Once I was emailed the following question:
I have never used a Swiss ball, although I used those balls that were weighed. Is there any difference? I want to try something new when it comes to ab work.Here is a brief description of the medicine balls and swiss balls, as well as their ugly brother Bosu-ball.
Swiss balls
Swiss balls are big inflatable rubber balls. Other common concepts that I can think of from my head are exercise balls, stability balls, sports balls, sports balls, fitness balls, balance balls, yoga / pilates balls, body balls, and therapy balls.
The advantage of using a swiss ball, rather than a hard surface, is that you need to engage a large amount of your muscles while you are exercising to withstand the instability of the ball. This is especially good when you want to work on your core muscles, which contributes to your balance.
You can also use Swiss balls instead of a chair, which is useful if you are another sedentary person or your back hurts. However, I have not tried this for more than 10 minutes, and I recommend talking to your doctor or physical therapist before deciding to abandon chairs for anything that comes close to a regular basis.
Balls for medicine
Medicine balls are weighted balls that look the same in size and texture to basketball, although they are usually slightly smaller and can sometimes have handles. They are usually made of leather or rubber and filled with sand, plastic granules or (in home variety) rice. They usually weigh between 3 and 18 pounds.
Balls for medicine can be used as dumbbells, doing lifts, such as squats or presses. Where they really shine, it basically works, where you can throw balls from the wall or to a friend. When you do squats, they are a little easier to hold against the chest than dumbbells, and they are much easier to throw for a more dynamic workout.
A unique advantage for medicine balls that I have never had is to make someone throw them on their stomach while you do squats. This is a popular exercise for boxers to make their fist brush.
Balls bosu
Bosu balls are very similar to Swiss balls, except that they look as if they were cut in half. They have a flat hard bottom with a semicircular top filled with gel.
They are called barefoot balls because there is neither top nor bottom. Bosu means “both sides up” (or “both sides are used”) and can give your muscles a unique stability problem. If you put the hard side down, then you need to balance your body against the earth, which does not even exist and that moves below you, based on your center of gravity. If you stand on the hard side and hold the ball on the side, then the barefooted ball will act like a balancing board where your feet are firmly attached to it, but it will swing back and forth.
