All posts in Swiss ball exercises

Buying and caring for your Swiss Ball

by Gareth Hanson in Swiss ball exercises with No comments

Here’s my guide to buying an looking after your Swiss Ball.

Buying your Swiss Ball

Thera-Band Anti-Burst Swiss Balls From Amazon

Swiss balls can be bought for less than $10 and as much as $50. I bought mine from Amazon, they’re cheap and have a great selection. I chose this one (mainly because of its anti-burst quality, making it safe to use with weights), but you don’t have to choose the same one. Don’t be tempted to just buy the cheapest one though. Ideally you want a ball that is durable and can cope with both your body weight and your weight if you’re holding dumbbells. Continue reading →

Gym ball abdominal exercises – Swiss ball jackknife

by Gareth Hanson in Swiss ball exercises with No comments

Jackknifes are amazing for targeting your lower abdominal muscles, and as with all gym ball exercises, the ball provides instability which your body must correct. This means it’s a great core strength exercise too.

Start by kneeling with the swiss ball behind you. Place one foot then the other onto the top of the ball so that you’re in a press up position with both feet on top of the ball, hands placed slightly wider than shoulder width. Just allow your feet to rest naturally on the ball, you don’t have to balance on the ends of your toes.

Once you’re stable, keeping your back straight, draw your knees toward your chest. Breathe out, hold the position for a second or two before returning to the start. Repeat for as many reps as feel comfortable (up to 10 – 15) per set.

My good friend Jane demonstrates the technique beautifully in the video below.

Training at home? A swiss ball is an effective replacement for a weight bench

by Gareth Hanson in Swiss ball exercises with No comments

I recently quit going to the gym!

No, I didn’t give up on training. Quite the opposite in fact, I’m training more. I’ve started rock climbing, and I couldn’t afford to pay both gym and climbing wall subs. Even though rock climbing gives me a great workout, it primarily loads the agonist (pull) muscle groups, so it’s still really important for me to have a workout which trains the antagonist (push) muscle groups. Failure to do this would result in an imbalance in my physique, which could lead to injuries.

So what did I need to buy to kit out my home gym? Did I need to spend thousands of dollars on weights, weight benches and machines? Of course not! I could have managed with just a Swiss ball, but I went a little further and purchased some dumbbells too.

Have I ended up compromising my workout? No! here’s my rundown to training my full body using my Swiss ball and dumbbells. Continue reading →

Swiss Ball Exercises to Blast Your Core

by Gareth Hanson in Swiss ball exercises with No comments

Check out this great video from Chris Comfort. He demonstrates and explains these core techniques really well. Continue reading →

Swiss ball exercises: Swiss ball pushup

by Gareth Hanson in Swiss ball exercises with No comments
Difficulty level: intermediate

This particular swiss ball exercises requires a fair degree of strength. You’ll need to already be able to do push-ups on the floor before you try this. Continue reading →

Swiss ball exercises: Triceps blasters

by Gareth Hanson in Swiss ball exercises with No comments

Difficulty level: advanced

This is a fantastic triceps exercise but you will find that it really helps to build a powerful core and works wonders for your balance. If you’re new to strength training you should probably try the movement on something solid then move onto the swiss ball once you have the technique. Continue reading →

Six swiss ball exercises to get you started

by Gareth Hanson in Swiss ball exercises with 4 Comments

Difficulty level: beginner

I have picked these particular swiss ball exercises as a starter because they’re pretty easy to do and you only need one piece of equipment – a swiss ball!

You can integrate these exercises into your current gym routine as a good way to start working your core, or if you don’t use the gym they’ll make a good all-round strength and toning workout by themselves. Continue reading →

Swiss ball exercises – A full workout with just one piece of equipment

by Gareth Hanson in Swiss ball exercises with No comments

The swiss ball, sometimes referred to as ‘exercise ball’ or ‘stability ball’ is a very useful piece of equipment. Nearly every gym has them, and if you don’t visit a gym, you can buy one for just a few dollars. There literally dozens of swiss ball exercises, in fact with just this one piece of equipment you can train your whole body!

Swiss ball exercisesswiss-ball-situps are a great way to build core body strength. You can perform them with the swiss ball alone, or with dumbbells. For dumbbell exercises you can use the swiss ball instead of a bench for additional difficulty.

The aim of this blog is to provide you will with top quality swiss ball exercises. Whether you are new to physical exercise or you’re a regular gym goer you’ll find quality advise to help you to achieve your goals.

If you have any questions about the swiss ball exercises you find on this blog, drop me a comment and I’ll do my best to answer them.

Happy training!