Exercise ball

Caesar_Bojangle

Is it worth investing in one of those exercise balls for doing sit-ups, or is it just another gimmick? I do an awful lot of sit ups on the floor and was considering buying one.

dave13

they are one of the best investments you could make. They are easier on your back and tend to give you a harder workout. You'll be suprised how much you can use one for. You should get a little guide with one and after a while you'll wonder how you ever did without one.

trotter_inc

Sorry to contradict you wonderboy but I think that they arent very good at all! I get the best use out of the bench for doing leg raises and stuff like that. For crunches you cant beat doing them on the floor and holding the crunch for about 2 seconds each time for that extra work.

Ive tried using the ball but it just doesnt feel right for me - Ive asked the gym instructors to make sure that Im doing them right and they said the ball just doesnt work for some people.

Thats just my two cents!

tunney

Ive asked the gym instructors to make sure that Im doing them right and they said the ball just doesnt work for some people.

LOL, what a fob off

The ball works it just takes time and practice.

dudara

The ball is tough at the start as you learn to keep your balance on it as you work. However, keeping balanced requires you to use central muscles, so I think that it does improve the overall workout. We keep one inflated in our sitting room for quick crunch sessions and for propping our feet up when watching telly.

vibrant

Partially due to late night TV viewing.... ok, ok, I saw some silly infomercial on CNBC all about this exercise ball - but I've a renewed interest in it, so much so that I'm considering re-inflating the ball that's been gathering dust under my bed for the past year!

Does anyone have any links showing some ab/bum/hip exercises I could do - I lost the poster that came with the ball when I bought it.

joejoem

tunney wrote:

LOL, what a fob off

The ball works it just takes time and practice.

I tried it last night with a fitness instructor and when I said it seemed too easy she said that it is better for girls than men, that I would be better just doing crunches.

The reason I had asked is that I was getting a sore lower back from working my abbs. I do quite a bit (in my mind) each night. ver second day at least I am in the gym and I do 60 sit ups on an incline, 30 on each side, then 40 on the weights machine (cusion pressed against chest and then push your upper body toward your feet) then 40 heel touches (lie on back with knees bent and head up, touch each heel once = 1 rep). When I was on the incline it hurt my lower back, I think with my height it was too much pressure on my back.

I am now (as of last night) avoiding the incline bench doing

- 100 crunches
- 60 heel touches
- 60 back ups (lie on chest with hands behind back and raise head and chest off ground to try to strenthen my back)
- 40 light weighted crunches on machine as above.
- 20 leg/jog raises (elbow off knee, it looks like your jogging on your back.)

Is this ok, or should I be focusing on my lower back more. I have dropped the weights on my deadlifts dramaticly to avoid injury. Advice would be greatly appreciated!

joc_06

Fitness instructors and personal trainers and whoever you see working in gyms are there for a reason and not off training teams/athletes earning huge salaries.
The reason is: They havent a clue what they're on about

Boru.

Hello all,

Once again gym fitness instructors are being given an unfair rap...at least two instructors in the whole counrty know something. That siad most don't. Luckily I happen to be a qualified specialist in stability ball exercise among other things...and yes I also manage a fitness company that sells them with instructional dvds and loads of other stuff. Ignore that.

The point I want to make is that Stability Ball training is an excellent form of training for everybody and I am willing to prove that. I make an open offer to any body on boards, to drop in and see me in Arnotts and I will go through a series of exercises and even design a few programs for anybody who wants to train. No obligation and no purchase necessary. You can go off and buy one in Argos for all I care. What I want to do is show you how to get the most out of using one.

The best thing is their vertility and functionality. You can improve any aspect of your physique and health with these things. Any one who tells me they have incredble abs and stunning strength is welcome to balance standing on a ball and do a military overhead press. You do that I'll be impressed. (Incidentally I have only ever seen that done 3 times - 2 were part of the Newzeland rugby team, the other was a former Russian Special Forces guy and they were three of the best developed people I haev ever seen).

Drop in I'll teach you how to use it. When you have a terrific physique and great health you can thank me by showing everyone else how to use it. Deal?

Hope this helps.

Boru.
info@borufitness.com

joc_06

Oh my god, where to start with this one???

Boru. wrote:

You can improve any aspect of your physique and health with these things.

You can do this with free weights too and see much faster results without as much risk of an injury from something that NEVER been proven to have any benefit over traditional methods

Boru. wrote:

Any one who tells me they have incredble abs and stunning strength is welcome to balance standing on a ball and do a military overhead press. You do that I'll be impressed.

Why the hell would anyone want to do this exercise unless they had a death wish?
Are you telling me you'd not be impressed with a 2x Bodyweight military press for reps from say an 80kg athlete?
What good is doing this exercise anyway? Tell me the benefits of doing this over on steady ground??
There are absolutely none!!!
How many times do you stand on a ball and lift some one or thing over your head in a match? Maybe its good for drunken lineouts after the pub but no more.

Boru. wrote:

(Incidentally I have only ever seen that done 3 times - 2 were part of the Newzeland rugby team, the other was a former Russian Special Forces guy and they were three of the best developed people I haev ever seen).

I've never seen anybody do a snatch with the bar between their toes while doing a handstand so therefore this is the ultimate physical feat.
Would not lifting a 20st guy over your head be a more functional strength??
Just because they CAN do it doesnt mean they became the best developed people BY doing it or something like it. Truth is they sprinted and squated and deadlifted and benched and cleaned and snatched like every other athlete to get to where they are.
They didnt jump up on a ball like a clown.

Boru. wrote:

Drop in I'll teach you how to use it. When you have a terrific physique and great health you can thank me by showing everyone else how to use it. Deal?

Im sure you will. On the other hand you can do what the greatest athletes in the world have always done and lift and run on steady ground.


These balls are a fad that were the IN thing a few yrs back along with wobble boards etc. Coaches got brainfarts and rushed out to get them, then realised they had no benefits over trad methods and they disappeared fairly lively. Now through second hand misinformation they have leaked their way down to gyms and ppl just like those coaches believe they are the next best thing. Ppl will soon realise they are just a fad and are plainly not as good methods of stimulating muscles for sport than the steady ground methods.

They do have a place in the gym, for some work like crunches every now and again and some pressing but give me that bench and that rack anytime and i'll show you muscle growth and strength gains and speed like no other exercise.

And if you dont agree with me then read what the best coaches in the world have to say about them, ie Charlie Francis, Louis simmons, tate, starr, defranco etc etc.

Do you think simmons has his 900lbs squatters up on a ball?? If its not good enough for them then how can it be good enough for the average joe?
Go on...
Dont be misinforming the people

Boru.

Hey,

The original question of this thread was if Caesar_Bojangle should get one for sit ups. I didn't actually answer that so here goes. Yes I think you should, primarily becasue you do your situps through a greater range of motion than on the ground and you can also use the ball for a variety of other exercises.

You can do this using other equipment, benches for instance often incoperate this, you can use medicine balls, weighted crunches and a thousand other techniques. I like stability balls because they are comfortable and I like the way they support the back.

Joc_06 chill. Yes you are right. You can do this using free wieghts. Of course you can. You can do it using bodyweight, you can do it doing pretty much anything.

In regards to the example I gave, yeah I wouldn't do it myself. But I still think it was pretty cool. I also remember watching a golf show and seeing someone tee off standing on a stability ball. That was cool.

The benefits are created in the kinetic chain of the body, due to the instabitlity of the ball. These cause the proprioceptors of the muscles to activate and contract smaller assisting and stabilizing muscles not utilised in the exercise while standing on stable surface. This in turn inceases the body 's overall efficency in movement, and hence sports performance.

I never said it was the ultimate feat, I just though it was impressive, as are 2x Bodyweight military press for reps from say an 80kg athlete.

Finally it is never my intention to mis-inform people just present alternate perspectives. It doesn't mean that your methods are inferior, they're not. Some people like doing yoga, some like lifitng wieghts, some want to be bodybuilders and others train for sports. The point is everybody is different and so we have hundreds of ways of doing the same thing. You can get fitter doing weigths, or stability ball work, or ....the list goes on.

The good thing is you do something. All I would like to do is encourage others to find what they enjoy. If its weights great, if not find something else.

I don't want to continue debating the vailidty of exercise versus exercise. It's pointless, and it detracts from the question originally asked. Sorry about that Caesar_Bojangle.

Joc If you want to talk about this you can pm.

Hope this helps.

Boru.
info@borufitness.com

joejoem

http://www.big-boys.com/articles/theball.html


I thought this was apt

joc_06

Ha Ha, in no way proves anything though.
Man some ppl are just plain dumb

GreeBo

joc_06 wrote:

some ppl are just plain dumb

and some are just obnoxious.

Boru.

hey joejoem, that was funny. Thanks. Haven't laughed like that in awhile....now where did I leave my stability ball...... just have to make sure no one has a camera...

Boru.

joejoem

Ha! Good that you see the funny side, wasnt meant in a malicous way.

vibrant

Boru. wrote:

Hello all,


The point I want to make is that Stability Ball training is an excellent form of training for everybody and I am willing to prove that. I make an open offer to any body on boards, to drop in and see me in Arnotts and I will go through a series of exercises and even design a few programs for anybody who wants to train. No obligation and no purchase necessary. You can go off and buy one in Argos for all I care. What I want to do is show you how to get the most out of using one.

Hello,

I finally got around to getting to Arnotts today and there was nobody there! :rolleyes: It was during lunch time though... but still, I thought Arnotts would have staff covering departmental breaks? That's besides the point anyway. Boru, if you can recommend any good DVD's for whole body workouts with the ball, I'd be a happy girlie... I noticed that there was a video there, but it was just on abs. Cheers! (And hope your lunch was mighty tasty )

Transform

Joc 06 if you had more time for you training rather than your ramblings on how great other "expert" coaches are i would be impressed (and they are brilliant coaches).

Some of your points are valid and you always refer to the experts out there who are generally dealing with genetic freeks. You need to get something straight MOST PEOPLE JUST WANT TO GET IN SHAPE!!

Will the swiss ball help - yes. Would i get clients to do crunches on the ball - NO. Why? Because its for stability primarily and i would encourage people to use it in this manner e.g. leg curls, press ups etc. For some this will be a huge challenge for others just a break in the normal routiene.

I can give you a list of clients i have successfully transformed and none of them are elite big name athletes. They help build my business, i work for myself and with other trainers, they are happy no delighted with their results e.g. 5% drop in body fat in 8 weeks from a client this week.

So all in all the ball has its place in any workout but it is no solution to excess body fat

joc_06

Transform wrote:

Joc 06 if you had more time for you training rather than your ramblings on how great other "expert" coaches are i would be impressed (and they are brilliant coaches).

Some of your points are valid and you always refer to the experts out there who are generally dealing with genetic freeks. You need to get something straight MOST PEOPLE JUST WANT TO GET IN SHAPE!!

Will the swiss ball help - yes. Would i get clients to do crunches on the ball - NO. Why? Because its for stability primarily and i would encourage people to use it in this manner e.g. leg curls, press ups etc. For some this will be a huge challenge for others just a break in the normal routiene.

I can give you a list of clients i have successfully transformed and none of them are elite big name athletes. They help build my business, i work for myself and with other trainers, they are happy no delighted with their results e.g. 5% drop in body fat in 8 weeks from a client this week.

So all in all the ball has its place in any workout but it is no solution to excess body fat

WTF??
where'd that come from? makes no sense.
I've always denounced coaches for boast their results based on one genetic freak like defranco etc bar the top level sprinters cause they deal with a subset of one or two in 5 billion anway.



So all in all the ball has its place in any workout

if you even read my fvcking post you'd seen i said that exact same point.


And obviously im fat and lazy and dont train. can you please charge me lots of euros and tranform me into an adonis, oh mighty uber coach. Im in awe of you and your list of clients!

Transform

"Do you think simmons has his 900lbs squatters up on a ball?? If its not good enough for them then how can it be good enough for the average joe?
Go on...
Dont be misinforming the people"

Yes you did say they have their place in a workout and you also said the above which is my point on the average individual.

Sorry if i came across as blowing my own trumpet and i will hold back examples of how real training with average people is done from my experience.

As i said you do give excellent specific advice in general and for those at their peak this will work.

Easygainer

Fitness balls are just a gimick so personal trainers look like they're worth the money over a decent bread and butter routine.

Boru - I'll issue you this challenge. You take anyone here on the boards and put him on a fitness ball routine to gain muscle mass and stay/get lean by next summer. I'll take someone of similar experience and ability, put them on a DC training routine and a good diet and guarantee the following:
1) My guy will have more lbm.
2) My guy will be stronger on any free weight lift
3) My guy will keep progressing on weights the whole time

Fitness balls work the core - great. So why do I need to do overhead pressing on them if that's a shoulder exercise and I could lift more by sitting on a bench? If I want to work my abs alone, they might have a place (even though I don't use them), if I want to train shoulders though, what possible benefit does a fit ball offer my delts?

I also see you used the example of two NZ rugby players who could lift on them. Find me a powerlifter or boxer (both have notoriously strong cores from their sports) and we'll see which is stronger in absolute terms - I reckon it's be a no brainer. Anyone who can squat and deadlift over 500lbs (as I have) will have a stronger core than someone who can stand on a bloody ball!

Boru.

Hi all,

First off, apologies for not being around when you dropped in, I was actually on vacation in Austria….that said a member of my staff should have been present and I’m looking into why they weren’t. That said sometimes we do have to leave the desk and aren’t there, but if you ask anyone on the floor we will be contacted and immediately return.

I’m back now so when you want to drop in I’m here, mention boards and I’ll sort you out with a discount.

Second I’d like to address what I feel seems to be a growing amount of aggression on what should be a friendly subject. I don’t think we are here to convert people to any one opinion, system or regime. We on boards are lucky to have the resources and knowledge of both experienced fitness enthusiast and qualified professionals. I don’t see a need for aggression. If I’ve been guilty of this I’m sorry and I’ll try not to do it again.

You can use a Stability or Exercise Ball for a complete routine.

It will not give you the physique of a bodybuilder. It will provide you with the benefits previously listed, but the best reason to use one is because you like using one. That’s it as far as I’m concerned. I use one because I find it fun and enjoyable. It’s part of my routine, and the routine for my clients that enjoy that type of training.

I also lift weights; do body weight callisthenics, isometrics and a whole host of other training methods. And they all provide results. Every one of them and that is because of the excellence of the human body in its design.


The reason I advocate using bodyweight, using stability balls, weights etc is because they are just simple tools that motivate people to exercise. As Transform mentioned people just need to exercise, if a stability ball gets them to do that, then I think Stability Balls are what they should use.

For instance, many women are uncomfortable lifting weights, but they want to lose weight, or tone up etc. I put them on a stability ball and they enjoy it. They get the same benefits, because it is resistance training (granted perhaps not as quickly as weight lifting, and certainly not to the same level of extent seen at a competitive level), but they do the workout.

My job is not to stand they’re and force people to do routines (that although may be effective and get them to they’re goals), they absolutely loath and hate. In my opinion if a client wants to tone up they’re physique but hates lifting weights, then weight lifting is an inefficient exercise for them.

Easy gainer, I’ll respond to your challenge but with the added stipulation. Your client on the DC training routine must hate and loathe it, and thus subsequently be unmotivated and not put in the effort. My client must hate weight lifting etc, but love stability ball training and be eager enthusiastic and dedicated because they enjoy they’re training. Under those circumstances I’m confident my client would do better.

It’s not a question of which the better method of training is, and which produces the best results. It’s a question of which motivates the person to train, what do they enjoy doing. If a person likes what they do, they’ll work hard and get the results they want. If they don’t then they won’t. That’s why I recommended stability ball training.

I hope this has clarified my stance on this subject. I do not want to convert the world to stability ball training, I just want to encourage those who would not be comfortable exercising to find something they enjoy and that encourages them to improve the quality of their lives. They are lots of ways to do it; the important thing is it gets done.

Boru.

joc_06

u missed my point completely about those top athletes. My point was those guys have the best genes and perfect muscle groups and levers that would show results regardless how bad the training they do and crap they eat. even if they were to train on a ball they'd still lift huge weights. but they dont train on balls. they have great coaches who give the best routines. so opposite works for an ordinary guy. he needs the best routines to even compete and balls aint it

the prob here is there are some posters who want to compete and beat other guys in whatever sport and they give that same advice here. and
then there are others who just wanna lose weight as easy as possible (or ppl who make money out of this) and for them balls or whatever is perfect as long as its easy and gets some results
i spose it all depends who you wanna be. the best you can be or just some joe.

D-Generate

First of all cut the vitriol in your talking. There is no need to get so aggressive when comparing training routines. Maybe you need to stop taking steroids
Boru has been a very informative poster on this board and has been a decent contributor and I hope he sticks around. He makes his living out of fitness and as such he probably has a little more experience than most of us who do the 9-5 and go to the gym for 2 hours a day and as such I hope that he continues to provide input on topics like this.

Back to the topic.
It might be a newsflash but I don't think that vibrant is out there to be a world class powerlifter and as such she would have no need to be adhering to a competitive weights routine. She will get the benefits that she wants through the ball albeit at perhaps a slower rate. That being said though anyone I know that uses the ball thinks that it is great and a little more enjoyable than staring in a mirror and lifting up and down. At the end of the day, motivation is what makes or breaks a fitness regime.

To be honest I don't know how you can dismiss NZ rugby players as lacking strong cores. These guys are being shunted by 200lb masses of muscle travelling at faster speeds than most can sprint and yet they are able to stand their ground like a brick house. I think that they are a fine example of physical perfection. Many rugby teams use swiss balls to build up stability to withstand such attacks. Perhaps the reason that the two NZ players were able to stand on the ball and do a military press is because they used them in training session? Surely that would show that the ball has a place in their training regime which would have been set by some of the best trainers in the world.

Also, just because a certain exercise is not used by powerlifters doesn't mean that it is not a good exercise. Take push-ups and chin-ups as examples, favoured exercises amongst the armies and special forces of the world and yet again rugby teams. You won't see world class powerlifters doing them though. As such does the exercise lose its credibility? I don't think so as it is used by many more throughout the world and with the results that it produces they have good reason to.

joc_06

well if some1 keeps fagg0tin about how great all their fat ass clients are and how everyone else how every1 else hasnt a clue , then they're gonna get it back in their face.

This thread should be locked cas as far as i can see no one is reading the other posts. I've already said a ball is good for a small amount of work at the end of a session but thats it.
If you think training on a ball solely will allow you to take a hit in a top rugby game then try it. challenge one of em in kielys or wherever to hit you after a few weeks training with it. I guarantee you they do so much heavy medicene ball work and weighted decline work you wouldnt believe. standin on a ball doesnt give you the ability to take a hit. It gives you the ability to stand on a ball. end of story

and why dont powerlifters do chinups and pushups? I guarantee you some do, especially the plyometric forms of these excellent exercises. You are not comparing like with like at all at all here.

My last word here is balls are for 10 minutes core work or fat lazy ppl. olympic lifts, the big 3 and their various forms are the basis of 99% athletes gym programs. train how ye want, i dont give a sh!te. Its called culling the herd. the more of you that train stupidly using HIT or balls or whatever means its less competition for everyone else cas you'll not last 2 minutes in anything competitive

Transform

joc_06 wrote:

well if some1 keeps fagg0tin about how great all their fat ass clients are and how everyone else how every1 else hasnt a clue , then they're gonna get it back in their face.

This thread should be locked cas as far as i can see no one is reading the other posts. I've already said a ball is good for a small amount of work at the end of a session but thats it.
If you think training on a ball solely will allow you to take a hit in a top rugby game then try it. challenge one of em in kielys or wherever to hit you after a few weeks training with it. I guarantee you they do so much heavy medicene ball work and weighted decline work you wouldnt believe. standin on a ball doesnt give you the ability to take a hit. It gives you the ability to stand on a ball. end of story

and why dont powerlifters do chinups and pushups? I guarantee you some do, especially the plyometric forms of these excellent exercises. You are not comparing like with like at all at all here.

My last word here is balls are for 10 minutes core work or fat lazy ppl. olympic lifts, the big 3 and their various forms are the basis of 99% athletes gym programs. train how ye want, i dont give a sh!te. Its called culling the herd. the more of you that train stupidly using HIT or balls or whatever means its less competition for everyone else cas you'll not last 2 minutes in anything competitive

Joc 06 this is a closed matter in my opinion so sorry if i offended you and hope you are not too pissed at me also.

D-Generate

joc_06 wrote:

If you think training on a ball solely will allow you to take a hit in a top rugby game then try it.

Oh sorry I missed the line in my post where I said that they soley use the ball? Could you please point it out to me because what I thought i said was that they may have used them as part of a training session? If you solely rely on anything you won't get the results needed for a competitive level. Likewise if you solely relied on doing the various exercises for upper chest work with bar bells and dumb bells you won't get a rounded workout.

Prior Of Taize

i use the ball and a chinup bar for my abs.

what is DC training?

dlibby47

9 months ago i joined a gym for the first time in my life with no experience with excersise or wieght lifting training etc. I'm male 47, i was toxic , smoking, eating junk etc. I got a female trainer that was half my age and put my full trust in her. I was lucky. I have been training for 9 months using all unstable excersises, fitness balls being my number one tool, I was told not to use and supplements, i eat healthy and take 1 centrum a day, i have lost 35lbs, i have definition on legs, arms, abs chest etc. i do all my chest, flies, back excercise on a ball. i have yet to use a bar type methid for anything. Its all i know, why work just biceps when i can work everything at once. i was lucky to get such a good trainer, i learned later that she was using periodazation with me. the most important thing is to have good form and the right wieght. I was naive and i got lucky, but anyone who says a fitness ball is not useful is talking out their ass or they know to much.
It took me 6 mo to relize that i excersied like a girl but thier are other men at my gym including 2 male trainers who use balls etc and they are in great shape.

dav :rolleyes:

Easygainer

dlibby47 wrote:

i joined a gym for the first time in my life with no experience with excersise or wieght lifting training etc. I'm male 47, i was toxic , smoking, eating junk etc.

Anything fitness related would have made you lose weight if this is how you were going on! Even looking at a gym would have worked... this is no indication that a fitness ball is great for exercising - it shows that stopping eating junk, drinking all the time and being inactive makes you lose weight...

GreeBo

Easygainer wrote:

Anything fitness related would have made you lose weight if this is how you were going on! Even looking at a gym would have worked... this is no indication that a fitness ball is great for exercising

But would he have done anything else??
The main problem for most people is actually getting off your arse to do the work. If a ball does that for you then use it. use whatever wrks for you.
If you are trying to become the #1 whatever then you are in a totally dfiferent mindset than they guy trying to shape up and be a bit more healthy.

Easygainer

GreeBo wrote:

But would he have done anything else??
The main problem for most people is actually getting off your arse to do the work. If a ball does that for you then use it. use whatever wrks for you.
If you are trying to become the #1 whatever then you are in a totally dfiferent mindset than they guy trying to shape up and be a bit more healthy.

The fitness ball had nothing to do with the diet and lifestyle change, that's the main reason for the weight loss. If we want to get into "fun" ways of doing exercise, I can think of better things than an exercise ball - indoor football, squash, walking, knitting...chewing your face...

It's like using Muzzy to teach kids a language - they learn nothing and would have more fun watching a decent cartoon.

GreeBo

Easygainer wrote:

It's like using Muzzy to teach kids a language - they learn nothing and would have more fun watching a decent cartoon.

No its not.
If you wanted to get someone to watch tv you could argue that Primetime is better than the Simpsons, but if they arent going to watch Primetime then they are not watching TV.
You have to use what works, c'est la vie.
You can come up with other ways that you think are more fun, but if the person isnt doing them then they aint worth a ****e now are they?
The ball works and he is using it. Olympic lifts work but he isnt using them.
I reckon I can figure out which will have the better results...

joc_06

so you're point is you can never know what the next person will find enjoyable??

If that is the case then you must assume he will either find everything enjoyable or nothing enjoyable. you cant assume something in between.

So therefore if you are to give advice to someone then you must give them the best advice to make them the best athlete possible according to their goals. For a BB like easygainer its DC (doggcrap) training. For a speed and power athlete its olympic lifts, the powerlifts and some supplementary work.

Either way, unless your aim is to compete in a ball standing competition, it will never be more than a supplementary exercise. It will never be a complete routine as boru has argued. And there are much much better ways of working the core.

My interest in this thread has nothing to do with balls or anything like that. I even enjoy using them.

My point is im trying to dispell the myths and fear about lifting big and heavy weights that is prevalent in irish society. Its common to think lifting heavy will slow you down or even give you a heartattack. Also Big == stupid in a lot of ppl's minds. And also the "toned look" from doin loads of reps versus "big bulky slow muscles" from doing low reps, high weight. There are 100's more of these. Like proper nutrition, stretching, aerobic vs anaerobic sports etc etc etc

There are so many myths and false info going around that young irish athletes havent a chance of competing at top levels because they are just doing the wrong stuff. Whether they are the victim of well intentioned bad info from a volunteer or malicious bad info from "gym instructors" i dont really care. Its not the best and it will never be the best. Thats why i get so mad when topics like this come up..

GreeBo

joc_06 wrote:

There are so many myths and false info going around that young irish athletes havent a chance of competing at top levels because they are just doing the wrong stuff.

Agreed, but there are more people looking for something interesting and enjoyable to help them tone up and lose weight than there are people trying to become elite athletes.
I think if you are trying to become one of the latter and you are taking your advice from a gym instructor or a message board then you are acknowledging the fact that you will have to wade through the crap and pick the facts.
If you are the former then you will try ideas and tips from anywhere to help you achieve your less lofty goals.

Prior Of Taize

its a simple truth that for many people doing something that bores them causes them to not work at it whatsoever. so if we put this ball fanatic on his feet instead of the ball he would most likely get bored/disinterested.

this is just being human. i know that i personally have to change methods every 3 or 4 weeks so i dont become complacent and lose interest. example being using the ball for lower ab crunches...then switching over to a chinup bar and doing leg raises to do my lower abs instead.

i reckon that as long as your doing it right then it should matter whether your using a ball or a machine or whatever. the gym should also be fun. so if you continue to get consistent results after the initial unavoidable weight loss then more power to you and keep doing it.

dlibby47

I came across this board because of the fitness ball thread and it sounded serious, I noticed next to most of the people here the number of posts they made( i guy at 893) u guys have no lives and i don't know when u have time to exercise let alone tell other people what works and doesn't. Half of you would roll off a ball if you sat on one. All of it works as long as you get in the gym and do something, life's to short. The main motivation for me was my daughter, i want to be around for her and if a ball does it, it works for me.

Ciao

vibrant

dlibby47 wrote:

u guys have no lives

He said, on the internet...


Anyway Boru - thank you, I will definately be in to you one of these days.

I never realized that exercise balls would incur the wrath of so many people!

I don't *just* use the ball - I find that it's good to keep a varied routine. If I was to do the exact same ab routine every single day, I would lose interest rather quickly and just totally give up! Isn't it better to use one than not use anything at all?