An Exercise Ball Chair is a wonderful instrument that can serve you well. Do you experience neck and back pain? Do you have a solid core? Do you have poor posture? These are just a few of the issues that and exercise ball chair can address.
Bad Posture?
When sitting on one of these chairs you can immediately feel a difference. You will notice that your natural tendency will be to sit upright while on the ball, with good posture. Obviously you can get lazy and have poor posture on the ball, however, just like anything else, it takes just a little bit of work and you can obtain a perfect posture. See our post about sitting with good posture for detailed instruction about the perfect sitting posture.
Back and Neck Pain?
When sitting in a natural position, there is no strain on your back muscles to support you. Your core abdominal muscles will be what actually supports you. When your core is strengthened you relieve your back of strain, hence relieving back or neck pain and soreness (See our post about relieving back pain). Physical therapists have been using these balls since the 1960′s for assisting people with back injuries.
Poor Balance and Blood Circulation?
There are other added benefits such as improved circulation and improved balance. Keep in mind if you are using a ball alone without the base, you will need to make sure you don’t have any balance issues (See our post about pros and cons). The fact that the ball is round forces you to maintain balance causing your muscles to contract. Now I am not a rocket scientist, but when you contract muscles and muscle groups over a period of time, you will begin to build muscle. This could also be a factor in burning calories. Now don’t get too excited, you will burn a minimal amount of calories, probably not enough to shed pounds per week (See our post about losing weight). Remember you need good vigorous to moderate exercise to attain high weight loss.
What else can you do on the ball?
The ball can also serve as a stretching tool. Many aerobics instructors use these balls to perform stretching and exercises that target the core. They are also used for yoga and many other stretching type activities. However, the uses go on and on as far as what you can do with an exercise ball chair. Pregnant women use the balls to assist them during the birthing process, or simply just to sit on to relieve their backs of strain. Some people just use the ball to sit at their computer workstation, or while they are doing crafts. Some individuals even take their ball outside to the garden and work in the garden. Whether you are watching TV, reading your iPad, or maybe working on your laptop, the ball chair will be of great benefit (See our posts on various uses).
