Exercise balls are often known as Swiss balls. These are the special type of exercise balls that are made with elastic rubber to do flexible exercises. The diameter of an exercise ball or Swiss ball is approximately 35 to 85 cm. Exercise balls or Swiss balls are mainly used in different physical therapies as well as physical exercises. There are several different names for the Swiss balls which are included balance ball, body ball, birth ball, therapy ball, physioball, Swedish ball, pilates ball, blue ball, gym ball, fit ball, stability ball, yoga ball, body ball, etc. though it is used for physical exercises it is much lighter than a medicine ball which is a weighted ball.
Being a multi-utility ball, the use of exercise balls was first introduced in the year 1965 in Switzerland. A group of physiotherapists used these kinds of exercise balls to reduce physical stress and to do some flexibility exercises. There are different types of exercise balls available in the market. Most physiotherapists as well as fitness trainers prefer a special exercise ball that fits the leg length, height hips, and knees of each person. While doing exercises with the exercise balls, one should keep the hips and knees at a more than 90-degree angle.
Sometimes, exercise balls are available with so many features. They are sometimes expansible and made with vinyl or plastic or with solid foam rubber to make them flexible. The Inflatable exercise balls can get easily punctured due to their expansible nature. So, Inflatable exercise balls are not suitable for any kind of stretching or flexibility training.
While you are doing some exercise with the exercise balls, you must keep one thing in mind, you shouldn’t wear any sharp or pointed things such as belt buckles, jewelry, or any other things. Apart from these, the exercise balls are made of plastic or vinyl rubber, so direct heat of sunlight may harm these balls so do not expose exercise balls to direct sunlight.
Forms of exercises with the exercise balls
There are several forms of exercises with the exercise balls. Here you can go through these forms-
- Hip extension
- Ab roll
- Butt lift
- Ball balance
- Back extension
- Ball Rotation
- Ball Twist
Before buying an exercise ball, you must test your ball with the weight test and other tests. There are some manufacturers who serve load tests to check the capability of the ball. Providing many facilities, exercise balls are very efficient in maintaining the shape of the body. There are some special facilities that exercise balls provide.
Facilities with the exercise balls:
- Weight training can be done with flexible exercise balls.
- You can just sit on the exercise ball to improve your posture while watching television or just sitting.
- These exercise balls also help in the abdominal training process as these balls help in doing twists, crunches, and other physical exercises.
- The exercise balls help in flexibility training including yoga and pilates exercises.
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