An exercise ball may just look like a space hopper without ears, but there are some fantastic exercise ball workouts that can be created, and there will be some great exercises mentioned here. They will be split up into three categories, upper body, middle body, and legs. For each of these exercises you should do 3 sets of 15 unless otherwise specified; they should all be done slowly and controlled. One of the brilliant things about an exercise ball is that pretty much every exercise with it works the core as well as the intended muscles.
Upper body
There are two great exercises for the upper body that uses the exercise ball. The first is the decline push up. To do this you should lay your shins on top of the ball, and keep a straight line from the back of your legs down to your neck. Put your hands on the ground as you would for a standard press up and then do a press up as normal.
The second exercise is the incline push up; this is a lot harder than decline, so may take some time to master. For this your toes should be on the ground, and your hands in a press up position on the medicine ball, ensuring there is a straight line between your neck and ankles. From here you should bend your elbows to do a press up. Try to keep your balance on the ball, the stronger your core is the easier this should be.
Middle body
The exercises here will work the lower abs, upper abs, obliques and then the back respectively. Firstly the lower abs; laying on the ball with your hands back holding onto some secure base, start with your legs straight out, knees together; raise your knees to your chest and then bring them back down to being straight. This is a great workout for lower abs, but can provide problems with balance, take your time to master this exercise as the results will be well worth it, try and use your abs and core to control any balance problems.
Secondly the upper abs; this is quite a simple exercise in comparison to the ones that have gone before. Sit on the ball with your legs bent at 90 degrees, feet flat on the ground. Lie back on the ball, and sit up as far as you can squeezing your abs all the time, return back down to lying back over the ball to complete the rep.
The third exercise is for your obliques, you should lie sideways on the ball, with the exercise ball resting on one shoulder. Ensuring you keep a straight line between your arm pit and ankle raise your body slightly, without using your arm, to the side to work the obliques on that side, then return to resting completely on the ball. One complete set is 15 reps on both sides of your body.
The final mid body exercise is for your back. Lay front first on the ball with your feet flat against a wall. From here bend around the ball in a C shape then hyperextend your back by leaning back in a reverse C shape then return down to being bent over the ball. This works the lower back, an extremely important area to work for posture reasons as well as many more.
Legs
There is one exercise in this category that works the legs very well in general. This is known as the wall roll. To do this exercise you should trap the ball between your back and a wall and have your legs shoulder width apart slightly in front of your body. From this position you should attempt to roll down the wall into a seated position ensuring your straight back against the ball, parallel to the wall is maintained and your knees do not go further forward that your toes. Return to a standing position to complete the rep.
These are some fantastic exercises using an exercise ball, and if used properly can have a great effect; not only on the muscles specified in each exercise, but also on your core and overall fitness level.