National Pain Relief Institute
National Pain Relief Institute

“Max is a great trainer. I have been seeing him weekly for several months and his work-outs have helped resolve chronic back problems, lingering weakness from shoulder surgery, and get me back on track to a higher level of fitness. He not only tailors workouts to the individual but to how the individual feels each day. So, if I'm wiped, he'll work with what I can give but if I have lots of energy he'll work me to the bone. Highly recommended."
- Dave Edwards, Investment Research



    Here are some of the best basic exercises using the Swiss Ball - make them H-A-R-D, so that you can't do more than 15 in one set and work you way up to 4 sets of 15. Don't forget - you can print this page and take it to the gym :)

  

1. Balancing - get on the ball by evenly placing both hands and knees on the ball with equal pressure on each knee. Next, roll up on the ball by pushing down on your hands - DO NOT try to climb up on the ball quite yet, it is much harder! Once you can stay on the ball on all fours for one minute try getting up onto just your knees!

  
2. Swiss Ball Crunches - put one finer on the bony ridge at your pubic bone, the other in the notch where your ribs meet. Position yourself over the ball so as to stretch out and create the longest distance you can between your fingers, then crunch up and shorten the distance as much as you can, lifting your chest and tilting your pelvis upwards. Don't let the ball move or your hips drop as you do.

To make the crunch harder put your hand up by your shoulders, then by your ears, then progressively straighter and farther out, using them as weight to resist your crunch.

  

2. Oblique Crunches - as per the pictures, position your legs so that your top leg has your foot going back in such a way that your knee, hip and should all are in a straight line to the wall, your bottom leg has your foot going forward to support you. Start off up nice and tall then lean over as far as you can, being sure not to rotate as you do, and come back up.

To make the oblique crunch harder put your hands up by your shoulders, then by your ears, then progressively straighter and farther out, using them as weight to resist your crunch.

      

3. Swiss Ball Wall Squat - position the ball just above your low back against the wall, keep your body up right and lower your hips as low as you can, keeping your body up right. An advanced form very good for posture is to reach back and keep your hands on the ball the whole time. Practice doing repetitions and just going down as deep as you can and holding it. Work your way up to a 2 minute hold and 4 sets of 15 repetitions with little rest.

  

4. Scoops - get on the ball as shown in picture 2, except with your hips fully elevated so that your butt is tight. Lower your hips, curving your back around the ball. At the bottom pretend you have a sand shovel coming out of your bottom and "scoop" up the sand, tilting your pelvis up towards you as you lift your hips back up as high as you can.

5. Swiss Ball Hamstrings - lie on your back and put your feet on the ball. Raise your pelvis up to that your chest, hips and legs are flat, then lift your body keeping it all flat and pull your legs in underneath you. Be sure to contact your hanstrings really tight at the end. To make it harder lift your forearms off the floor, then your whole arm, then do one leg at a time, keeping the other leg pointed straight out.

6. Swiss Ball Pushups - Put the ball under your chest then roll out as far as you can and still do at least 8 push ups. Try going out a little farther each time, keeping it hard enough so you can only do eight, until you can get your feet on the ball, then work your way up to 4 sets of 15. MAKE SURE TO TOUCH YOUR CHEST TO THE FLOOR each time so you don't tighten your chest and hurt your posture.

7. Crossover Lunges- position your feet so that they are on the corners of a box about 21/2 feet sqaure, with both your feet pointed straight ahead (a little different than the picture). Then do 3 distinct movements:

1. Pull your front knee acrosss your body with the muscles on the inside of your leg until you knee is over your ankle.

2. Twist your body, moving your opposite shoulder as far away from your front knee as you can.

3. Keeping your front knee pulled over you ankle and your body twisted lower your back knee to the floor. You should feel a significant stretch in your outside hip. If you don't, pull you knee over and twist more :-)