Six Pack – Now

Some Swiss Ball Exercise for Your Body

More than ever, a lot of people going to gym are getting themselves acquainted with Swiss ball exercises and there’s good reason to believe that this trend is not ending any soon. You might have come across the term “Swiss ball” by some other name such as a fitness ball, exercise ball or a stability ball but rest assured all of these are simply different names to one and the same thing.

The entire philosophy behind Swiss ball exercise is the strengthening of a few essential muscles or bones in the body which are immensely responsible for the stability and strength of the entire body. Many engage into exercise using the Swiss ball simply to have a more interesting workout instead of the usual monotonous workout with dumbbells or stable machines. A Swiss ball is soft and flexible due to which there is no hardening contact with muscles but rather a soft cushioning effect is produced which makes it easy on the contact muscles. It is due to this “cushioning effect” that Swiss ball exercises are virtually harmless provided you have the ability to balance your body. It is during this act of balancing one’s body that several under utilized muscles are brought into action which leads to their strengthening.

There are several Swiss ball exercises for different parts of the body. The most basic of these are sit-ups. In this exercise, you are required to sit on the Swiss ball with your back positioned on it. This is followed by positioning of a small ball known as medicine ball, between your legs and then you are required to sit up with your arms placed across your chest. Another basic Swiss ball exercise simply involve sitting on the Swiss ball and balancing your body for short durations of five minutes with continuous small, not sudden or drastic, movements of the body. This may sound simple but it goes a long way in giving a thorough workout to certain muscles especially those located in the abdomen.

Another area in which Swiss balls are popularly used is in the elimination of lower back pains. The number one reason for lower back pain is the imbalance in the human posture while doing basic exercises such as walking. Back pains are predominantly found in people who bend their back while walking. For such people, exercising using Swiss ball is an ideal solution. This is because while using a Swiss ball, there is no other option but to keep one’s back straight if you don’t want to be on the floor! Further, a Swiss ball provides a full range of solution for back pains and stretches. A word of caution though, it would be good to consult your gym instructor in case you’re a complete newbie to using Swiss ball for back pain elimination. This is serious stuff and you don’t want to mess this up into increasing your pack pain or some other injury.

Hamstring exercises are another breed of Swiss ball exercises which are used for the complete workout of the lower torso. In this case, you have to lie on the floor while the heels of your feet will be on the ball itself. Now you need to dig your feet into the ball while slowly lifting your pelvis simultaneously. You have to maintain this position for a maximum of five seconds before returning to the relaxed state. An advanced version of this Swiss ball exercise is used for the workout of hip muscles. This is known as the Hip Flexor and Gluteal Exercise and it simply involves lifting of your legs alternatively, one at a time, while doing the hamstring exercise. Again, this only needs to be done for a maximum period of five seconds.

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