User ReviewedHow to Use an Exercise Ball As a Chair An exercise ball is a useful workout tool that helps to increase balance and strengthen the core muscles in your back and stomach. These muscles support your spine and help to take the burden of weight off the spine. Strong core muscles are elementary in achieving good posture. Recently, the fitness ball has moved out of the gym and into the home and office. People are using the ball as a chair in order to strengthen core muscles. This is called "active sitting" because your muscles are engaged. Using the wrong techniques with an exercise ball may do you more harm than good. This article will tell you how to use an exercise ball as a chair. Choose the right fitness ball for your height and weight. If you are of average weight and you are under 5'3" (160 cm), you should choose a 55 cm (21.7 inch) diameter exercise ball. Buy a burst-resistant exercise ball. Purchase your ball at a store that allows returns if the ball is not the right size.
Pump up the ball, aiming to pump it up to maximum diameter so that you do not sink too far into the ball. Sit up straight on the ball with your legs out in front of you. They should be at a 90 degree angle to your thighs and parallel to the ball. At first, you can place your calves in front of you so that they are touching the ball. This will give you added stability while learning to use the ball. Later, you will want to move your calves so they are not touching, which will provide more benefits for your core. Bend your elbows and place your forearms at a 90 degree angle. Reaching forward slightly, you should be able to rest them on the top of the desk or table. If you are using a computer, make sure it is at a 90 degree angle. If it is not, your neck will be out of alignment with the rest of your spine, and the ball will be less useful in helping your posture. Use the ball in 20 minute intervals. Do not get rid of your office chair. Just like exercise, it is important to give your muscles rest to prevent muscle fatigue and get the maximum benefit.
Work up to 30 minute intervals as you get used to the chair. Doctors do not recommend that you sit for longer than 30 minutes at a time. If you need to get up to change chairs frequently, this will also benefit your spine. Most exercise balls are sold in metric diameter measurements, so be sure to measure your office chair in cm as well as inches. Be careful not to bounce or play on the ball too much; injuries from falling off the ball will greatly reduce the ball's benefit. The page you were searching for could not be found. It's possible the address was typed incorrectly, or that the page no longer exists. You can login or register for the site, run a quick search here, or also explore other options below. Not a Member Yet? Join now, It is quick, easy and FREE. Get access to our entire program, including: Food tracker and personalized meal plans Support from our experts on message boards Articles, recipes, tips, and much more! I know sitting at a desk all day is really bad for me.
Is sitting on an exercise ball any better? What if instead of sitting in an office chair, I perch with good posture on an exercise ball? Seems like sitting that way engages some of my muscles so perhaps isn't quite so bad (I hope!). Reader Question • 432 votes Unfortunately, the answer seems to be no. “To be quite frank, I cannot see any advantage or reason for a person to be using an exercise ball as an office chair,” says Jack P. Callaghan, who holds the Canada Research Chair in Spine Biomechanics and Injury Prevention at the University of Waterloo in Ontario. Although you might expect that sitting on the ball would demand extra exertion to keep you upright and stable, when Dr. Callaghan and his colleagues had healthy young volunteers sit alternately on a ball, an office chair and a backless stool while machines measured muscle activity in their abdomens and lower backs, they found no meaningful differences in the seating options; sitting on a ball did not provide a mini-workout for the midsection.
Ball chairs do not improve posture, either. Research by Dr. Callaghan and others have shown that people generally slump just as much on a ball as in a normal chair and that back pain is not reduced. And, in part because sitting on a ball chair involves more contact area between the seating surface and your backside than a chair does — you sink into the ball somewhat — many new adopters of ball chairs report increased discomfort in their backsides. Not all news about ball chairs is bad, of course. In one study from 2008, clerical workers on balls burned marginally more calories -- about 4 per hour -- than those on chairs. But new research from Dr. Callaghan’s lab suggests that they may also have been putting themselves in almost comical peril. He found that when workers on ball chairs reach sideways for something, they risk toppling over. (A personal aside: My attempt to use a ball chair ended after my dog ferried a thorn into my home office and the thorn lodged beneath the ball.
I still haven’t gotten the coffee stains off of the ceiling.) If your concern is with sitting too much, a better solution is probably to stand up periodically throughout the workday, which has been found to improve health. Prop your keyboard on a shelf or filing cabinet and type upright. Or stand when you make phone calls. But don’t overdo the standing, Dr. Callaghan says. Many people experience back pain if they stand for two hours or more at a workstation, he says. Aim, instead, for perhaps 15 minutes upright each hour.Balance Exercise Ball Chairs BE THE FIRST TO KNOWBALLance™ Stability Ball Chairs Special "feet" turn this stability ball into a chair so it stays in place! These stability ball BALLance™ chairs will make a great addition to your classroom! Each stability ball features feet that keeps it in place when not in use. When users sit on the ball, the feet retract to the ball based on the user's weight, allowing freedom to move, balance, and develop core strength.