What are your favorite Exercise Ball exercises?

JillC

I just bought an exercise ball, planning to mostly just use it for crunches and pushups, but now that I see how much you can do with it I may do more.

What are your favorites?

curlygirly419

I use it for squats! Use the ball and place it between a wall and your lower back, right about your butt. Then do squats slowly. Down on 4 counts (1 pause 2 pause 3 pause 4) ... and Up on 2 counts (1 pause 2). My trainer says it gives better resistance. Hope that helps!

CurlEEEE

I do the squats too. They are great that way. You can hold a medicine ball in your hands while doing it for extra impact.

A good ab one is t put the ball between your ankles and pass it back and forth to your hands. Majorly works the abs!

JillC

Thanks for the info! I can'wait to start trying some of these out! I did regular and oblique crunches last night, but I couldn't figure out how to get to lower abs. Sounds like the ankle one will work great for that!

System

Jack knifes into a pushup. They're brutal!

JillC

WebjockeyGuide wrote:

Jack knifes into a pushup. They're brutal!

Never heard of those. How do you do them?

CurlGirl2005

I like to do bridges where you lay on your back and put your feet up on the ball and raise your glutes and back up so that your body is in a straight line from your shoulders to your feet. To kick it up a notch, you can bend your knees and bring the ball towards your glutes and back out (really works the hamstrings). To kick this up even further, you can raise on leg above you and bring the ball in and out with the other leg. Hope that makes sense.

I think a jack knife is where you are on the ball in plank position with your lower shins on the ball and bring your knees in to your chest and back out. Very effective.

System

JillC wrote:

WebjockeyGuide wrote:

Jack knifes into a pushup. They're brutal!

Never heard of those. How do you do them?

Start in a pushup-like position with your lower shins elevated on the ball. Using your stomach muscles, roll your legs on the ball until just the tip of your toes are still on the ball. Your butt should lift towards the ceiling for this movement. (like an upsiedown V) Then return to the starting position. Then do a pushup.

check out www.sissel-online.com
for exercises

Who Me?

WebjockeyGuide wrote:

JillC wrote:

WebjockeyGuide wrote:

Jack knifes into a pushup. They're brutal!

Never heard of those. How do you do them?

Start in a pushup-like position with your lower shins elevated on the ball. Using your stomach muscles, roll your legs on the ball until just the tip of your toes are still on the ball. Your butt should lift towards the ceiling for this movement. (like an upsiedown V) Then return to the starting position. Then do a pushup.

check out www.sissel-online.com
for exercises

I'm totally going to start doing these. And the passing-the-ball-from-hands-to-feet one. Along with crunches on the ball, and just general sitting on it more often.

I have a ball that I haven't used in a while that I just started to use again in the last week or so. I have a tape that's kinda boring and doesn't do enough reps. I think if I can just do like 3 different exercises with a bunch of reps every morning it'll be REALLY effective for me!

System

here's a picture of the jackknife

JillC

Yowza!!!! :shock:

Those do look killer! I'm having a hard enough time passing the ball from my feet to hands. I definately have a lot to work toward.

Who Me?

CurlEEEE wrote:

A good ab one is t put the ball between your ankles and pass it back and forth to your hands. Majorly works the abs!

I tried this last night. Holy crap, was it hard! :oops: I'm gonna try to keep it up, though!

prairie-curl

Variation on the squats mentioned earlier: My physiotherapist recommended using the ball between your back and a wall to do squats to make it easier on the knee joints. You lean back into the ball as you roll up and down the wall - your quads and glutes get almost as good a workout as without the ball and there is much less pressure on the knees.

beauticurl

I was wondering what size excercise/stability balls you guys use. I want to buy one, but I don't know what size to get. I have a pretty short frame and using the bigger balls at the gym sometimes makes me fall off balance because they feel so huge (a funny sight to see when I slip off!) Any suggestions would be great, TIA!

System

They have the suggested size on the box the ball comes in. I'm 5'4 and I use a medium ball. For sitting @ work I use a large ball.

cjc

WebjockeyGuide wrote:

JillC wrote:

WebjockeyGuide wrote:

Jack knifes into a pushup. They're brutal!

Never heard of those. How do you do them?

Start in a pushup-like position with your lower shins elevated on the ball. Using your stomach muscles, roll your legs on the ball until just the tip of your toes are still on the ball. Your butt should lift towards the ceiling for this movement. (like an upsiedown V) Then return to the starting position. Then do a pushup.

check out www.sissel-online.com
for exercises

Have you ever used the Sit Fit Plus from Sissel? Its a cushion you sit on...good for balance and the abs. I saw it on a show called Got to Have It....and now I want it

JillC

Who Me? wrote:

CurlEEEE wrote:

A good ab one is t put the ball between your ankles and pass it back and forth to your hands. Majorly works the abs!

I tried this last night. Holy crap, was it hard! :oops: I'm gonna try to keep it up, though!

No kidding! :shock: I can only do like 5 :oops:

System

cjc wrote:

WebjockeyGuide wrote:

JillC wrote:

WebjockeyGuide wrote:

Jack knifes into a pushup. They're brutal!

Never heard of those. How do you do them?

Start in a pushup-like position with your lower shins elevated on the ball. Using your stomach muscles, roll your legs on the ball until just the tip of your toes are still on the ball. Your butt should lift towards the ceiling for this movement. (like an upsiedown V) Then return to the starting position. Then do a pushup.

check out www.sissel-online.com
for exercises

Have you ever used the Sit Fit Plus from Sissel? Its a cushion you sit on...good for balance and the abs. I saw it on a show called Got to Have It....and now I want it

I just sit on a regular ol' fitness ball. it does the same thing.