The popular fitness product known as the exercise ball is many things to many people – over the time that it’s been used for keeping fit, experts and others have figured out a variety of ways that the exercise ball can “build” body strength.

One of the main ways involves sitting down- yeah, that doesn’t sound like much, does it?  But flocks of fitness types are suggesting that sitting on an exercise ball actually is exercise, because of the way the instability of the ball works the core muscles!

But that’s not all you can do with the ball; the simple inflated plastic sphere has a multitude of roles for those who want to stay flexible, strong...and healthy!

Other core building exercises on the ball include the back extension (lying with your stomach on the ball and moving your torso up and down), ball balance (lying on top of the ball and keeping off of the floor), and hip extension (moving your hips with your head on the floor and your feet on the ball).  Just taking a look at some of these basic activities shows that one of the uses of the exercise ball involves “propping” it between the user and the floor for some workouts that benefit specific body muscles.  Take these many different activities all together, and you get something that looks like a full body workout!

Another thing you can do with an exercise ball is stretch.  Why stretch?  Well, as many runners and fitness experts will tell you, stretching is vital for helping muscles to deal with the challenges that are placed on them by other activities.  That’s why many include stretching in “warm up” or “cool down” periods of their workouts.  But stretching anytime makes muscles stronger and more pliable.

Stretching activities on the exercise ball can include the chest stretch (torso (back) spread on the ball while the user is squatting on the floor), whole body stretch (user stands straight, bending torso down to touch ball with arms), and other similar positioning.

As if that’s not enough, an exercise ball can also be used for a range of “isometrics”: resistance exercises where the ball, squeezed between the legs or arms, operates as a resistance that works muscles.  For some of these, smaller exercise balls can be the best option, but for others, the regular sized exercise ball works well.  Some fitness enthusiasts choose to have several sizes of ball including the one recommended for their height and size.  

Well, these are just some of the things users can do with the exercise ball to get in shape.  And there’s more.  You can let your kids bat the ball around, take it to the beach (be sure to hose the ball off before re-introducing it to an indoor environment), or plug it into a window space to help with heating or cooling your building...you get the idea.  But seriously, take a look at what an exercise ball can do for your routine!