By Pyc Fitness
©2004-2008
It started out as toy. Its name back in the early 1960s was a "space hopper," a 60- to 70-centimeter rubber ball with two handles for kids to hold as they bounced around the floor. Aquilino Cosani, an Italian plastics engineer, invented the toy. Today, space hoppers, minus the handles, have evolved into the more commonly known Swiss balls, stability balls or Physioballs. Since arriving in the United States in the early 1970s as a physical therapy device, they've become staples in just about every gym.
Despite their widespread use, there's still frequent debate about their effectiveness. Some people swear by them, using the balls for every conceivable exercise. Others believe they're something of a gimmick with negligible benefits. While I wouldn't use them for every exercise, if you're in the latter group, I've got news for you.
The stability ball, in my opinion, is probably the most versatile piece of equipment you can find —- and one of the best. With a little creativity, you can work your entire body to complete exhaustion and in ways that you simply can't on a machine or with traditional free-weight exercises. And because of the unstable nature of the ball, almost any exercise you perform is going to force you to use more of your core. The benefits are well-documented. Stability balls lead to "improved neuromuscular control, balance, strength, stability and overall health," the National Strength and Conditioning Association reported in its October journal.
Working on a stability ball requires greater muscular unit recruitment and increased muscle firing, the article states. Studies show that doing sit-ups on the stability ball recruits more muscle fibers than any abdominal exercise. You'll work not only your rectus abdominus —- the superficial six-pack muscles —- but you're going to work your deeper abdominal muscles, e.g. your internal and external obliques, your transverse abdominus, and those are the muscles that are crucial to stabilizing the core, supporting the spine and creating better posture. That's part of the reason that the balls first became popular in the field of physical therapy —- they were found to reduce back pain, as well as improve joint function.
And from there, the stability ball has just continued to roll its way into the field of athletic performance. The stability ball will lead to improvements in proprioception: your body's sensory awareness, the speed at which the brain sends signals to the body. If those signals are sent faster, with muscles firing quicker, you're going to react faster.
"This is vital to making an athlete quick, agile, balanced and more able to make correct decisions in a split second," the report stated.
There's no doubt in my mind that stability balls are highly effective for everyone —- from pre-teen to elderly, from sedentary to elite athlete. Of course, the level of exercises performed would vary depending on the ability of each.
The stability ball is an incredible tool, but keep in mind that it is just one of many that you need to build that balanced body. If you're looking to build maximum power, you wouldn't be doing much training on a stability ball. For instance, if you were performing a chest press on the ball, because of the instability, there would be about a 30 percent decrease in force, velocity and power compared with working on a stable surface. Your prime movers, chest and front delts in this case, would be taxed less, but your abdominals, glutes, hips and hamstrings would contribute as stabilizers in ways that they wouldn't if you were on a bench.
"If unstable surfaces do not allow for maximum force, output, power or velocity, the exercise will be ineffective in improving strength. Thus there is still a need for resistance training on stable surfaces," the report said.
Also, don't get carried away on the ball. As one fitness guru said, standing on a stability ball will only make you better at standing on a stability ball. That's an impressive feat, but it's not functional. Stay tuned for examples of some stability exercises in the near future.
Crazy Fit Massage , Ab Rocket , Leg Magic , AB Lounge XL , trampoline , perfect pushup , exercise bike , Air climber , the bean exerciser , Bowflex , Treadmill , Pilates Equipment , Ladders , sitemap , More Products...