The exercise ball

For years the exercise ball has been my favourite piece of workout equipment. If you have small living situation, it can be the only piece you ever need! Every muscle in your body can be worked on this ball, especially your core muscles.

Buying the right size ball

Exercise ball diameter	Person's height
45 cm	5' and under
55 cm	5'1"– 5'8"
65 cm	5'9"– 6'2"
75 cm	6'3"– 6'7"
85 cm	6'8" and taller

This is a general table of measurement to help you buy the right size ball. Be sure to take the flexibility of the ball and the amount of air into consideration, which means think about your weight. Because of the flexibility of the materials and the amount of air, you could be compressing a 55cm ball too much and so may find the 65cm one better suited to your body composition. Try to buy a ball that's made with a high quality material that will remain flexible and is comfortable against your skin. Most will come with an instructional video but there are great ones online or check out a class for some ideas.

Is it the right size?

Sit on the ball when it is completely blown up--generally it should be fairly firm to give you the best results.

• Feet should be flat on the floor - with an even weight distribution.
• Knees should be level or slightly lower than the pelvis - creating an angle of 90 degrees or slightly greater at the hips and knees (thighs parallel to ground or pointing down slightly).
• Pelvis, shoulders, and ears should be in a vertical line - the body should not be leaning in any direction as a counterbalance. Bouncing up and down lightly will usually produce this alignment.

Simply sitting on an exercise ball is great for your posture. It activates your core muscles by forcing you to sit tall and stay balanced; if you begin to slouch in any direction, you won't only feel it more in your back, you'll fall off the ball! Some people opt to switch out their work chair for an exercise ball because of the great anatomical positioning and it can help to alleviate back pain. There have been several studies where classrooms have switched the student chairs for exercise balls.  It lead to higher levels of concentration and students were more attentive, they could get a lot of the "wiggles" out sitting on the ball while remaining attuned to the classroom activity. However, on the downside, you're forced to keep your muscles highly engaged for a long period of time in this position so you may find you're more sore and the muscles are becoming overly fatigued.  I would suggest opting to sit on the ball while you're watching TV or working on a particular assignment on the computer rather than being on the ball all day.

Benefits of the exercise ball in fitness when pregnant

• Postural alignment: Because postural alignment is so important to consider when pregnant, the exercise ball is a great tool to help realign your posture by simply sitting on it. You will feel your core muscles, spine and neck align completely.
• Core activation: Your deep abdominal and back muscles will be activated for stabilization while sitting/exercising on the ball and this will  put you in touch with your centre of gravity. You will also be activating your pelvic floor muscles that we want to strengthen throughout pregnancy and for post-partum recovery. Simply sitting on the ball will activate these muscles but can also engage the core while doing other exercises.
• Back and spine health: Sitting on the ball while exercising is great for extra support to reduce stress in the lower back. You can also lay on it for instant relief.
• Muscle balance: We often train some sets of muscles more than others which results in muscles imbalance.  For example, we may target the upper body more than the lower body or we target the anterior (chest, arms, and quads) more than the posterior (glutes, hamstrings and back). The exercise ball helps support the posterior muscles and activate those muscles even as we target the anterior muscles.

Post partum benefits of the exercise ball                                                                                               

• Isolate and strengthen the deep abdominal muscles 
• Retrain the stretched pelvic floor muscles with kegels and gentle ball exercises
• Stretch or strengthen the multifidus muscles
• Re-educate the stabilizing musculature

The great thing about the exercise ball is that it gives you excellent support while you're retraining your body and will help you ease back into fitness. It's important to rebuild your stabilizing muscles and your pelvic floor muscles before challenging your body to a more intense workout.
The ball is also great if you have a fussy baby. Besides swinging or rocking or gently bouncing baby which will all exhaust your arms, take a seat on the ball and bounce! It's easier on your body and still has the benefits of movement for baby. A friend of mine swore by this to help with the digestive problems of her little guy. Remember to take all necessary precautions to bounce safely.

Using the exercise ball--These can all be in pregnancy and beyond!                                                   
The ball can be used in many, many and many more ways.  It can be as simple as sitting on the ball to realign your posture or can be a tool to challenge your sense of balance in a number of different ways. These are just a sample of some great exercises but don't forget that the ball can be an added challenge to your balance as part of any weight training program rather than sitting on a bench.

Posture work:  Sit on the ball with your feet directly below your knees, use the mirror to ensure your body is in proper alignment.  Press your hips back and pull them forward to feel the variations to your placement.

Rotation muscles strengthening and release: Sit on the ball properly with your feet slightly wider than your hips. Press your hips forward and back and then side to side. Begin to circle your hips in one direction, pausing slightly at each point.  Remember to focus on using your obliques and abs to press your hips rather than pushing from your feet. The ball should move only with the movement of your body, the rest of your stays stable.

Centre abdominal muscles: Your crunches can be done on a ball (and in fact are more challenging!).  Sit on the ball then walk your feet out until your lower back and hips are positioned on the ball. Hands to your temple or across your chest. Slowly squeeze your abdominals and press your chest upwards, think about pressing upwards rather than pressing forward toward your knees. Because we want to be more cautious with crunches to prevent diastasis recti (separation of the abdominal wall) you do not need a large range of motion to get the full benefits of this exercise. Keep your hips lifted the whole time to also activate the lower back and glutes.

Obliques:  Sit on the ball then walk your feet out until your lower back and hips are positioned on the ball. Hands to your temple or across your chest. Slowly squeeze your abdominals and reach your right hand out towards your left knee. Come back to starting position then switch to the left hand-right knee. Again, you don't need a large range of motion to get the benefits. Keep your hips lifted the whole time to also activate the lower back and glutes.

Lower abdominals: Sitting on the ball with feet under knees, slowly lift one foot at a time, keeping your hips still and balanced. Focus on using your lower abs to lift the knee up rather than using your hips and leg muscles. When you can lift each leg comfortably at a time, try to lift both at the same time. You'll be activating all your muscles to balance on the ball.

Hamstrings: Lying on an inclined bench, dig your heels into the top of the ball with your knees above your hips. Press your feet out until your legs are practically straight, dig your heels deeper to pull the ball back in to starting position. The more your dig in your heels, the deeper the burn.

Glutes and hips: Lying on an inclined bench, dig your heels into the top of the ball with your knees above your hips. Squeezing your glutes, press your hips upward, pause then lower the hips down. You'll feel this also in your lower back and your core. Because you're at an angle, you may not be able to go as high as you would if you were lying flat on the floor.

Upper back, triceps and core: Kneel on the floor behind the ball and dig your elbows into the ball. Press the ball forward, dig your elbows deeper and activate your core muscles to pull the ball back. Again, you do not need to have a large range of motion to really feel this! The harder your dig your elbows into the ball, the higher the benefits!

Upper back: Kneel on the floor behind the ball with your chest resting on the ball. Reach your arms wide out to the sides and lift back, squeezing between your shoulder blades. If you want to increase intensity, hold a weight in each hand. Focus on keeping a long "wing span" and keeping your shoulders down from your ears.

Shoulders and chest: Stand with the ball between your hands at your hips. Squeeze your hands together to activate the chest muscles. With your arms long out in front of your but slightly bent, lift the ball up to just above shoulder height, keeping your hands squeezing, and slowly lower down. Keep the movements slow to really engage the muscles.

Legs: Stand with your lower back on the ball against a wall. Slowly lower yourself down into a sitting position then squeeze your glutes to rise back up. The ball will roll up your back giving a nice massage and pressing against the ball will engage more core muscles. Try and hold each sit for at least 30 seconds.

Legs: Sit on the floor with your back against the ball (you many need to hold the ball at the beginning against you) and feet flat to the floor. Press your heels into the floor to roll back up over the ball then slowly yourself down to starting position.


Stretching:
Upper back: Sit on your knees with your arms reaching out in front of you and your palms on the ball. Let the ball fall press forward and let your head fall between your arms, drop your hips and chest down to get a deep stretch.

Lower and upper back: Sitting on your knees or squatting behind the ball, reach your arms over top the ball and give it a big hug. (This stretch is also suggested while you're in labour to help ease contractions)

Hamstrings: Sit on the ball with one leg reaching long out in front of you and foot flexed. Tip from your hips leaning down this leg. Hold for 30 seconds then switch to the other leg.

Side stretch: Kneel on the floor with the ball on your right side. Reach your right arm over the ball and lie on the ball on your right side. Reach your left arm over your head and over the ball to feel the stretch in your left side, you may want to stretch out your legs to reach farther. Hold for 30 seconds then switch to the other side.

Abdominal stretch (some find this stretch feels great while others find it uncomfortable): Sit on the ball then walk your feet out so your lower back is resting against the ball and your hips are down. Stretch your arms over your head and reach back over the ball. You'll feel this right through the abdominal muscles and, again, you don't need a large range of motion to get the benefits, you may find simply lying back over the ball without reaching your arms is enough.

An exercise ball is a cheap, useful piece of fitness equipment that can be used in so many ways and has so many health benefits. Check out online tools for even more ideas!

See you at the gym!!