Balls II: The Balls Bounce Back

Balls l, you saw how those oversized beach balls can actually help with your stretching. Here you find out that they can also be used for strength work. So forget fun and games, this is where the balls get their own back.

This is both good and bad. The good is that while it may look as if they are just using the ball as a convenient object for a quick sit down, the theory behind this practice is sound. Dumbbell workouts such as biceps curls or flies for the shoulders and chest will benefit from being done on the ball, though not perhaps where you expect. Even though the ball is dead comfy to sit on it is nonetheless inherently unstable. Which means that as you exercise on it you are making mmute adjustments all the time in order to keep your balance. With weights in your hands those adjustments are exaggerated, and so your midsection, and in particular the deep-lying stomach muscles, are getting a workout as you work the arms. Two for the price of one. One tip though - since the whole benefit is dependent on being slightly off balance you should always try to work the arms asymmetrically. So, for example when performing biceps curls the left arm should be bending as the right straightens.

There is, however, just one catch in the real world when it comes to performing biceps curls on the ball. Where are you going to get those dumbbells from?

It's true that some gyms, particularly those with a separate ladies section, will have a selection of small fixed-weight dumbbells near to the stretching mats where the Swiss balls live. That doesn't help the blokes much though, and for most gyms there is a strict system of apartheid in place whereby the dumbbells live in the free weights room (all grunting men with muscles) while the Swiss balls live by the stretching area (lots more Iycra and elegance). Try taking the dumbbells off their racks and walking away and someone will (with some reason) protest. Try walking into the free weights room, that sanctuary of testosterone and steroids, with a brightly coloured, oversize beach ball and you might just as well announce that you'll take on everyone in the room. However much we'd all like to see someone break that particular rule the chances are that unless you have the confidence, or the physique of a 200-kilo gorilla, you will never break the never-the-twain-shall-meet rule of the weights and stretching equipment.

Which leaves you with just one option for strength training on the ball. Using yourself as a weight. The following are all variations on tried and trusted strength moves, only with the subtle addition of a large vinyl ball. See if you can spot the difference.

The push-up

Standard push-ups are the mainstay of the workout routine for everybody from the army to the long-term inmate. This one takes that exercise into a different dimension, oh and no hard core convict would be seen dead with a bouncy ball as a training partner.

Simply adopt the standard face-down press-up position, only with your knees on the ball (or your ankles if you're a press-up powerhouse). Now bend your elbows and lower your face towards the floor and straighten to get back up - all slowly and with control. Repeat as often as you would a normal press-up but notice where you can feel the squeeze.

By raising the feet above the level of the floor you put more of your bodyweight onto your arms, which works the triceps, and the tilt throws the effort more onto the upper part of the chest. We're not finished there though. Because your feet aren't only raised, but balancing on a ball, you'll also have to correct the wobbles, meaning that you will tense and work your abdommals as you go.

The jack-knife

This looks like a distorted press-up but if you think about it it's really just a reverse crunch (where you bring your knees up to your chest) only turned upside down. Assume the press-up position, again with your feet together on the ball, only this time keep your arms straight and bend your knees, gently rolling the ball towards you. Now straighten out your legs to get you and the ball back to where they were. Control is the key here and you should quickly feel that most of the effort is coming from your midsection.

You want more? Easy, just combine them - one press-up, then without changing position perform the jack-knife, then the press-up again.