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Swiss ball benfits

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If you want to strengthen your abdominal and work on core stability, start (or continue) doing exercises on the Swiss ball. A recent study, conducted at the University of Auckland in New Zealand, and reported on in The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, looked at the use of a Swiss (stability) ball as a surface for the bench press exercise.

In the study, 14 volunteers performed bench press exercises both on a traditional bench press and off a Swiss ball. Results between performing the same exercise on the two surfaces were compared. Researchers found that when the volunteers performed the exercises off the Swiss ball, they experienced more shoulder and abdominal muscle stimulation than when they performed the same exercises on a traditional bench.

The authors note that while the increase in deltoid muscle activity was supported by previous findings in similar research, the increase in abdominal muscle action had not previously been discovered. This finding supports the generally accepted reasoning that because they are performed on an unstable surface, Swiss ball exercises recruit core muscles in addition to other muscles being trained. (It is interesting to note that in this study the Swiss ball, when compared to the bench did not provide the increased muscle activity in the chest or triceps muscles, as it did with the shoulders.)

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Creator: thetrainerx
Category: Strength Training
Posted: 2/22/2008

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