Focus On: Stability Balls
We’ve already talked about medicine balls and resistance bands, so today I thought it would be fun to focus on another gym staple: stability balls.
They look so nice and innocent, huh?
Not only are they inexpensive and easy to find, but you can get in a killer total-body workout, particularly challenging your core, using one of these things.
So what is a stability ball aka balance ball, fitness ball, Swiss ball, birth ball (!), physioball and sports ball?
It’s a large elastic ball, filled with air, and the size can vary (more on that in a second). The major benefit of using a ball is that it challenges core muscles to keep your body stabilized, and is a great way to add extra resistance to exercises without being too heavy. Many people use stability balls in lieu of desk chairs to challenge their back and abdominals, and the ball can also be used in the labor process. The ball can be used to modify traditional strength training moves and also as a stretching tool (arching your back over a stability ball to stretch your abs is one of the most glorious feelings ever).
Does size matter?
For the most part, yes. The most common sizes are 55, 65 and 75cm, and here is a general sizing chart*:
4’11” to 5’3”: 55cm
5’4” to 5’10”: 65cm
5’11” and up: 75cm
What are some exercises I can do with an exercise ball?
Here are some of my favorites for a total-body workout. As always, check with a doc before making any fitness changes, honor your body and your injuries.
If you’d like to complete these moves as a circuit, try for 2-3 total sets of 12-15 reps for each exercise.
Chest, triceps, shoulders: Push-ups
Tip: the closer the ball is to your thighs, the easier the exercise will be. Want to challenge yourself? Add in a pike. Push-up, pike, push-up, pike. Whew!
Back: Back extension
More challenging: add a gentle twist at the top of the motion. Hands are on your head (like you’re doing a crunch), come up and twist to one side. Lower and repeat.
Biceps: Preacher curl
Hamstrings: Hamstring curl. My all-time favorite stability ball exercise
Abs: Ball pass
Don’t speed through this exercise- take long deep breaths and count and you raise the ball and lower it.
Oblique twist:
Quads: Split squat
Tip: Watch your front knee and make sure it doesn’t extend past your toes. Need help with balance? Hold onto a wall, weight training bench or ballet bar.
Calves: Wall calf raise
Fire it up: Add weights (like pic above), or try one leg at a time
How often do you use stability balls in your training? It’s an excellent tool to have in your home gym to add in a couple of workout moves (or bounce around for fun), whenever you’d like.
Want one of your own?
Leave a comment with your favorite stability ball exercise, and a lucky reader will win a Go Fit stability ball in their preferred size. (You’ll need a hand pump or something to pump it up- a local gym will do this for you, too)
I’ll announce the winner around midnight EST tonight.
[This giveaway was sponsored by Bella. She’s so generous]
xoxo
Gina
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I usually use the stability ball for ab exercises but I had the pleasure of doing a mountain climber tabata with it last night and I am definitely feeling it today! Might be my new fav. 🙂
I love me some stability ball lunges!
My favorite stability ball exercise is anything involving abs, especially the oblique twist! It hurts sooo good!
My go-to core exercise is the prone jackknife on the ball!
I’m a sucker for a stability ball, I love doing squats with them!
I like sit ups on the ball and the ball pass 🙂 I need to start doing more core work!
I have to try a stability ball. The hamstring looks challenging.
Yay! This is my first time leaving a comment! Have been reading your blog for awhile and love it! Thanks for all the great stability ball tips and thanks to Bella for the awesome giveaway! I love to use the stability ball to do leg squats against the wall while doing bicep curls transitioned into an over head press at the same time.
Slightly embarrassed to say I haven’t tried it but would love to! Am just adding some much needed strength training and this would be a big help.
Oooh, I like mixing in crunches and push-ups with the stability ball. Now that I know about the hamstring exercises, I’d like to try those, too 🙂
Hamstring curls FTW! I also like doing chest presses with shoulders on the ball (in a bridge). Adds extra challenge for glutes, hammies and core.
that stability ball makes my abs totally buff. and i’d love to have one at home to sit on while i watch TV. 🙂
Thank you Bella!
Man oh man that Bella is so sweet. Glad she is learning to share before the new baby arrives ;)!
I love using the stability ball for ab exercises. My favorite is putting my arms and weight on the stability ball and my feet on a medicine/BOsu ball..AB BURNER!
I’m all about the hamstring curls! I also sit on one at work during the day. It takes pressure off my back.
The only exercise I’ve consistanly done is simple crunches 🙁 Can’t wait to try these new ones though!
It’s not often I use a stability ball, but I like doing leg raises with the ball between my feet! Awesome giveaway!
I love using Stability Balls in my classes! One of my favorite hamstring exercises is to lie on your back and raise your hips off the ground with your feet propped on the ball (like you’re going to perform the above hamstring exercise) but instead of bringing your knees in, keep your legs straight and lift one leg off the ball- lower and lift that leg about 5 times, then switch to the other side. Holy hamstrings!! Great focus-on post Gina!
Crunches on the stability ball are about the only move I’ve worked up the courage to do. Winning one could change all this… 🙂
This has nothing to do with exercise but a stability ball was my lifesaver after E was born — when she was a newborn, the ONLY way we could get her to sleep was by sitting on the ball and bouncing up and down. I could always nurse her to sleep but for months, the only way my husband and grandmother could get her to sleep was with the exercise ball! So keep it handy when the baby arrives!
I love doing push-ups on the stability ball with the dreaded pike in between (exactly as you have mentioned in your post – push-up, pike, push-up, pike, repeat until something gives). I also have a stability ball office chair – love that it gives me a workout throughout the day!
you make me want a stability ball right now to work out on!
I love doing wall squats on the stability ball.. BURNNNNN!
I love stability ball workouts, I need one for our home gym!
My absolute FAVORITE stability ball exercises are the “dead bug” and the “inverted reverse crunch!”
The dead bug starts with the exerciser lying on his/her back with the ball between his/her ankles, then using the core muscles, s/he passes the ball to his/her hands, brings the hands back behind the head to touch the ball to the floor, then passes the ball back to catch it with his/her ankles! It’s a great total body/core work out.
The inverted reverse crunch is also great because it not only works the “front abs” but it works the “back abs” too – we all know how important it is to work 360 degrees of the muscle!
Meghan
I love doing ab pikes on the stability ball! really gets ALL the abs! !
I’m a big fan of hamstring curls, but I also just like sitting on them and bouncing around. 🙂
I’m a fan of the exercise where you hold the ball between your feet and lower and raise your legs, super hard but man does it work!
I love doing crunches on a stability ball. I have a bad back so it helps a lot to not have to use the hard floor and keeps me motivated to keep doing them!
I like doing chest flies on a stability ball or jack knife 🙂 they’re a great tool to feel the burn
My favorite stability ball move is to try and balance while kneeling on it. I’m trying to work my way up to standing!
I like using them when I do arm exercises instead of sitting on a regular work out bench. Also for abs…I need to be brave and try the push ups like you posted!
My favorite exercise with a stability ball is the one legged squat! I love squats in general, so it makes perfect sense that I’d opt for a squat exercise.
Do ab stretches count as an exercise? I love doing those after a long work day, feels so good!
i love doing pikes on the ball, in prone. kills me everytime!
I’m a big fan of Unilateral DB presses on the stability ball! A great article, its hard to believe something so cheap and portable could provide a full body workout!
crunches are my fav!!
Thanks for all the ideas! I’ve only done crunches on a stability ball (which I guess makes that my favorite) so I’m looking forward to adding more exercises to my repertoire!
I love doing pushups with the ball. I also love to use it for stretching.
Crunch variations are my favorite exercises on a stability ball – it’s amazing how much more I feel the burn than doing them on the floor!
Once I figure out how to do the push ups without falling off of the stability ball, that will be my favorite. 🙂
I have loved using stability balls to add extra challenge to crunches and any core exercises ever since I took a advanced circuit training classes at the base gym a few years ago. I took Melissa (the instructor)’s class for a year until they got rid of her position. ): I’ve also always wanted to try sitting on one at work but have never really had the right kind of work atmosphere, lol. Who knows though, I am at a new job now, with a much shorter desk, so it could be plausible, lol !
Push-ups are my favorite because they are that much more challenging on the stability ball!
My favorite exercise to do on a stability ball is a tie between back extensions and crunches.
Tahnks for this!
ok..now..a bosu? what the heck….?
Crunches are probably number on my list too!
The hamstring curl is definitely my fav! Picked it up from one of your Summer Shape Ups! This would be awesome to win since I’m hurtin for a new exercise ball…
I have one at home (a 65cm) that is slowly deflating. How can you tell when it’s filled properly? I just don’t want to be “that gal” that has the ball explode on her lol.
Oh, and my fave exercise is probably the hamstring curl. So hard!
The hamstring curls KICK. MY. BUTT. every time. But I also love just laying back on it….a great way to stretch out sore backs (from hunching over a desk all day) or sore abs!
I like doing crunches on a stability ball – I find them really boring on the floor but add in the ball and suddenly they are super challenging and kind of fun at the same time! 🙂
I absolutely love doing my “chest” exercises using a stability ball. I normally do all of my dumbbell chest press as well as chest flies on it because of what you mentioned, I am working more core at the same time!
It is an odd occurence if I don’t touch a stability ball at the gym during my workout …