Swissballs or Stability Balls as they are commonly known, are one of the most versatile pieces of equipment you can have in the home, and for that matter even in the gym! In particular for people with lower back pain or stability problems, swissball training is possibly one of the best things you can add into your daily exercise routine. We also highly recommend to people when starting out exercising to get one, as it can significantly assist you with many of the more difficult skills, stretches and exercises you need to do. But the added bonus of this piece of equipment is it can also be used to challenge you once you have improved. In this article we will explain what swissball is right for you and what some of the best exercises are so you can get the most out of your new piece of equipment.
The Origins Of Swissball Training
There is a lot of confusion and debate in the Fitness industry as to the relevance of swissballs. Some people believe that they are just a circus stunt and do not belong in the gym. This feeling is often portrayed to me by people in sports and people looking to build muscle and strength. Then there are others that do take this training too far and completely misunderstand how to design programs that work for the individual. I always find it important to know how an exercise method was discovered or where it originated from in order to fully understand it. So here is the background on the history of the swissball.
In spite of its original name, the "Swiss Ball" was invented in Italy in 1963 as a toy called the Gymnastik by an engineer Aquilino Cosani. Using the Bobath method of stroke/neuro-developmental rehabilitation, Dr. Elseth Kong and Mary Quinton, an English physical therapist developed pediatric neurological rehab programs using the Swiss Ball. Dr. Susan Klein-Vogelbach (a Swiss Physical Therapist) incorporated its use into orthopaedic and other medical areas, postural re-education and back rehabilitation. Check out our Back Pain FREE Report to see just how many swissball exercises we use. In the 1980's American physical therapists visiting European clinics learned of its use and brought this knowledge back to North America; hence, the name "Swiss Ball". During the early 1990s, the exercise ball moved from the rehabilitation setting into the athletic arena and now is prominent in the fitness world. The fitness industry being as it is, is always on the look out for new and innovative ways to get better results for their clients and began stocking its gyms with balls, started a new "trend" in CORE STRENGTHENING. These days stability balls are used by physical therapists, exercise physiologists, rehab trainers and various other health professionals for all types of exercise and therapy, and as I will show you later even specific sports training. We have been using this type of training for over 10 years now in our rehabilitation programs, and is covered in great detail in our 6 week Core Essentials class on Wednesday night at 7pm. We devote an entire 2 weeks of this class to learning the key fundamentals so you can begin using this equipment on your own at home. Click here to see more details about this class.
Before we move on to the exercises it is extremely important that you have the right ball. We only buy good quality balls, from trusted suppliers, something that is a bit coarse and not smooth is preferred. Many of the products you will find in retail outlets are of poor quality and not ideal to use. Especially in the home as when you use a smooth ball on carpet it will slip, which can be disastrous if you are doing some of the more complex exercises with dumbbells. Our preferred supplier is AOK Health or Exercise Shop as both of these suppliers have great products that you can purchase online and get shipped to your door.
Make Sure You Have The Right Size Ball
Stability ball diameter and Your height
45cm ball is good for those 5 feet and under
55cm ball is good for those 5-1 - 5-6
65cm ball is good for those 5-7 - 6-2
75cm ball is good for those 6-3 - 6-7
Swissballs Are Multi-Functional
One advantage that Swiss ball exercises possess over more traditional exercises is that they allow movement in all three planes: the sagital, transverse and frontal. Think of the many exercises that are found in typical training programs – bench press, shoulder press, lat pulldown, bicep curls, planks etc. These are all sagital-plane dominant, (meaning they are moving in a straight line). Yet how many sports or daily activities are performed without twisting, side bending or rotation? None! In addition, Swiss ball exercises require a constant recruitment of your core muscles, which does not occur with machine training or many of the overused exercises like crunches or planks. Using a ball also improves balance, which in turn improves agility. Put simply these exercises enhance both your spine and also your stability through your joints in your arms and legs, which helps to prevent injury. Swiss ball training strengthens postural muscles, which are generally weak from an over-exposure to a sitting or lack of correct movement and are not conditioned by most traditional weight training exercises. Finally, Swiss ball exercises provide high levels of nervous system activation, challenging the nervous system, and therefore, allow people to better transfer their strength and power to the sporting or occupational environment. Now you can begin to see the amazing benefits of using a Swiss ball in your exercise program and how it make a massive difference to your health and athletic performance.
Stability Ball Training Is Great For Sports
There are many athletes like Mick Fanning the Professional surfing champion who use stability training as a key component in his preparation. Click here to see him in action, it is amazing! But why is not embraced in other sports? I am always dumbfounded when someone questions the relevance of balance training for sports. In particular AFL football players. The belief that all you need to be a good player is bigger is just stupid. I have worked with many professional athletes and the biggest weakness in all of them was a lack of stability and balance, not strength. It makes you wonder why all levels of athletes have not embraced structured balance training. I believe it is because it is not understood and that people are not aware that balance is highly trainable. I have completed some of the most advanced training courses with Twist Conditioning and Peter Twist the CEO explains balance training for sports here.
"Balance training overloads the variety of ‘software’ the muscles rely on to detect, read and process mechanical adjustments. We can teach this software to compute accurate responses and command the muscles to get the job done right. This system of mini brains sensing shifts in body position and muscles reacting with corrective actions develops exceptional proprioception. Dynamic sport requires stability, the resistance to the disruption of equilibrium. Athletes can improve their ability to withstand body checks, incidental body contact, force absorption and power production. During tight turns or high speed tactics, if they lose momentary body control and their mechanics break down, they are well trained at regaining balance, instead of falling. With training, mini brain sensors become more sensitive identifying deviations sooner; and the information loop from sensor to brain back to the muscles becomes shorter so the information is processed quicker; and response accuracy is improved. The muscles are given precise and accurate instructions appropriate to the dynamic sport challenge." He goes on to sum up how this relates to different skills.
Balance for Strength: An athlete’s perfect position to apply optimal power is their perfect position of balance. An athlete needs whole body stability to battle injury free. With balance training they can automatically assume a more stable position before applying or absorbing force.
Balance for Movement: A player who hopes to improve acceleration must first work on deceleration and mechanics to achieve perfect transitional balance. Stopping under control into a perfect balanced position decreases injuries and sets the athlete up for more proficient acceleration in the opposite direction. In the stop and the start, transitional balance aims for proper weight distribution, while activating all of the deceleration muscles, braking into a perfectly balanced position, knees flexed, center of gravity low and over the braking leg with an aggressive body lean. Essentially players decelerate into the perfect starting mechanics. Being in a perfect balance position is also important to each leg stride, whether executing linear power strides, cross overs, lateral transitions or explosive adjustments backwards. Achieving perfect balance on each stride will result in more movement per stride while expending less energy, a powerful combination.
Balance for Reactive Agility: Balance teaches the muscles to react quicker and helps the body learn to make fast and automatic adjustments. High speed reactive agility becomes increasingly critical as players move up levels. Each graduation to a higher skilled league brings the challenge of less time and space. Less time to make decisions, less time to cover a set amount of space, less time to execute skills and tactics. Opposing defenders are faster, more skilled, smarter and better positioned – they get on their players sooner. Tighter competition space against more qualified opponents makes reactive agility - an important asset.
The most important part to remember with balance training is: you must be slightly out of balance to train balance.
Below we will show you how to combine five or six Swiss ball exercises into a mini-circuit that can make for a fantastic complete body workout that you can do in the comfort of your own home. Before I begin, here are some tips for safe, effective Swiss ball workouts. First, always check your ball and workout area and clear away any stray debris, such as grit, staples, tacks, thorns, etc. Your workout will be a deflating experience if one of these punctures your ball! Second, take care that the ball does not slide out from underneath you. Use a mat if the floor is slippery. Finally, it is important to warm-up correctly. I like to do a warm up of a 5 minute jog followed by some foam rolling mobilizations.
1. Push-ups
A push-up can be made easier or harder than a regular floor push-up by using a Swiss ball. To make the exercise easier, lie face down with your hips supported by the ball. Increase the level of difficulty by walking forward on your hands and letting the ball roll towards your feet. A more advanced version of the exercise is to perform each push-up with only one leg on the ball. When performing the Swiss ball push-up, keep your body in good alignment throughout each rep. There should be no sagging or bending in the middle and your head should be in-line with the rest of the spine – do not let it hang down nor lift up. Look straight down at the floor. To start, take a deep breath and draw the umbilicus inward as if you are zipping up a tight pair of jeans. Lower yourself until your nose is just off the ground. Be sure to maintain the spinal alignment I describe above. Exhale through pursed lips as you push back to the starting position.
2. Kneeling Forward Ball Roll
Begin by kneeling behind the ball while placing your forearms on the ball. Inhale and draw your belly button inward. Roll forward with simultaneous motion at the hip and shoulder joints. Only go as far as you can while holding perfect spinal alignment. At no time should you feel any pressure in your low back nor should your head drop down. Hold for 5 seconds and then roll backward, breathing out through pursed lips as you come back. For a more advanced challenge, try shifting your weight to one leg as you roll forward, changing from one leg to the other with each repetition.
3. Supine Lateral Ball Roll
This exercise looks easy, but appearances can be deceiving! To begin, lie with your head, shoulders and upper back supported by the ball. Hold your arms straight out from your shoulders, palms up, parallel to the floor. Keep the hips lifted, so your body forms a table-top position. Taking little steps sideways roll to one side of the ball, maintaining the flat table-top position with your body and the arms parallel to the floor. Do not let your body tip or twist. Hold for a count of one. Return to centre and repeat on the other side. If you move far enough to the side your head will come off the ball. Make sure that it remains in the same position relative to the body and put your tongue on the roof of your mouth behind the front teeth, to help support your neck.
4. Bulgarian Deadlift
Watch the video above to see how to do this correctly.
This exercise I would rate as the King of all glute exercises.It is that difficult, and will give you a huge bang for your buck. The swissball is better to use than a bench so that it encourages your stabilizers to work equally as hard as the movers!
Instructions:
1. Standing with one foot on a swiss ball, a comfortable distance apart with body weight or holding dumbbells beside you.
2. Draw your belly button inwards bend forward from the hips; go as far as you comfortably can keep a natural arch in your low back.
3. Return to the top.
Sets / Reps: 2-3 sets of 8-12 reps with slow tempo
Now Put It All Together!
Now that you know how to perform each of these exercises, here is a short, but challenging program for you to follow. This program is organized as a circuit. So after completing the first exercise, go immediately to the next. After completing the circuit of five exercises, rest for 90 seconds for the first two or three weeks of training. Once you are able to complete four circuits with good form you may reduce the rest period to 60 seconds, again challenging the body. On your first workout set, you should stop the set when you feel as though you could complete an additional two repetitions. If you go harder than that, your form will deteriorate before you complete the workout! You can alter your form to ensure that the load or intensity of the exercise is sufficiently difficult by altering the angle of your lever arm and the positioning of your body on the ball. On the next circuits you can stop when you feel you could do one more rep.
Here is a great video we did a while ago that shows you how you can design a workout in your lounge room!
Conclusion
I hope this article explains the benefits of swissball training and why we regard it as the best piece of equipment to use at home. It is relatively cheap, easy to store and extremely versatile, but most importantly a great tool to assist you in the early stages of improving your body's ability to stabilize. Anyone on a rehabilitation, injury prevention, core strengthening and even sports specific program should have one at home and know how to use it. I hope we also cleared up the benefits of using it in the gym. Restoring (rehabilitating) or maintaining (prevention) proprioception allows the body to maintain stability and body orientation during static and dynamic activities. A great functional rehabilitation program, should include balance training, along with a combination of isolated strength and integrated strength exercises. It is believed that impaired “joint position sense,” when overlooked in a rehabilitation program, may be a leading cause for recurrent injuries and this can be avoided by incorporating some of the exercises shown in this article. If your goal is to improve sporting performance, stability training must be a key part of your program.
If you would like to know more about these exercises or any of our Sports Specific or Rehabilitation programs click the image below and I will get back to you within 24 hours to schedule a FREE consultation where we provide a thorough postural and movement assessment.
