Stability Ball

No workout last night so I thought I would write a bit about the stability ball today. If you have a look back at the pictures of our new workout room here you will notice that we have no bench. The new workout does list chest presses as an exercise so how the hell did we swing that one. We are using the stability ball for any exercise that you would normally use a bench for. If you are not familiar with a stability ball they are available everywhere and look like this. I first used this as part of my rehab for my back when I was going to the physical therapist and it is great for strengthening the core. The idea behind using it for exercises that would normally use a bench is that it is not stable, as a bench is, and thus requires you to engage the core all the way through the routine which creates a more thorough workout and let me tell you it works. The other thing it does is it will not allow you to have one side compensate for the other resulting in unbalanced workouts and muscle development. If you are not evenly working out on both sides you will fall. The nice thing is you don't have to think about any of this, it just happens as a result of putting yourself on the unstable surface. You may need a little time to get used to using the ball especially if your core is not as strong as it should be but it will be strengthened pretty quick. You can also use the ball for any exercise you would normally sit for with the same results. There are also many other types of exercises you can do with the ball to great benefit, some of which can be found here. So for anyone not using a ball in their workouts I would highly suggest getting one, or more because they come in different sizes.