6 Awesome Core Exercises with a Swiss (Stability) Ball

         A Swiss (stability) ball is essential for core training and strengthening. The Swiss ball provides an unstable environment which forces your core to work harder because it has to execute the execise and keep stable at the same time. The burns more calories and trains the core better than stable exercises of abdominal machines. 

People of all ages do not realize the importance of core training and strength. It keeps you from losing your balance, prepared for heavier lifting and reduces the chances of injury. Here are some examples of Swiss ball exercises you can use to change up your core training workouts.

Swiss Ball Crunch

Swiss Ball Tucks

Ball Double Side Leg Lifts

Swiss Ball Twists

Swiss Ball Back Extensions

Swiss Ball Alternating One Leg Crunch

 

 

Beginners: Beware of Fast Paced 30 Minute or Less Workout Programs

Are You Ready 30 Minute or Less; Fast-Paced Workout Programs?

I'm sure there are plenty people out there that FINALLY started their NEW YEAR NEW ME for 2020, barely got themselves used to doing some fitness activity and NOW quarantined at home for an undisclosed amount of time. Now what do you do? There are a lot of advertisements for at home workouts that require time and some equipment and then there are other programs that are fast paced and only take 30 minutes or less to do. Before you jump on the band wagon to these types of quick workouts, ask yourself, are you ready for high impact workouts?

A lot of these exercises do not seem like much, do not use much equipment and being done fast with a workout sounds very appealing, but how long has it been since you were active like the instructors are the program? If it has been more than 6 months since you were training consistently, you need to start from the beginning with regular slow paced workouts with adequate amounts of rest. This might sound boring and asking for too much time, but this will greatly reduce you chances of getting injured which will lead you to stopping your fitness goals for an undetermined amount of time. 

If you lack flexibility, core strength, joint stability and muscular development then you are deconditioned and need to start with a low intensity exercise program. A type of program that starts the focus on core strengthening, joint stability, flexibility and muscular endurance. Starting off with exercises that use a Swiss ball, Bosu ball and one legged exercise are key in strengthening stability and muscle coordination. In addition, the increased difficulty of using unstable exericses helps burn more calories which burns more fat. These types of exercises are done with moderate amounts of weight with high repetitions. Once you have mastered exercising with untable enviroments then you are ready to move on to more strenous type of training

In order to see results, I would recommend engaging in this type of training for at least 4 - 6 weeks. Log your workouts in a journal along with sets, reps and weight amounts. When an exercise becomes too easy is when you move up in weight. On this blog you can find many examples of exercises that include a Swiss ball (stability ball), a Bosu ball and are one legged. You can also find other examples on my Youtube Channel 

Swiss Ball Total Body Workout 🏋🏽‍♀️

 Swiss Ball Total Body Workout 

Swiss Ball Dumbbell Chest Press

4 Sets

10 - 12 Reps, Heavy Weight

Swiss Ball Weighted Crunch 

4 Sets

12 - 15 Reps, Moderate Weight 

Swiss Ball Dumbbell Squats

4 sets

15 - 20 Reps

Swiss Ball Dumbbell Wide Row

4 Sets

10 - 12 Reps, Moderate Weight

Swiss Ball Bulgarian Split Squats

4 Sets

12 - 15 Reps, Each Leg

Swiss Ball Russian Twist 

15 Reps, Each Side with Moderate Weight

Swiss Ball Dumbbell Chest Flys

4 Sets

12 - 15 Reps

Swiss Ball Back Extensions

4 Sets

12 - 15 Reps, Last rep hold torso up with a 10 - 15 sec hold

Swiss Ball Single Leg Curl

4 Sets

12 - 15 Reps, Each Leg

Beginners can use both legs at the same time

Swiss Ball Reverse Plank

4 Sets

45 sec - 1 min hold