Why and How to Incorporate Yoga Balls into Your Workout

This guide explains how and why yoga balls can improve health and happiness. Yoga balls, also known as exercise balls, are used across different disciplines. Three easy and amazing exercises with yoga balls are described below.

Exercise balls have been a staple at gyms and in Pilates and yoga classes since they were popularized in the 90s. There are many health benefits to including them in your exercise regimen and they can easily enhance your workout in a number of ways. This simple yet versatile piece of equipment can strengthen your core, maintain your spinal health, and add a degree of difficulty to your workout.

With all the benefits they offer, it is definitely an item worth adding a yoga ball to your workout routine.

Why

Balance & Posture

Even just sitting on a fitness ball is inherently a balance challenge and engages your core as you work to stay still on a spherical, unstable foundation. While using it as a chair for extended periods is not advised, shorter periods have benefits.

Balancing challenges are effective at engaging all of the tiny little muscles in your core that otherwise don’t get much attention. These core muscles on your sides, stomach and back are what keep your body upright and aligned. Using a yoga ball is extremely helpful in maintaining good posture and correcting poor postural habits. Poor posture isn’t a big deal short term, but if it doesn’t get corrected it can cause chronic pain and substantially decrease your quality of life as you age.

Spinal Health

Science and medicine have made leaps and bounds in keeping us healthy and happy for longer and longer lifespans, but even so, our spinal system is pretty hard to replace. Maintaining our spinal health is so important, and exercise balls are really helpful here. The exercises we do on the fitness ball gently move our spine which allows fluid to flow into and out of our spinal discs, promoting better disc health. 

Incorporating a fitness ball into your pilates or yoga practice can really maximize the love you’re already giving to your spine.

Stretching

Yoga Balls are great for stretching since they demand active stretching; that is, stretching while your muscles are fully engaged holding your stretch (like in Vinyasa yoga or Pilates) versus passive stretching (Like in Yin yoga) where you are fully relaxed in a stretch.

Active stretching doesn’t have as much buzz around it, but it is just as important as passive stretching. Engaged muscles ensure proper alignment and help to protect our joints. A fitness ball is a great tool for active stretching because, in order to maintain our balance on the ball, our muscles have to be engaged.

More Effective Workouts

In addition to the benefits it has on your skeletal system, yoga balls are simply a great way to get more out of your time in the gym or the Pilates studio. As we mentioned, adding a balance challenge to a workout you’re already doing can target new muscles and increase the intensity of your workout. You get more of the proverbial “bang for your buck” if you’re able to burn more calories and strengthen more muscle groups. You’re already doing the exercises, so you might as well maximize the benefits of all your hard work.

How to Choose the Best Yoga Ball

Find the Right Size

The size of your fitness ball actually matters quite a bit. To ensure proper body mechanics, ideally, there should be a 90-degree bend in your knees when sitting on the ball with your feet on the floor. Many brands, like URBNFit, offer several sizes, so it’s relatively easy to find the right match.

URBANFit has many inexpensive Yoga Balls with different sizes to match anybody’s body height and shape.

As noted earlier, your knees should bend at a right angle, but everyone’s bodies and proportions are a little different. Usually, your height is a safe point of reference. Here’s what we recommend:

Once you find a ball that suits your height, be sure to check the maximum bearing weight. Most Exercise balls can bear anywhere from 250-300lbs, but always check the product details on the packaging or manufacturer’s website for your specific needs.

Another tip is to ensure that the yoga ball is inflated enough so that it holds its shape firmly when it’s not being sat upon.

Our Favorite Workouts

There are so many effective fitness ball exercises out there, each with their own benefits. We picked a few of our favorites that you can try at home regardless of your skill level, and we’ll take you step by step on how to make the most out of these fitness ball exercises.

I-Y-T Raises

This workout comes highly recommended by those who spend the majority of their day in an office chair, as this exercise strengthens the muscles that pull your shoulders back and correct your posture. It looks easy, but this exercise targets muscles that are routinely neglected so it can be deceptively difficult, especially with the added balance challenge that the fitness ball brings.

Targeted Muscles: Rotator Cuff, and Upper/Lower Trapezius Muscles

1. Begin by laying with your chest on the ball and your feet on the floor keeping your legs and spine straight and your arms hanging on either side of the ball.
2. Starting with the “I” in the I-Y-T, raise your hands straight above your head so that your arms continue the line of your body.
3. Lower your arms back down.

Do 3 sets of each shape (“I” arms go straight up, “Y” arms are extended at a 45-degree angle on either side and “T” arms are straight out on either side).

Dead Bug

“Dead bug” is a strange name that perfectly illustrates the shape your body will take in this pose: lying on your back with your arms and legs up. This exercise is great for beginners since it naturally forces proper form and ensures your core is engaging as long as your lower back stays pressed to the floor.

Targeted Muscles: Obliques, Core, Pelvic Floor and Hip Flexors

1. Begin lying on your back with your arms held straight up and your knees raised and bent at a 90-degree angle, with your hands and knees holding an exercise ball
2. While keeping the ball still and your lower back touching the ground, simultaneously remove your right arm and left knee from the ball and straighten your leg so that it is hovering just above the ground, and extend your arm above your head.
3. Return your hand and knee to the ball and repeat on the alternating side.

Jackknife

Last but not least, the jackknife is a killer ab workout that puts regular crunches to shame. This will strengthen your core and improve mobility in your hips.

Targeted Muscles: Core and Hip Flexors

1. Start in a pushup plank position with your arms extended and your shins resting on the exercise ball.
2. Engage your core to pull your knees into your chest, rolling the ball down to your toes. Try to keep your hips low as you do so.
3. Release your knees back down, returning to your starting position.

We recommend doing 3 sets of each exercise 10-15x. These are suggested repetitions, but feel free to adjust when they become too easy or so difficult that your form becomes compromised.