Exercise ball
The exercise ball is a perfect tool for strengthening so called hard-to-get-to spine muscles. It is also good for improving your balance and overall coordination. Before starting exercise program you should choose an exercise ball for yourself. Exercises balls have four basic sizes and should be purchased according to your body height. If you are having 5 feet and 3 inches or less the ball size must be 53 cm. People that are between 5 feet 4 inches and 5 feet 10 inches high should use 65 cm exercise ball. 75 cm ball is for those whose height is in range 5 feet 11 inches and 6 feet 4 inches. And at last, but not list if you have height of 6 feet 5 inches and over 85 cm exercise ball will perfectly fit you.
So now when you have chosen the appropriate exercise ball for you - there are few more tips that you should remember and use during the exercise program. First of all the exercise ball must be inflated to the point where it becomes firm, however it must have some "give to it. Do not fill your ball until it becomes hard. This "give" is quite necessary to contour to your body shape. He other thing is that you should give your ball few days to expand to his average full size. Because when the ball is first time inflated it will be a bit smaller that the maximum diameter size. So measure the ball from top to bottom to see whether it is already large enough for your height. Almost all exercises with a ball demand your knees and hips to be bent at 90 degrees. And keep in mind that all the exercise balls have their own weight limit too (simple work out balls have 485 lbs limit, gymnastic balls are of 880 lbs limit).
For your safety during exercise work out program on the ball you should know few things, so called "safety tips". First of all - these exercises are designed for those people that are in good health, so if you have troubles with that you'd better consult your doctor. But anyway you should warm up about 5-10 minutes, so that your heart could start working properly. Start slowly and carefully, because almost all of the exercise demand much more strength and balance than it seems. It is obvious that you should breathe deeply and slowly. Try not to combine stretching and twisting the spine exercise with bouncing. Start from the easiest exercise and follow the instructions in the manual or listen to the instructor. Only after polishing these basic movements proceed with the more difficult ball exercises. If you start experiencing pain, dizziness, cramping or maybe any other symptoms or complaints while working out with the exercise ball - immediately stop what you are doing and consult your instructor or doctor.
As fop me - the best plus I see in exercise ball programs is that you can freely challenge yourself in any situations, like simply sitting on the ball while watching TV or working.