New ways to exercise are always being invented, there is a particularly new and exciting way of exercising that has become very popular - gym balls. some reasons for the popularity of these Swiss ball exercises are that it is extremely portable, it is low impact (therefore it is particularly quiet), it doesn’t require much space and the equipment doesn’t cost very much.

Probably the most popular exercise ball in use at the moment is the Swiss ball. It is an inflatable ball which is usually around 65 or 75 cm in diameter. Many folks simply use this ball in place of their chair at work. when you are sitting on a Swiss ball, it feels quite natural to make small rocking movements rather than just sitting still which obviously works the core and also provides a small amount of exercise even while just sitting around.

But when it is used in the course of normal exercise the Swiss ball is an amazingly versatile piece of kit. Most of the exercises using the Swiss ball work the core primarily but all of the exercises work secondary muscles at the same time and you can also emulate the same kind of exercises that you can do on home gym equipment.

One day while I was working at the gym, a gym instructor showed me how to do press ups by putting my feet on top of the ball. While doing this, the feet attempt continually to roll off the top of the ball, therefore as well as the usual benefits that can be gained from doing press ups, you are also continually working the core which is trying to stop the feet from rolling off the sides of the ball.

Most Swiss ball exercises use similar principles - some part of the body is elevated on the top of the ball and this part of the body is encouraged by gravity to roll off the side of the ball. this may not sound very technical and you might assume that there aren’t many exercises that can be done in this manner. But you simply have to do a search on youtube for the term Swiss ball exercise and very soon you will probably find that there are literally tons of different exercises that you can do with the Swiss ball.

In fact, once you have tried doing these exercises and learning new ones you will most likely begin inventing your own novel ones before too long. Going back to the press up with your feet resting on the Swiss ball, once you attempt this you will notice that it not only works the core, but it also gives a new dimension to the upper body work that you do. As you will probably discover during press ups the whole of your upper body will eventually start to quiver and shake because of the extra forces transferred from the feet all the way down the body to the arms. This is one of the many reasons why using the Swiss ball for exercise is so effective.

As mentioned, there are loads of exercises that can be carried out using the Swiss ball. But if we jump ahead to the advanced level one of the hardest but most advantageous methods of using the Swiss ball is to carry out exercises while standing on top of it. This is not recommended for beginners as it can be particularly dangerous. Once one is ready to try these advanced exercises, you should initially learn how to kneel on the Swiss ball. Then once this has been mastered, you can advance to standing on it.

Again, by searching youtube you will locate some great examples of exercises that you can carry out while standing on top of a Swiss ball. When searching, you will find that they have a variety of names such as Swiss balls, balance balls and exercise balls. The most important thing to consider while attempting to master the skill is that when you involuntarily dismount the landing can be quite painful, therefore safety mats should be used to start at all times. Obviously, the natural tendency is for the legs to slide off the side of the ball which is the same as your feet going from under you - such as when slipping on ice. Please bear this in mind as the main reason for exercising is to improve your health, not to damage it.

When you have mastered standing on a Swiss ball, you will be a Swiss ball master and will have amazingly strong core and legs and an amazing balance ability.

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