Fitness Balls

Fitness balls common refer to one of two kinds of balls used for exercise. One type of exercise ball known as a fitness ball is the Swiss ball; this is a large ball, usually made of plastic and filled with air, that is anywhere between twenty two to thirty four inches in diameter. The Swiss ball is used to do a variety of fitness ball exercises that use the fitness ball rolling base to get the body into positions that are both stable and mobile in specific ways. These fitness ball workouts with a 75cm fitness ball help to improve a person's sense of balance. Another kind of fitness exercise ball that is sometimes referred to by the blanket term 'fitness ball' is the medicine ball. The medicine ball is somewhat smaller than the other balls used in fitness ball exercise; it is one of the kinds of weighted balls for fitness. With weighted fitness balls you can do exercises such as the one that boxers do where they drop the small weighted fitness ball on their abdomen to develop the ability of the abdominal muscles to keep punches from causing a painful impact. The heavy medicine ball can also be manipulated, tossed and used for various forms of weight training for athletes.

Popular fitness balls that come from well known brands are the Bean fitness ball and the Core Secret fitness ball. In general one fitness ball is as good as another, however, as long as you make sure that you are buying a fitness ball of the appropriate type for your exercises (Swiss ball or medicine ball / heavy ball). The primary benefits of ball core fitness training are increasing the balance and stability of your core and the muscles in your torso that allow you to keep a strong center while you are performing other activities, so a fitness ball workout of this kind is often used by people as a complement to more extensive exercise regimens. In the case of a medicine ball the benefits are more along the lines of improving specific muscle functions because of the concentrated weight that can be used to develop power.

Fitness ball DVD reviews can give you a sense of which specific fitness balls DVDs might be a good value for you and besides using DVDs to learn about how to use the fitness balls there are generally personal trainers at local gyms who can explain anything you need to know, as well as books at your local library that outline the basic movements that are done with fitness balls and how to decide which exercises you need. Anyone who is interested in fitness can find a way to incorporate fitness balls into their routine.