Swiss Ball Tips:Sitting on an Exercise Ball

November 21st, 2008 Shaka

Balance Tips >> Swiss Ball Tips

Swiss Ball Tips:Sitting on an Exercise Ball
Sitting on an exercise ball creates the opportunity for “active sitting.” Active sitting will occur naturally as you subconsciously adjust your core muscles to find and maintain the best possible position for your body. Using a Swiss ball as a chair, therefore, will strengthen the core muscles, improve posture, and increase resistance to injury and repetitive strain.

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Swiss Ball Tips:Perform free weight exercises on a Swiss ball for a more challenging, deeper work-out

November 21st, 2008 Shaka

Balance Tips >> Swiss Ball Tips

Swiss Ball Tips:Perform free weight exercises on a Swiss ball for a more challenging, deeper work-out.
Many free weight exercises, particularly those that work your upper body, can be performed while sitting or lying on a Swiss ball. The instability created by the Swiss ball makes the exercises more difficult, thus also exercising the deep torso muscles that are important for maintaining a good posture.

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Swiss Ball Tips:Swiss balls are great tools for physical therapy, exercise and everyday activities.

November 21st, 2008 Shaka

Balance Tips >> Swiss Ball Tips

Swiss Ball Tips:Swiss balls are great tools for physical therapy, exercise and everyday activities.
Swiss balls, also known as exercise balls, gym balls, sports balls, therapy balls or body balls are elastic rubber balls usually 22 to 34 inches in diameter. Swiss balls provide a comfortable yet unstable surface that encourages the user to engage his or her proprioceptive organs, balance, and core muscles during activities involving the Swiss Ball.

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Swiss Ball Tips:Why Is It Swiss?

November 21st, 2008 Shaka

Balance Tips >> Swiss Ball Tips

Swiss Ball Tips:Why Is It Swiss?
The exercise ball was originally used for physical therapy. Swiss physical therapists started using it to train balance and reflexes in 1965. It quickly spread to other places and other therapy situations, where it was called the Swiss ball. Because of its versatility and low price, the ball soon moved into the fitness area, where it was called an exercise ball or fitness ball, among other names. But it remains an invaluable physical therapy tool.

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Ski Training Tips:Balance training can build the lateral stability that is important to controlling speed while skiing

November 21st, 2008 Shaka

Balance Tips >> Ski Training Tips

Ski Training Tips:Balance training can build the lateral stability that is important to controlling speed while skiing.
Having “quick feet” and good control over your lower body movements is how you prevent your skis from taking you for a ride. Lateral movements are an important control mechanism during skiing (as well as other sports, such as soccer and basketball), and many injuries occur during lateral movements. Therefore, it is important to build lower body stability and flexibility to ski effectively and safely. You can build this stability through balance training; using a Bongo board is a great way to develop lateral range of motion and coordination. Another excellent ski training tool is the pro fitter trainer which simulates the motion of skiing. Quick lateral movements can be ingrained by placing a pillow on the floor and hoping sideways from foot to foot while maintaining a balanced upper body. Other training regimens to develop lateral stability include lateral hops and obstacle courses that incorporate changes of direction.

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Ski Training Tips:Balance and coordination are the cornerstones to good alpine skiing

November 21st, 2008 Shaka

Balance Tips >> Ski Training Tips

Ski Training Tips:Balance and coordination are the cornerstones to good alpine skiing.
The point of skiing is to make it down the hill – preferably, remaining on your feet! Without balance and coordination, you will fall down a lot, making the experience less fun and more dangerous. Balance training using such tools as balance boards, Bongo boards, and Swiss balls will help you develop your balance – as well as improve your range of motion and core strength. Other activities that will help you develop your balance in dynamic settings include inline skating, trail running and jumping rope.

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Ski Training Tips:Balance is a key area on which skiers must focus for complete training

November 21st, 2008 Shaka

Balance Tips >> Ski Training Tips

Ski Training Tips:Balance is a key area on which skiers must focus for complete training.
In preparation for a fun and safe ski season, athletes should focus on balance and coordination, flexibility, strength, endurance, and speed. Functional training incorporating balance training will help skiers with the first four, and developing those will positively affect your speed. Moreover, coordinated, strong skiers are less likely to fall and sustain an injury that could cut the season short.

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Ski Training Tips:Strength training builds athleticism and helps to prevent injury

November 21st, 2008 Shaka

Balance Tips >> Ski Training Tips

Ski Training Tips:Strength training builds athleticism and helps to prevent injury.
Functional strength training is the counterpart to flexibility training; flexibility training will help you to increase your range of motion, and strength will make sure your can control that motion. Many avid skiers use traditional strength training and concentrate on isolating and developing their quad muscles. Not only does this neglect the opposing hamstring muscles, but it will create an imbalance in how your leg muscles work together. Therefore, use functional training to develop your core strength and stability, then develop your quads, hamstrings and calves to create the full suite of muscle power you will need for a great ski season.

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Ski Training Tips:Increasing flexibility through stretching, yoga and functional training will keep you limber

November 21st, 2008 Shaka

Balance Tips >> Ski Training Tips

Ski Training Tips:Increasing flexibility through stretching, yoga and functional training will keep you limber.
Having a good range of movement in your joints will help your body adjust to sudden changes in direction, and can also help prevent injury when you fall. Concentrate on hip flexibility, loosening your hamstrings, and increasing the range of motion in your upper body. Traditional stretching will help, but you may find that you get more benefits from a discipline such as yoga or Pilates that also addresses body alignment, balance, and strength – other key components of a ski training regimen.

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Ski Training Tips:Endurance may be based on aerobic fitness, but aerobic fitness is built on a strong core

November 21st, 2008 Shaka

Balance Tips >> Ski Training Tips

Ski Training Tips:Endurance may be based on aerobic fitness, but aerobic fitness is built on a strong core.
Endurance is a combination of both your cardiovascular fitness and your body’s ability to withstand the musculoskeletal rigors of an activity. As such, a solid base of aerobic fitness is essential to alpine skiing. Varying the intensity of your workouts through interval training has been proven in many studies to provide the best results. To develop cardiovascular endurance, be sure to do an aerobic activity for 40 to 60 minutes regularly – at least three times a week. Good choices for building endurance include swimming, mountain biking, inline skating, running, hiking, basketball, soccer and tennis. Note that performing each of these sports requires balance and coordination, a strong core, and flexibility. Therefore, balance training is an integral part of developing the kind of aerobic fitness you will need to build real endurance.

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