Swiss ball: the best exercises to improve your body at home
Improve your posture, slim your arms and thighs, shape your buttocks, strengthen your back: the Swiss ball is a large ball that allows you to strengthen your muscles. Athletic Trainer Emily Blaise tells us about the best exercises to do with a Swiss ball, to improve your silhouette!
The advantages of the Swiss ball
The Swiss ball is a large ball that is especially used during Pilates sessions, or at the gym for muscle strengthening and toning exercises.
It can be used in very different ways depending on each person's needs and has many advantages, such as:
Posture correction and improvement
The instability of the ball, when you are sitting on it, or when your legs are resting on it, for example, allows effective work of the deep muscles as the body tries to find balance.
Work on the silhouette
Combined with a balanced diet and a healthy lifestyle, using Swiss ball can be a good option when looking to lose weight. Muscle strengthening will help tone the muscles and get visible results on the silhouette.
deep relaxation
If several muscle-strengthening exercises can be performed on such a large ball, relaxation sessions are also suitable. In addition to regular exercise for example, or at the end of the day to relieve tension in the body, you can do some stretching movements with the Swiss ball, associated with breathing exercises.
The best exercises to lose weight with the Swiss ball
Refine your arms
Lie on the ball, legs straight.
On inspiration, bend the arms, keeping the bust well sheathed, the legs will have the effect of a pendulum, they will remain in tension, they will rise upwards.
On the exhale, straighten the arms to return to the initial position, while continuing to gain good abs.
strengthen your back
Place your chest and upper thighs on the ball on all fours.
Extend your arms in line with your back, and extend them as you get taller on the inhale.
When self-extending, you should form a very straight line with your back, neck, and arms extended.
On exhalation, release the upper body to the ball.
butt muscles
Lie on your back, arms along your body.
Extend one leg toward the ceiling and place the other on the ball (calf supported).
On an exhale, raise your pelvis to the sky, and take inspiration to rest your pelvis on the ground.
Right and left leg stretched alternately toward the ceiling.
Draw the abdominal muscles and work on the adductors
Lie on your back, arms along your body. Holding the ball to the legs and ankles, come put your knees above your hips.
On the inspiration, come put the ball on the floor, on the exhale Come put your knees above the hips, squeeze the ball and engage the abdominal muscles.
Improve posture and relax the body
Sit on the ball, with your torso bent and your feet flat on the floor.
On an inhale, lift yourself up, aligning your outstretched arms with your back.
On an exhale, release your upper body toward the floor and take a few deep breaths.
Choose cardio to burn maximum calories
Ideally, in addition to targeted muscle-strengthening exercises, doing cardio will allow you to burn as many calories as possible. Running, for example, allows for the expenditure of energy and toning the back muscles, calf muscles, quadriceps, quadriceps, as well as abdominal muscles. A very complete sport within the reach of everyone, whatever their level.
To lose weight effectively, choose interval training, which consists of alternating phases of high-intensity effort, phases of recovery ... You can also do interval training very well on a treadmill or while swimming. Choose the physical activity you want!
The benefit is twofold: as a bonus, the exercises performed with the Swiss ball will help prevent the risk of injury, will provide better resistance to effort and will improve performance!
How to choose the Swiss ball?
To avoid the risks of pain and injury, ball selection is important. It is essential to choose the right size for your balloon. To see if it is suitable for your height, position yourself on it in a seated position and make sure your feet are flat on the floor. Ideally, your hips and knees should form a 90-degree angle.
Swiss football: mistakes to be avoided with this big ball
bad back posture
When you sit on the big ball, you need to take care of your posture: some people will try to arch their back, and, on the contrary, others will tend to slouch, their shoulders are bent and their backs will be too round.
To control your posture, start by standing sideways in the mirror, or by photographing yourself. Try to have your back as neutral as possible, not too round and not too flat, with good buttock support.
Tendency to stress
The balancing act provided by a large ball can cause beginners to lose balance, which automatically causes the body to become tense and tense. To avoid this, you can start the exercises with the help of a stick, or lean against the wall to do the sit-ups.