The 2 Dangers of Using Swiss Balls
Swiss balls are a great tool to add to your weight training schedules.
For body weight exercises, they can help you to do exercises from different angles than you could achieve by just using a floor, and with or without weights you are forced to use your stabilizing muscles in your core while working out so that you are getting a better workout in the same time a normal exercise without a Swiss ball could be done.
There are 2 dangers with Swiss balls that you should be aware of before using them, though.
First, and most obvious, you need to be careful not to roll off of the ball during your workout.
Because you aren't on a stable surface it will take a little practice before you can do your exercises without feeling as though you are about to roll onto the floor.
The second danger isn't going to be as prevalent but it should only take one mistake to learn your lesson.
Some years ago, I was doing Swiss ball crunches in the corner at the gym when the ball jumped right out from beneath me! Thankfully, it bounced off the wall and back into me, which kept me from hitting my back on the floor.
Instead, my rear end just dropped a couple of feet onto the mat.
It did not hurt, but it could have been pretty embarrassing if that sort of thing mattered to me.
I think that the biggest contributing factor to having a Swiss ball jump out from underneath you is when you use one that is too small and don't keep your weight centered over it.
At the time, the small one was the only one I saw and I didn't want to spend the time looking around for a larger one, which would not have allowed me to keep on my rest schedule.
You may feel the ball move and shift a few reps before it pops out from beneath you, so you will have an opportunity to adjust yourself.
Before that point, the only time I ever adjusted my position on the ball was when I was first starting an exercise or when I began to get a wedgie, so in this case it didn't even occur to me that it might be a problem.
One second I was on the ball doing crunches, and the next thing I knew I was sitting on the floor and it had bounced back to me off of the wall.
If this does happen to you, then just get back on the Swiss ball and finish your set.
In the future, pay more attention to how well you are balanced on the ball, and make sure that you use one that is large enough for the exercise you want to do.
For body weight exercises, they can help you to do exercises from different angles than you could achieve by just using a floor, and with or without weights you are forced to use your stabilizing muscles in your core while working out so that you are getting a better workout in the same time a normal exercise without a Swiss ball could be done.
There are 2 dangers with Swiss balls that you should be aware of before using them, though.
First, and most obvious, you need to be careful not to roll off of the ball during your workout.
Because you aren't on a stable surface it will take a little practice before you can do your exercises without feeling as though you are about to roll onto the floor.
The second danger isn't going to be as prevalent but it should only take one mistake to learn your lesson.
Some years ago, I was doing Swiss ball crunches in the corner at the gym when the ball jumped right out from beneath me! Thankfully, it bounced off the wall and back into me, which kept me from hitting my back on the floor.
Instead, my rear end just dropped a couple of feet onto the mat.
It did not hurt, but it could have been pretty embarrassing if that sort of thing mattered to me.
I think that the biggest contributing factor to having a Swiss ball jump out from underneath you is when you use one that is too small and don't keep your weight centered over it.
At the time, the small one was the only one I saw and I didn't want to spend the time looking around for a larger one, which would not have allowed me to keep on my rest schedule.
You may feel the ball move and shift a few reps before it pops out from beneath you, so you will have an opportunity to adjust yourself.
Before that point, the only time I ever adjusted my position on the ball was when I was first starting an exercise or when I began to get a wedgie, so in this case it didn't even occur to me that it might be a problem.
One second I was on the ball doing crunches, and the next thing I knew I was sitting on the floor and it had bounced back to me off of the wall.
If this does happen to you, then just get back on the Swiss ball and finish your set.
In the future, pay more attention to how well you are balanced on the ball, and make sure that you use one that is large enough for the exercise you want to do.
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