I now present to you the best and highest use of those ubiquitous fitness balls (aka Swiss balls aka stability balls aka physioballs) you see lying around every commercial gym:
Above: Click on the screen to play the clip. God Bless America.
Now that I’ve gotten that out of my system, let’s talk seriously:
Physioballs can be useful in specific, limited applications. Almost none of them involve healthy, normally-functioning people. In fact, the reason physioballs are sometimes referred to as “Swiss balls” is due to their application in physical therapy by Swiss doctor Susan Klein-Voglebach.
They’re often called “stability balls”; a real misnomer, since they create an unstable surface from which to work. This so-called asset is the physioball’s greatest liability – by creating instability, they limit the amount of force you can generate, and limit the resistance you can use on an exercise (both of which are not particularly useful if you’re trying to improve strength). Best to leave the ball work to the therapists.
Here, in no particular order, are the best exercise applications of a physioball:
1. Abdominal work, particularly crunches.
On a physioball, crunches can be performed through a greater range of motion, making them more difficult (and more deeply stimulating) for the abdominal muscles. Provided you plant your feet well and don’t roll too far towards your head during the initial set-up, the chances of accidentally falling over are minimal.
Other abdominal exercises, such as pikes, are also beneficial for experienced exercisers with good motor control. I wouldn’t recommend these maneuvers for everyone, however.
2. Squatting.
For those with lower back or knee issues, performing wall squats with a physioball behind you can be an extremely useful way to work lower body muscles. To add difficulty, one would simply hold onto dumbbells or weights while performing the movement. Here’s a link to a decent ball squat demonstration (although the guy in this video needs to get his feet forward a little so his knees don’t track forward past his toes when descending).
3. Lower back tractioning.
This is probably the most useful application for the average Joe or Jane. Lying down on a physioball and allowing your back to fall into extension is extremely beneficial for spinal health. In lumbar extension, intravertebral space is increased, which creates a “vacuum effect”, sucking the intervertebral disks into the space. English translation: lying back on the ball decreases pressure on your disks and feels damn good. Very useful for an individual who spends his or her day sitting at a desk, compressing their intervertebral disks.
Keep in mind that I’m not dismissing the use of physioballs in specific, rehabilitative situations. It merely drives me crazy when I see someone doing dumbbell presses or chest flyes while sitting on the ball. Or even worse, to see someone doing some bizarre balance thing in an attempt to strengthen their core.
However, intentional misuse of an apparatus by morons (like, say, ball jousting); well, that’s just damned funny (physioballs were invented by a toymaker, after all…).
Filed under: PRE-hab and Injury Prevention, Strength Training
I mainly use the stability ball for abdominal work but don’t see anything wrong with using the ball for chest flies or dumbell presses when nothing else is available. Since I do this strength training at home and don’t have a bench, the ball is all I have to use.
I also sit on the stability ball in a squat while playing video games. Its better than Nothing!
Well, that’s a different situation than what I was talking about. If you’ve got nothing else, then you have to make do with what’s at hand (although I can give you some safer options, like a push-up progression that will help to build strength in the chest, shoulders, and triceps – email me if you’re interested).
My message can be boiled down to this:
If you’re doing exercises like presses and flyes on the ball because you think it’s better for you, you’re wrong.
I am certain that sitting on the ball gives you better posture than the slouch I used to assume when I was in my heavy-duty Nintendo days.