"Round Out" Your Workout

Are you looking for a good way to "round out" your glutes and strengthen your hamstrings? Hamstring curls on the ball are a great way to do that. You will also be strengthening your core. (Of course!)

Step 1: Begin by lying down on the mat with your legs extended all the way out and your heels on top of the ball. Press your heels lightly into the ball and engage your abs. Engaging the abdominal muscles first is a very important step, as it will keep you balanced on the ball.


Step 2:Next, you will lift your hips off the mat. Once you are stable, bring your heels in towards your glutes and then extend the legs all the way back out. That is one repetition. Your hips will stay lifted as you execute all twelve repetitions of this exercise. If you are unable to stay balanced on the ball with your hips off of the mat, you can perform this exercise with your hips on the mat.



I would suggest doing at least two sets of these.
You can do this exercise 2 to 3 times per week.

**This exercise is safe to do during all stages of pregnancy, if your hips are raised and you are not interfering with the flow of blood to the uterus. However, if you begin to feeling numbness or a tingling sensation in your lower body, you should stop doing the exercise.

Push-ups on The Ball

Last month I mentioned that the two best exercises to do to get your arms ready for beach season are dips (for triceps)and pushups. Pushups on the floor (on your toes) may seem very challenging but a great way to work up to that is to do pushups on the ball.

To do pushups on the ball:
-Start kneeling behind the ball.
-Engage the abs and roll out onto the ball (face down) until your knees are on top of the ball.
-Walk your arms out so that your hands are wider than your shoulders. (Hands should be in line with shoulders)
-Bend the elbows lowering your chest towards the floor.
-Perform 10-15 of these.
-Remember not to flop over when you are done. It is important to get off of the ball the same way that you got on it. Walk your hands back until you are kneeling behind the ball.

As you improve you can walk your body further out on the ball until your toes are on the ball. (see picture below)

Does Size Really Matter?

Actually, yes it does...at least when it comes to choosing the correct stability ball. Most stability balls come with a chart that will tell you what size ball is good for your height, such as this:

Your height Ball size
Less than 5'2" 45 cm
5'2" to 5'7" 55 cm
5'8" to 6 ' 65 cm
More than 6' 75 cm

However, once you get your ball home and inflate it, you want to make sure that it is, in fact, the right size for you:

-Sit on top of the ball (preferably in front of a mirror) with abs engaged and shoulder blades back.
-Check to make sure that your knees are in line with your hips.

If your knees are above your hips, the ball is too tall. However, if your knees are below your hips, the ball is too short. In either of these cases, if the ball is fully inflated, you should exchange the ball for the next size so that you will be able to maintain perfect posture on the ball.

A Simple Exercise for a Better Pregnancy and Delivery (Part 1)

There are a couple of very easy exercises that I like to do with expectant mamas that help to relieve discomforts during pregnancy and prepare them for labor and delivery. In class, we do them on a stability ball but they can be done standing and seated as well.

The first is called pelvic tilts. To do pelvic tilts:
-Sit on top of the ball with your feet hip width apart and flat on the floor.
-Engage the abs and roll the shoulder blades back. Sit as tall as possible.
-Slide your hips slightly forward on the ball. (The ball will move with you)
-Slide your hips back (moving past your starting position so that your tailbone is tilted behind you.)

Click here for a video demonstration.

You can repeat this exercise as many times as you can. Start with a small amount of repetitions (10) and increase as you go along. If you are early in your pregnancy, this will seem easy, but it is good to do to prepare your hips for labor. This exercise is also good for relieving lower back pain and can be done after you have the baby as well. (Babies love to be held during exercises on the ball.)

In class we do a set of these in between other exercises as a "break" but you can also do pelvic tilts as an exercise on their own.

Get on the Ball!

If you only ever invest in one piece of fitness "equipment" in your life, you should invest in a stability ball.

I love to show my clients how to do exercises on the stability ball. Almost any exercise that you would do on a traditional, stationary machine at the gym, can be done on the stability ball-only better.

Using the stability ball is better because you are forced to use your core muscles even while you are strengthening other muscle groups. Traditional, stationary machines at the gym only allow you to work one muscle group at a time. Using the ball is much more efficient by forcing you to recruit at least two muscle groups at once. (Try doing an exercise on the ball without engaging your abs)

This is where body awareness comes in. You have seen people on the quad machine before, doing their exercise while reading Us Weekly. They are not even paying attention! You can not do that while working on the ball. (Don't worry, you can read about John and Jen breaking up again when you are done.)

Expectant mamas will want to have one to use for exercises that help to open the hips and to use during labor.

The good thing is that these things are literally sold every where. You will find them at specialty sporting goods stores and websites but also in the fitness aisle of your favorite big box store, near the fitness section and your favorite big book store and even at your favorite discount stores.

The stability ball also serves as a great extra chair for guests!

Pick up one this weekend!