Fitness Friday: Stability Ball Basics with Chalene Johnson

STABILITY BALL Basics! This is important info. Please click share!

At the top of the list of home exercise equipment that I recommend is the an exercise ball. Stability balls can be used at the office to improve posture, to make crunches more effective, squats safer, dynamic stretch deeper and so much more. I use mine as a bench for strength training and from time to time I use it to throw at one of my kids… just to remind them who’s boss. I’m often asked what size exercise ball to buy. The answer is really determined by your height. I hope this video helps you to understand how to use the ball to make crunches more effective and how to select the right size based on your height.

Stability Ball Basics Sizing

These are basic guidelines – but the true test is the “seated test.” So while this is a good starting point, how much your ball is inflated or deflated will affect its effectiveness:

• 4’11” to 5’4″ height: 55 cm ball
• 5’4″ to 5’11” height: 65 cm ball
• 5’11” to 6′ 7″ height: 75 cm ball

When seated, your knees should be at approximately 90 degrees and your hips should be parallel to the knees and not drop below or sit above your knees.

Crunches on the ball become more difficult the higher you sit up on the ball. As you allow your hips to sink toward the floor, the crunch is easier. The higher your hips sit on the ball, the more challenging each crunch becomes.

Year after year, study after study, new gadget after new gadget, time after time, the research indicates that the stability ball is one of the most effective ways to stimulate muscle engagement and provide an extremely proficient way to train the core in fewer reps than it takes to do the same thing by just doing crunches on the floor.

I’m adding more videos to my YouTube channel to help educate, entertain and motivate you! Please stop by and subscribe to my channel….. It’s www.youtube.com/chalenejohnson.

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