Great exercises to try on a swiss ball

Yes we have all seen them lurking in the corners of the gym or even have one collecting dust behind the sofa! We are talking about swiss balls. (Also known as a balance ball, body ball, fitness ball, gym ball, stability ball, therapy ball or yoga ball). So many workouts can be enhanced with a Swiss ball.

The ball can help improve posture, increase flexibility and tremendously increase core strength including those deep abdominal muscles.

The key thing about a Swiss ball is that it’s unstable. When you sit on one, your core works overtime just to keep you upright. (Try using a ball instead of a chair and notice how you constantly activate your core muscles).

Over the next couple of weeks we will give you some great exercises to try out.

Swiss Ball Ab Rollout (Target those deep abdominal muscles)

  1. Kneeling upright on a matt, place a Swiss Ball in front of you.
  2. Place your hands in a fist on the ball.
  3. Contract your abs and keep your core tight and controlled while rolling the ball out in front of you, until you come out to a half plank. (make sure your back does not sink down too low).
  4. Hold for 2 seconds and make sure your elbows are kept below your shoulders. Then roll the ball back until your are full upright again on your knees with the ball in front of you again. Perform 10 times.

Next week we will show you another great exercise using just a swiss ball.  Be sure not to miss this and future blogs by signing up to our FREE newsletter.  (See homepage for details).