Sittin' on Your Fitness Ball?

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aeonteal

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so, what's the deal with sitting on your fitness ball? my friend says she knows someone who only sits on her fitness ball at home and that this chick has abs of steel.

another friend says that some of her co-workers sit on their fitness balls while they are at work because they are convinced that it works their abs all day.

does anyone else sit on their fitness ball all the time? if so, have you noticed whether it's significantly working your stomach muscles?
 
I sit on a ball when I work at my computer just because it reminds me to keep my posture good rather than slumping in a chair.
 
I can see how it might be a static exercise. You're abs will have to constantly keep your hips centered under you to prevent the ball from rolling around. I think it might be more hassle then it's worth, but it would be cool if someone could prove me wrong.

You can work your abs all day long, but to get visible abs you need to burn fat... end of story.

I don't think it would be detremental to anything, but don't expect huge gains from simply sitting on the ball.
 
I tried sitting on the fitness ball exclussively when in our family room a couple years ago - it made my knees hurt so I stopped. I don't know why it affected my knees, maybe the angle at which I was putting my feet?

Back then I thought it was worth a try for a bit of somewhat passive exercise. But the larger benefit was I found myself doing random core exercises throughout the day because I was already on the ball.

I'd probably still be sitting on that ball now if not for the knee issue.
 
NBS 4life said:
I sit on a ball when I work at my computer just because it reminds me to keep my posture good rather than slumping in a chair.
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Just because you said that, I'm gonna buy one. My posture has gotten better over the past few months. But if that's gonna help more I'll do it. :yelrotflmao:
 
I did a men;s fitness challene many months ago and the challenge was to stand on your fitness ball and do a squat.

I busted my butt, elbow, and knees falling off that thing, until I learned a few trainin tricks.

by sitting on the ball you have to activate the core for stabilization. It is good in my opinion.
 
aeonteal said:
so, what's the deal with sitting on your fitness ball? my friend says she knows someone who only sits on her fitness ball at home and that this chick has abs of steel.

another friend says that some of her co-workers sit on their fitness balls while they are at work because they are convinced that it works their abs all day.

does anyone else sit on their fitness ball all the time? if so, have you noticed whether it's significantly working your stomach muscles?
Click to expand...

sitting on a ball means abs of steal ha! more likely they do crunches on it when they work out.
 
Sitting on a fitness ball is actually a great abdominal workout as it helps promote a correct posture through balance and utilizes pretty much all of the core muscles including the hard to target transverse abdominus, making it a great bit of exercise for people suffering from lower back pain due to weak abdominals.

While it still must be supplemented by core exercises that utilize a greater range of motion, this is still a great functional exercise.

And if you have the balance for it, I recommend a variation that a professor used to make us do during the warmups of one of my kines classes back in college... instead of just sitting on the ball, kneel on top of it. MAKE SURE that you have some sort of support or stabilizer as it is so much more difficult to maintain your balance than just sitting on the ball.
 
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illiniphase4 said:
Sitting on a fitness ball is actually a great abdominal workout as it helps promote a correct posture through balance and utilizes pretty much all of the core muscles including the hard to target transverse abdominus, making it a great bit of exercise for people suffering from lower back pain due to weak abdominals.

While it still must be supplemented by core exercises that utilize a greater range of motion, this is still a great functional exercise.

And if you have the balance for it, I recommend a variation that a professor used to make us do during the warmups of one of my kines classes back in college... instead of just sitting on the ball, kneel on top of it. MAKE SURE that you have some sort of support or stabilizer as it is so much more difficult to maintain your balance than just sitting on the ball.
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I'd like to try that fer sure.
 
I've heard the same thing and all the trainers at my gym sit on the exercise balls. I'm going out in a few to get my own. I figure if I'm gonna sit on my dupa at night playing video games, I might as well do it on one of those. Besides I have nothing to sit on and I'm getting tired of my legs and feet falling asleep, let alone the pain I get in my busted knees.
 
Can the ball really improve your posture? My shoulders roll forward a little and when I sit or stand I always have a slightly more exaggerated curve in my lower back than is natural.
 
I did this for a few months once. But I slacked on refilling the air regularly. Then, one day, the ball burst under me when I went to sit on it, in front of a bunch of people, and there was much pointing and laughing uproariously. Haven't had one since.

Thanks for reminding me to get a new one. I definitely slouch in my excessively comfy executive leather.

Oh, and I definitely recommend it. To the guy who was talking about his knees, maybe your ball was the wrong size?
 
SonOz said:
Can the ball really improve your posture? My shoulders roll forward a little and when I sit or stand I always have a slightly more exaggerated curve in my lower back than is natural.
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It can help, though if you already have known postural problems, you should also be strengthening and stretching as well to correct those.

If you have an exaggerated curve in your lower back, you probably have a weak core/tight hamstrings and gluts.
 
SonOz said:
Can the ball really improve your posture? My shoulders roll forward a little and when I sit or stand I always have a slightly more exaggerated curve in my lower back than is natural.
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not entirely. I can slouch on mine if I wanted to. Posture, unfortunately, is more of something you have to concentrate on.
 
Since I was sitting on a ball while browsing threads, I decided to read this one. I sit on the ball and it keeps my back straight. I don't know about abs, but I haven't been doing it very long. Also my friend's mom swears it helps the circulation in her legs.
 
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Nice clarinet. LOL! Mine's in storage. :(

I've found myself to be getting more and more fidgety the more I sit on the ball. I'll tend to break into random sit-ups and just move all over, with my butt planted firmly on the ball.

Haven't noticed any real effect given from sittin on the ball.
 
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