Edited by an expert:
Nadezhda Primochkina, nutritionist – 12/13/2019
Fitball is a ball made of synthetic elastic materials for aerobics and fitness. By regularly practicing with this gymnastic apparatus, you can improve your posture, coordination of movements, and work out different muscle groups with minimal stress on your joints. There are fitballs in almost every gym, and thanks to the compact size of the ball, it is easy to exercise with it at home.
How to choose a fitball for beginners
Reviews from the fair sex indicate that the best weight loss results from exercise can only be achieved with the help of a properly selected Swiss ball. For example, a fitball that is too large does not allow you to exercise at full strength, since you will slide off it. If it is smaller than you need, then the “simulator” will slip out from under you. For the training to be productive, you need to choose the size of the ball.
Exercises on a fitball with elastic and fairly hard spikes are indicated for girls who have pronounced cellulite on the hips and buttocks. With regular practice, these spikes will have a massage effect on all problematic parts of your body. This ball will also help you relax after a busy day at work.
There are several ways:
- Sit on your favorite ball in the store. At the same time, place your feet in front of you, keep your back straight. Make sure the knee angle is 90 degrees. Also note that the ball should not sag under your weight.
- The size of gymnastic equipment for weight loss must be selected according to the woman’s height. Reviews say that if you are 165-180 cm tall, you need to choose a ball with a diameter of 65 cm. If you are taller, 75 cm. And for short beauties up to 165 cm tall, a 55 cm ball is ideal.
Please note that for beginners, it is best to use a ball with holders. They simplify the training process and also significantly reduce the risk of injury during exercise.
The benefits of exercising with a fitball
- Thanks to regular training, women's posture improves. After all, in order to maintain body balance, it is necessary to use most of the torso muscles.
- Exercises improve stretching and flexibility of the body.
- Fitness classes on an inflatable ball are not contraindicated even for pregnant women. You just need to practice individually or in a group under the supervision of a trainer.
If you do strength exercises at home or in the gym several times a week, don’t be lazy to include a gymnastics machine in your fitness complex. It will help you not only speed up the weight loss process, but also increase body endurance, improve stretching and coordination of movements. After all, many people who exercise on exercise machines neglect stretching, which is why their muscles look massive and unfeminine.
https://youtu.be/f4YmESuzqWY
What can the projectile be used for?
A fitball is a large ball that is designed to perform many physical exercises. At one time, the projectile was invented for people with back problems. But later the scope of the fitball began to expand, and now it is not only a simulator for rehabilitation. With its help, you can effectively lose excess weight; exercises with a ball are successfully used in fitness for weight loss.
Fitball is a universal equipment that can be used by everyone
Fitball exercises allow you to:
- create and correct posture. When performing exercises on the ball, you must constantly maintain balance. Consequently, the work involves the torso muscles, which are often not loaded in many other workouts, but they are the ones responsible for straight posture. In addition, exercises with a fitball train the muscles that allow you to keep your body upright when walking or other movements;
- strengthen the abdominal press. The need to maintain balance also involves the abdominal muscles. And additional abdominal exercises allow you to work this area much more effectively and make your stomach flat;
- tighten your buttocks, and much more effectively than with other exercise machines;
- increase body flexibility and stretching.
It should be noted that the fitness ball has no age restrictions: both children and the elderly can use it. In addition, fitball can be used by people with different physical fitness and health conditions.
Important Tips
- Exercising on a fitball for weight loss really helps you get rid of extra pounds. But in addition to home exercises for weight loss, you need to adjust your diet. Then the training results will be much better.
- Pilates on a fitball can only be started 2.5-3 hours after eating. It is advisable that the basis of the pre-workout meal be proteins and carbohydrates. Try not to consume fats both before and after training for 1 hour.
What muscles are strengthened?
Many women who are interested in fitness with a fitball for weight loss are interested in the question of what parts of the body can be worked with its help. In fact, complex exercises on a Swiss ball are more effective than on a machine because:
- Exercises on a fitball for losing belly fat also perfectly strengthen the muscles of the lower back, which help maintain the balance of the pelvis and spine.
- The Swiss ball is useful for working out the abs. Many exercises aimed at developing coordination and balance of the body work the deep and small muscles of the core.
- Exercises for losing weight in your arms can also be performed on a fitball. To relieve your back while working out with dumbbells, you can sit on a ball. If you want to strengthen your biceps and triceps, then various options for planks will help you.
- You can lose weight with the help of this projectile not only in the upper part of the body, but also in the lower part. Stabilization exercises and various isometric poses provide good exercise for the gluteal muscles and legs.
Let's start training
Before you start doing exercises with a fitball for weight loss at home, you need to familiarize yourself with some training rules.
For example, it is not advisable to eat heavily before classes. After eating and before training with a fitball, at least 1 hour should pass. Moreover, when practicing video lessons with a ball after 18:00, you should refrain from dinner. After an effective workout, in order to consolidate the achieved results, you can only eat an apple, a banana or drink a glass of low-fat kefir. It also doesn’t hurt to prepare and turn on your favorite music to lift your spirits.
In addition, in order to quickly achieve what you want and get rid of extra pounds in a short time, exercise for weight loss is performed before the main workout. Warm-up exercises are also performed with a fitball. Taking the apparatus in your hands, perform several squats with it. After this, you can do side steps with outstretched arms and lunges with a fitball. You can complete the warm-up.
After a short warm-up to warm up the body muscles, you can perform weight loss exercises at home or in the gym with a fitball. Such training may include 1-2 cycles of 14 repetitions of each exercise. At the same time, beginners should start small, performing 7-8 repetitions, gradually increasing their number to the required level.
The main set of exercises on a fitball for weight loss includes several stages aimed at improving specific areas of the body. There are complex ones for losing weight. They utilize the muscle atlas to the maximum, thereby promoting weight loss. The best set of such exercises, which are suitable for performing at home, is on video. As you can see, fitball for weight loss is an excellent tool. This equipment allows you to soften the stretching, at the same time keep all the muscles of the body in tone and train the vestibular apparatus. In addition, fitness with a fitball for weight loss is considered a universal workout that can be performed in any conditions, in the gym or at home. Thanks to such activities, you can create the body of your dreams, getting rid of extra centimeters in problem areas, as well as making your muscles more prominent and strengthening your joints.
The love of sweets, sedentary work, pregnancy and childbirth are deposited with extra pounds on the figure. There is no time or desire to go to the gym; exercise on an orbital track or an exercise bike seems boring and tiring. I want to lose weight easily and fun, and there is a way to achieve the goal - a fitball for weight loss. The Swiss ball revolutionized fitness. It is compact, mobile, inexpensive, and the effectiveness of training on it is not inferior to the loads in the gym.
By doing exercises on a fitball, you use twice as many muscles as during regular workouts.
The result of the classes is two months difference
The name Susan Kleinvogelbach may not mean anything to you, but without her there would be no fitball. Susan is a physiotherapist from Switzerland, and in the 50s of the last century she began using the ball to rehabilitate patients with spinal injuries who had suffered a stroke or heart attack.
Basic positions and exercises are used both in training and in rehabilitation after injuries.
She was the first to notice that an exercise on a fitball, even the simplest one:
- Speeds up metabolism.
- Increases the elasticity of muscles and skin.
- Improves blood circulation.
- Burns excess fat.
Fitball is effective not only for women, but also for men
Fitness trainers began to actively use the ball, and exercises on the fitball appeared that were easy to do at home to lose weight. Now training with a ball is one of the most popular areas of aerobics.
Benefits of training with a fitball
Manufacturers produce gymnastic balls in bright colors - the positive design itself is conducive to training. This is where the benefits just begin:
Exercise Rolling out involves all muscle groups
Pumping the chest press with rotation
According to reviews from women who have tested the effectiveness of the fitball on themselves, 20-30 minutes a day is enough to lose 5-7 kg of excess weight in 2-3 months and tighten the waist, hips, and buttocks.
For whom gymnastics on fitball is contraindicated?
Of course, exercises on a Swiss ball are safer than exercises with machines and free weights, however, you should treat them with caution when:
- serious diseases of the cardiovascular system;
- herniated intervertebral discs;
- pathologies of internal organs.
We should also warn you that exercises on a fitball for weight loss after childbirth can only be performed with a doctor’s permission. For a caesarean section, wait 6-8 months.
Even if your health allows you to plunge into the world of Pilates and fitball training, we advise you to consult your doctor. You may need a personalized training plan.
Purchase and use
Recently, fitball has been actively used in narrow-profile programs aimed at losing weight and restoring muscle tone. Due to the fact that significant stress is eliminated during exercise with such a ball, weight loss exercises can be performed even by those for whom physical activity and strength sports are contraindicated.
During exercises with a fitball, the athlete spends all his efforts on maintaining balance and the ball. Therefore, exercises with this sports equipment are considered very useful and conducive to weight loss. And in order to get the highest possible efficiency while training with a fitball, you need to know how to choose the right equipment.
First of all, if you decide to buy a fitball for weight loss, you should consult a professional fitness instructor. In the absence of such an opportunity, information on how to choose a fitball can be found in our article.
As a rule, you can purchase such equipment in specialized stores. By the way, sellers can also advise you regarding the projectile that you are interested in.
First of all, when choosing a fitball, you should pay attention to the wide range of products in this category. It is not limited to either manufacturer names or color schemes. However, it is important to choose the correct ball size (diameter) so that it matches the person’s height and weight. You can calculate the optimal diameter of a fitball by subtracting 1 meter from your height. The result obtained will be close to the required value. Next, the appropriate option is selected according to the size chart.
It is advisable to try how effective training with this ball will be, right on the spot. To do this, you should sit on the ball and look at the position of your knees and pelvis. A fitball is considered suitable; sitting on it, your knees will be located slightly below the level of the pelvis, and a right angle will form between the thigh and shin.
To get not only benefits, but also pleasure from training with the ball, you can choose its color at your discretion. And by purchasing a ball with spikes, you can additionally use it for self-massage.
Having determined which fitball will be most suitable for you personally, feel free to purchase it. In addition to it, buy a pump so that you can easily prepare the equipment for practice at home.
How to lose weight in the lower body
There are many exercises on a fitball that will help your legs achieve the desired relief and give your butt elasticity.
- Do you think you need iron to “sculpt” beautiful buttocks? But no. Stand with your back to the wall. Squeeze the exercise ball between your lower back and a support. Slowly squat down until your thighs are parallel to your knees. Smoothly return to the starting position, as if you were being pulled up by the top of your head.
- Reverse extensions will help strengthen the muscles of the back and buttocks. Kneel down with the ball in front of you. Cross your arms over your chest or clasp them behind your head. Smoothly lower your chest onto the fitball, and then, squeezing your buttocks and straining your back, return to the starting position.
Exercises for losing belly fat
- We replace the abdominal roller with a gymnastic ball. Place your palms on the ball and kneel. As you inhale, roll it as far as possible, moving your body forward. As you exhale, tensing your abdominal muscles, roll back.
- Lie with your elbows on the fitball, your feet resting on the floor. Raise your hips up so that your body forms a single straight line. Tighten your abdominal and lower body muscles. Stay in plank pose for as long as possible, regularly improving your body's stamina and balance.
- If you feel pain during crunches, a fitball will help relieve the load on your lower back. Lie on it with your back, with your feet shoulder-width apart. Cross your arms over your chest and do a twist. Lift only your upper back away from the ball. The lower back should be in close contact with the Swiss ball.
Ball workout for busy women
If you don’t have enough time for a half-hour workout, we offer you a small set of exercises for weight loss that work several zones at once.
- Place your hands on the exercise ball as if you were about to do reverse push-ups. Lower yourself down, bending your elbows. Stay in this position for 3-5 seconds. Then slowly return to the starting position, pushing yourself up with your arms and at the same time tensing your gluteal muscles, pushing them up.
- Another versatile exercise that works your core and helps you lose weight in your lower body is the pelvic lift. Take the starting position: lying on your back, your lower back pressed to the floor, and your feet on the fitball. Lift your pelvis up, tensing your buttock muscles as much as possible, hold in this position and return to the starting position.
- The following exercise will help strengthen your arms and at the same time remove extra centimeters from your waist. Place your shins and feet on the fitball and stretch your body into a straight line. Then roll the ball down to your toes, while straining and, as it were, pulling your buttocks up. Roll the ball slightly diagonally to properly work your obliques.
Perform all exercises for weight loss 20-30 times in 2-3 approaches. If you want to increase the load, then do not take breaks between sets.
Do not forget that the workout should begin with a light warm-up, and after the session, do some light stretching and stretch your muscles.
Fitness with a weight loss ball: video
https://youtu.be/lZUI7GCpk0o
Fitball :: KakProsto: reviews of products and services
Reviews about "Fitball"
Fitball is a universal means of cheerfulness and good mood. After giving birth, I couldn’t get into shape. The figure left much to be desired. Various diets did not help. Intense physical activity after cesarean section was contraindicated. At a sports store, a consultant advised me to buy a fitball.
Choosing a ball that suits me for training is a whole science. You need a net for a fitball, and if your legs form 90 degrees at the knee, then the ball is the right size. The price suited me. For just 500 rubles I received a fitball, an instructional video with exercises and a pump for inflating the ball. Huge savings on trips...
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Fitball is a universal exercise machine. Fitball is a Swiss ball, which is also called a fitness ball or gymnastic ball. This is a simple and affordable exercise machine for those who want to have a slim figure, because when exercising with a fitball, almost all muscle groups are involved, compared to ordinary physical activity.
Important!
Since the ball is unstable, the body is constantly under tension, trying to maintain balance, which leads to rapid burning of calories. This simple simulator was invented back in the 50s of the last century. At first it was used only in medical institutions for therapeutic and recreational activities…
On the subject: Is it possible to eat everything and lose weight?
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A large ball for effective training. I purchased the fitball recently, but I have already managed to appreciate the beauty of this exercise machine.
Exercises with a ball do not require special physical training, so even if you have had a long break from training or have never played sports before, you can perform exercises on a fitball with ease! I noticed the effect of the training after just ten days of daily exercise: my abdominal muscles tightened, and my posture became almost perfect, because the fitball gives an excellent load on the whole body and especially helps to work out the deep...
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I bought myself a fitness ball a couple of years ago and I use it with pleasure. I use a fitball to exercise at home. There is no need to run to the gym, for which you don’t have much time.
The availability of all kinds of techniques and exercises on the Internet allows me to independently choose the necessary programs and training times. You can take the ball with you on trips and keep yourself in shape without interrupting your activities.
A fairly cheap simulator compared to other, more complex machines. Fitball exercises allow me to maintain the tone I need...
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Will a fitball help you lose weight? I purchased a fitball to quickly lose weight and increase muscle elasticity. I found several sets of exercises and began to perform them one by one. The training lasted 20-30 minutes, I did it every other day.
At first I had difficulty getting out of bed, but after a week I felt improvement. The main thing is to breathe correctly during training, this way more oxygen gets into the lungs and blood circulation improves. The stomach did not become flat, but the muscles became toned.
Advice!
Since I didn’t adjust my diet, I didn’t notice much weight loss.
In general, fitball is... Read in full
An excellent alternative to working out at a fitness club Every girl wants to have a beautiful figure, good stretching and pumped up abs. However, many people fail to visit the gym regularly for various reasons: some do not have time for this, others do not have enough money, etc.
Personally, for me, training in the gym is replaced by a gymnastic ball or, as it is also called, a fitball. A set of exercises can be found on Youtube; I subscribed to the channels of several professional trainers who show with a clear example how to develop a particular muscle group using a fitball.
Fitball absorbs part of...
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In our family, fitball (large ball) is very popular. This is an excellent exercise machine for keeping fit. Even from the simplest exercises performed with its help, you get enormous pleasure and a beautiful figure. It takes up little space. Plus, you can always blow it off.
This dense ball is convenient for massaging an infant. By the way, such exercises are very useful for children, as they strengthen their muscles and vestibular apparatus. As the child grows up, regular massage can be replaced with gymnastics. Even ordinary jumping for our son...
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Source: https://www.kakprosto.ru/otzyvy/reviews-1800-fitbol