Author's product rating: 
| Advantages: |
STRENGTHEN CORE STABILITY MUSCLES |
| Disadvantages: |
NONE |
| Recommend to potential buyers: |
yes |
The gymnastic ball is a great way of exercising at home.
When you first buy a ball it will come deflated usually in a box depending where you purchase it. Included in the box will be a pump so that you can inflate the ball.
They are made of a thick smooth vinyl and come in a variety of colours and are strong enough to hold a weight up to 850 lbs.
I know many people who use their ball as a seat either at their desk or just to sit and watch TV on.
The
balls come in a number of sizes and depending on your size and height you need to make sure you purchase the right size for you.
SIZING
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4'4" to 5'3" 53cm
4'11" to 6'0" 65cm
5'8" to 6'7" 75cm
6'3" and over 85cm
THE BALL
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I first came across this ball a number of years ago when doing Pilates. The main point of using a ball is to improve your core stability and strengthen your back muscles. The core stability muscles are the muscles that make up the abdominal region, the lower back and the hips, and most importantly for us ladies those dreaded pelvic floor muscles which most females find out about after giving birth when suddenly we no longer have them.
To strengthen those core muscles you need to be on an unstable surface and thats where the ball come in.
The first thing to contend with is learning to sit and balance on this ball, this is not as easy as it sounds and it takes time to learn how to do this. To sit on the ball correctly I recommend that you sit with your knees far apart and the feet flat on the floor. You have to maintain the proper positioning to balance on these balls and not fall off. This is why they are so very helpful, just by using one of these balls at your computer desk will be giving you a workout without even realising you are doing it.. Tucking in the pelvis and pressing the belly button into the spine is one of the secrets of correct positioning.
Because the ball puts you in an unstable position you automatically use your stabilising muscles to stay balanced.
By using the ball regularly you will soon learn to balance on it by lying over it. These balls can then be used to do a variety of exercising such as abdominal crunches, weights and arm strengthning.
Mine came with a booklet full of exercises to try out but I recommend you learn to sit on it before you try any advanced workout because you will fall off it very quickly.
I highly recommend these balls to all especially those people with weak backs and to those new mothers who need strengthen their pelvic floor muscles. The most important thing is that they really do work.
CAUTION
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It is very easy to fall off these balls when first using them so try and make sure that you don't use the ball in an area where you could fall against objects where you could hit your head or fall on a hard floor.
I purchased mine through my Pilates teacher but I have seen them on the High Street with prices varying from £10 up to £30.
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