Grange Physiotherapy
Caring for your Health &
Lifestyle
8 Grange Drive
Cooloongup WA 6168
P: (08) 9592 2059
F: (08) 9592 9114
www.grangephysiotherapy.com.au
Fit-ball Introduction E-Book
INDEX:
1. Introduction
2. Getting started
3. Beginners trunk exercises
4. Leg Work
5. Arm Work
6. Progression exercises
7. Cool Down
8. Putting it all together
9. Commonly Asked Questions
Experienced Staff
On-site Gym
Same Day Appointments
Fast Efficient Service Guaranteed
Introduction to Fit Ball Exercising:
Enter the exciting world of the fit ball. Designed to deal with all your fitness
needs and enable you to exercise to your potential, at home or at work,
regardless of the weather. The Fit ball is a unique concept that is taking the
world by storm. It has versatility so that you can utilize all aspects of the body
and train to your best potential. It also enables you to work important trunk
muscles, which are vital for the maintenance of your spine. There are a huge
number of exercises available to do on the fit ball, but this E-Book with only
deal with introductory exercises for the beginner.
Getting Started
You first need to ensure that your ball is ready for use. Use a pump
adapter with a bike pump, or utilise your local petrol station tyre pump to
inflate your ball so that it is very firm. Initially you may need to pump the ball,
leave 24 hours and then top it up a little. Fit-balls are designed to be antiburst, and once pumped up should retain their firmness for a minimum of 4-6
weeks. They may need a little more air every so often depending on usage.
Once your ball is ready, you will need to prepare yourself for exercise.
Wear loose comfortable clothing. Sports shoes are optional. Start your warm
up with approximately 5 minutes or so of light aerobic work, such as walking,
step work, squats. Once you are starting to feel warm, proceed with warm up
stretches. The basic ones are:
Calf stretches
1 and 2
Quad stretches
Hamstring
Hip adductor
stretches
Shoulder behind
neck stretch
Shoulder across chest stretch
Shoulder behind back stretch
Trunk rotation stretch
Hold all stretches for a minimum of 30 seconds and perform at least 2
repetitions of each stretch.
Now, you are ready to start on your fit-ball
Beginners Trunk Exercises
A)
Ball Sitting-abdominal work
Sit on your ball and feel the movement. Spend some
time just practising to balance on your ball.
Now in this position gently draw in the lower
abdominal muscles. These are below your hip bones on
each side of the abdomen. Try to breathe properly whilst
doing this exercise. Breathing should occur down near
your belly button. Don’t pull in the muscles around the
middle abdomen. These should remain fairly relaxed in this position. Practice
this deep abdominal tightening for short 10-15 second periods.
As you become better at this exercise you should try to incorporate it into
all your ball exercises. Remember you cannot hold your breathe while doing
this exercise as you will need to sustain the gentle contraction for longer and
longer periods.
B) Ball Sitting-Abdomen and back work
Progress on from the above exercise, by
imagining the belly button is being drawn towards
your low back. The tummy should not move, but
you may feel the lower back muscles tighten
slightly. These muscles support and stabilise your
back and are important for movement. So now you
should have your low abdomen and low back
muscles creating a muscular corset around your
trunk which will give you a stable base for
movements.
The beginner’s exercises should be continued in
all the following exercises. They will give you
stability and support and help to ensure the exercises are being done
correctly.
These above exercises are vital if you suffer from back pain. They may
initially be difficult to do and may need some practice. Should you have
difficulty with them you may wish to contact your nearest physiotherapist, and
arrange some private tuition, or join a local class. Your physiotherapist should
be able to help you find these classes.
Leg Work
Whilst sitting on the ball gently lift individual legs off the floor. The makes
your trunk muscles work hard to stabilise the body. If necessary place the ball
in a corner of the room initially to make this a little easier. As you improve,
move away from the corner. Slow lifts
maintaining your trunk muscles also strengthen
your balance and coordination. Start with your
legs together and then move then apart as you
get used to the exercise. As you progress you
can gradually add small wrap around weights
around the ankles.
Arm Work
Gentle arm lifts while sitting on the ball will
help strengthen your trunk stabilisers and tone
the muscles in your arms. You can gradually
add weights and do a variety of arm movements.
Progression Exercises
Once you have grasped the basic concepts of the ball and how it works
you can start to progress various exercises and try new things. For example
you can use the ball:
In Sitting –using small weights to lift and work
the chest and shoulder muscles.
Or try lifting opposite arms and legs while
holding small weights.
In standing- try squatting at a wall with the ball
supporting your back.
In Kneeling- Try rolling the ball away
from you keeping your abdominals
strong and maintaining a straight line
from shoulder to knee. Roll as far as
you can and then back again. This
exercise is harder the further you roll
out, and if you lift your feet from the
floor.
While lying over the ball – lift opposite arm
and leg and hold for 30 seconds, before
changing sides.
Lying on Back work Lying on the floor with your feet or calves on the ball, roll the ball away from
you until you have a straight line between the feet and shoulders. Keep the
abdominals strong!
These are just a few examples. The list is endless.
Cool Down
The Cool Down consists of gentle stretches and light aerobic work. The
stretches are important for maintaining good muscle length, which reduces
the risk of injury. The light aerobic work is to help release any lactic acid in
your muscles, which may give you muscle soreness.
Putting it all together
Once you feel comfortable with a large range of exercises write down a
daily fit ball program. Include a warm up and Cool down, and also allow
yourself to vary the program so you don’t become bored.
An example may be:
Warm up
- 5 minutes step work
-Stretches (as listed above)
Trunk work
-sitting on ball
Arm work
Leg work
-sitting on ball
-sitting on ball
Combined Leg/arm work
-sitting on ball
Standing fit ball work
-squats at wall
Floor fit ball work
-Bridging-feet on ball
-tummy work over ball
-Rolls out in kneeling
Cool Down
-Stretches (as listed above)
-5 minutes walking
If you find it difficult to put together a fit ball program on your own, ask your
local physiotherapist to give you assistance to get you started.
Commonly asked questions:
Will the fit ball help me to lose weight?
In order to lose weight you must expend more energy than you are taking
in. In this way the fit ball may assist in helping you to lose weight by toning up
the muscles. However weight loss usually needs to be accompanied by both a
change in diet and an increase in aerobic activity, such as bike riding, walking,
swimming or jogging. This activity needs to be maintained for 15 minutes or
more. You can tell if the activity has become aerobic because you will start to
puff or become short of breath. Try to maintain this slight shortness of breath
for a minimum of 15 minutes. The more aerobic exercise you do the more
weight you will lose.
Can I become sore using the fit ball?
The answer to this is a definite YES! Because you are using muscles that
may not have been used for a while, it is common to experience some initial
body soreness especially when introducing new exercises. Progress slowly
and cautiously, and don’t add in too many new exercises in any one session.
Soreness may last for 24 – 48 hours after exercise. If it lasts for any longer
then you have definitely overdone it and may need to back off some of the
exercises.
Will the fit ball aggravate any other injuries that I may have?
There is always a risk that certain exercises may aggravate other injuries
you may have. Progress cautiously with your fit ball work and stay away from
any exercises that cause pain or discomfort. Should you have any queries
ask your local Physiotherapist for advice. If you are unsure visit your local
physiotherapist and ask them to design an individual program, which will suit
your needs. They should be able to show you alternate exercises that will not
aggravate your existing injuries.
Can I use the fit ball for other activities apart from exercising?
Fit Balls make great seats! You can use it at your home computer or dining
room table. It will encourage good stimulation for the postural muscles. Be
careful not to slouch on it. Try to maintain good posture for short periods and
rest when you fatigue. Most work environments do not encourage fit balls as
they tend to roll all over the place and can be a hazard.
We hope you have enjoyed this E-Book on Introductory exercises with your fit
ball. For more information and exercise progression, talk to the staff at
Grange Physiotherapy in Rockingham. We offer a range of classes
incorporating fit-ball work and have an on-site gym. We can assist in
designing an exercise program focusing on your individual needs which you
can do either under supervision or independently.
Happy Exercising!
Libby Jamieson
Sports Physiotherapist
Grange Physiotherapy
8 Grange Drive
Cooloongup WA 6168
P: (08) 9592 2059
F: (08) 9592 9114
www.grangephysiotherapy.com.au
E: [email protected]