screen. lol Yes, I did want to have that longer step to use as a "bench", since my real bench now had to be moved to a side room of the basement, to make room for this floor. lol I have 2 of the smaller steps, so I've been having to put those side by side, to use as a bench, otherwise my torso is too long to lie on just one of them. x( I think we just need to build an addition to our home, to accommodate all this "stuff". :+

Aerobic Floor
We bought it from a friend of ours, who does commercial sports flooring for gyms, clubs, etc. It's a wood floor that comes in 4x6 sections, and there are tongue and groove sides, that you hit together with a mallet. You have to use wood glue in the grooves to connect them. Of course, we couldn't get the warrantee, etc, as the floor isn't meant to be installed the way we did it (without a sub floor, finished ends, etc). They warned us that it might not work, but so far, it's working great! We installed it over our existing carpet in the basement, which is a low low pile (commercial office grade carpet). I think there is a thin pad under the carpet. But the floor itself is concrete (which is why I needed the floating aerobic floor). The wood floor planks have a rubber "cushion" on them, underneath each wood piece. I could tell the difference with my knees,immediately. I didn't feel any more knee pain! I can only imagine how much even nicer it would be with the sub floor put in. I don't think you would get the same cushiony feel I got, if you just put it over plain concrete floor. The existing carpet and padding help, I am sure.

I guess it took about 90 minutes - 2 hrs to do the 6' x 7' area, because we really didn't know what we were doing at first. But once we got the mallet part and gluing down, it was pretty easy! It took about 24 hrs for the glue to fully dry. The only thing is that the edges are uneven, because they are usually covered by "wall molding", but since ours is just a platform, the ends are exposed, and the ends don't all line up on one end. But, we put the uneven side up next to the rubber flooring tiles we have under the weight equipment/stations room area of the basement, so at least that way no one will accidentally trip over the jagged edge.

The cost of the floor (wood planks) was a little over $350, and worth every penny. :) I am not sure how much more it would have been if it had been shipped to us though. They had this wood left over, so we just picked it up from them.
 
The stability ball is easy on your lower back. It is also deflatable, so you can take it with you if you travel. When I work my abs on the stability ball I feel it much more in my abs than when I work them on the floor. Also, I feel it more in my abs and less in my lower back. I am glad that I bought it. It's wonderful.
 
RE: Hey Beachgerri, follow-up!

Beachgerri,

Well, I think I got ya all excited for nothing since risers have gone up in price since I last bought them. But my favorite fitness online equipment place still has them for $20 a pair, which isn't bad. Here's the link:

http://www.fwonline.com/stp.htm

And your floor sounds fantastic -- wish I had a friend who could cut me a deal like you got on the flooring because my hubby and sons could certainly handle the install! :)

http://www.click-smilies.de/sammlung0304/sport/sport-smiley-003.gif Kathy S. http://www.click-smilies.de/sammlung0304/sport/sport-smiley-001.gif
 
RE: Hey Beachgerri, follow-up!

Hi Kathy,

I am not sure what the rules are about posting "shopping info" here, but if you are interested in getting the flooring, PM me. :) I'll ask them if they will sell to residential buyers (not sure they will or not, as they do commercial/industrial flooring and material handling). But just know that if they DO say they will sell to you, there are no warrantees with the product, as they are not rec'ing this type of installation. But if you just want "wood planks", maybe they will sell to you. Let me know if you want me to ask. I do know you have to make sure that your existing "floor is level". They drilled that much into my head before they would even sell to us. LOL
 
I think a stability ball is a great investment. Besides the fact that exercising with it challenges your muscles in different ways, I just love to lay over it and stretch. It is soooo relaxing and I've recommended it to even non-exercising friends.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Our Newsletter

Get awesome content delivered straight to your inbox.

Top