Planks on an Exercise Ball

[crazycanuck]

I was lost but now i'm found

Here's what i'm referring to-please refer to the lifting of arms in the 58sec to the 1min mark http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqzV0O139Yk

Start from that position.

I'll try and find more stuff..

[OakLeaf]

I can just barely kneel - not that I've been practicing all that much lately.

But I'm still not sure of the progression you're describing, CC - do you bend your knees and keep your hips straight (similar to reclining Hero); or is it a backbend (similar to Camel)?



If you're not sitting on the ball with feet on the ground, then you don't have to worry about sizing the ball to protect your knees, and you can instead use size and inflation to adjust the difficulty. Larger ball is easier (because the contact patch with the floor is larger and the contact patch(es) with you are less angled); slightly underinflated ball is easier, for obvious reasons.

I've seen a guy stand on a ball and do squats. And it wouldn't surprise me a bit if the next thing V. posts is a video of her doing squats on the ball with a 50# bar.

[Catrin]

I tried this again last night and had my trainer check out my form - this was just normal planks on the ball and that was quite easy. It seemed TOO easy when I did it on my own which was why I asked him to check me out on it. Then I started moving the ball around with my forearms and THAT was a different story So I have found a new core exercise - thank you!

[Susan]

I was lost but now i'm found

Here's what i'm referring to-please refer to the lifting of arms in the 58sec to the 1min mark http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqzV0O139Yk

Start from that position.

I'll try and find more stuff..

Wow, I can't do that (but I did understand you right in the first place ). One of my limbs always has to touch the ground or I fall off. Guess I have to add such balance exercises in... I'm not so sure where to start I'm a really bad balancer.

[OakLeaf]

I'm not so sure where to start I'm a really bad balancer.

Start on all fours on the ball. Much easier than kneeling. (As the guy who was doing the squats said, "An elephant can do it!" ) Practice that, get comfortable moving around a little, practice picking up one hand and then the other. Then progress to kneeling from an all-fours position. If you start to feel unstable, then you can return to all fours.

[Susan]

Start on all fours on the ball. Much easier than kneeling. (As the guy who was doing the squats said, "An elephant can do it!" ) Practice that, get comfortable moving around a little, practice picking up one hand and then the other. Then progress to kneeling from an all-fours position. If you start to feel unstable, then you can return to all fours.

Ok I tried that... I managed to do it for a few seconds. I will practise and work my way up from (balance-) ameba to elephant

[surgtech1956]

Thanks for the size info.

[zoom-zoom]

Cathe Friedrich does this in one of her workouts (only on her toes):


I always chicken-out and do the alternative exercise, which is simple shoulder presses with hand-weights.

[OakLeaf]

The pikes are actually easier than they look. I don't know if I'd be looking back at the ball, though. You don't do that in handstand...