Pilates Ball: With this fitness gadget you bring belly, legs, butt in shape

The great thing about Pilates is that you can do it anywhere and at any time. You don't have a Pilates mat with you? No problem, just look for a piece of soft lawn! You don't really need equipment or other accessories.

But that does not mean that one or the other device cannot make sense! With a Pilates ball you can make your workout more varied, for example, and train your muscles even more effectively.

You have certainly seen a Pilates ball (also called "soft ball")-even if you may not have recognized it as such. It is a small, soft ball (23-25 ​​cm in diameter), which can be used in many ways in training.

A Pilates Ball cannot be confused with a gymnastics ball. This large seating ball is used, among other things, in gymnastics, but also in yoga. It is also not the same as toning balls. These are smaller and firmer, but are also used in the Pilates. This trains the arms, shoulders and upper body, among other things.

Despite its inconspicuous exterior, such a Pilates ball should not be underestimated in the training effect! On the one hand, he makes the exercises more varied, on the other hand, they become more intense and effective.

Because the ball is never completely filled with air. As a result, the ball is "wobbly", so it does not offer a lot of stability. And that is exactly the clue: the deep muscles have to compensate for the lack of balance during the exercises so that we do not fall over.

This deep muscles have important properties: it stabilizes the body, protects the organs and supports balance and good attitude. In addition, good deep muscles are also useful for other workouts.

The Pilates Ball is also enormously versatile and can be taken with it everywhere thanks to its low weight. So you never have to do without it! Particularly practical: you can drain the air for transport and blow the ball back over a tube. Incidentally, the “hardness” of the ball can also be varied well.

And here the advantages do not stop:

The smaller the ball, the more shaky the exercise. If you are a newcomer, a larger copy may be a better choice. Try through! Fortunately, the price of the accessories is not that high. Large balls are of course less suitable for smaller people. Select the Pilates balls to your height - not too small, not too big.

Also good to know:

Exercise for the buttocks

With this exercise that some of you may know as "gluten bridge" or "pelvic lifting", you train the buttocks and the back of the thigh, the leg flaps. But the abdominal and calf muscles also work!

1. Lay on your back and put your legs. Then place the fitness ball under your soles of your feet so that both feet rest on the ball. You put your hands relaxed next to you or over your head.

2. Lifts the pelvis slowly and controlled. Towels the stomach and buttocks, but let your neck loose. Raise the pelvis as far as you can.

3. Then let the pool sink towards the floor again, but do not put the butt off. Now about 10 slow repetitions start again.

Exercise for the stomach

Are you looking for an exercise that is fun and still claims the complete core muscles? Then this is ideal here. Here the whole abdominal muscles, but especially the side abdominal muscles, are tense. And the lower back also gets its money's worth.

1. Lay on your back and put on your legs in the right angle. Press your lower back tightly into the ground, do not make a hollow cross! Put the ball between your knees and press it together.

2. Arms and heads lie relaxed on the mat. Move your legs slowly and carefully from left to right, like a pendulum. Going only so far that both shoulders are still on the ground. Do not put down the knee - hold the tension.

3. Repeat the exercise for 20 pendulum movements, i.e. 10 times on each side. Then put your legs off and relax.

Exercise for the arms

The arms can also be trained with the Pilates ball. For example, with an exercise that some may know from yoga: the looking down dog. You can run this position with or without a ball - depending on how you can do it.

1. Go into the push -up and then slowly push your buttocks back and up. If you use a Pilates ball, you position your hands on the ball

2. Push your heels towards the floor. If the stretch is a bit too strong, you can also bend your knees a little. So less pressure rests on it. Let the neck and shoulders relax and look between your feet.

3. Keep this position for about 10 seconds and then repeat it a few times. The following applies: the stronger the ball is inflated, the easier the exercise.

Exercise for balance

This exercise trains your balance, but also trains the complete core, especially the straight abdominal muscles. Backs, shoulders, legs and buttocks are also involved. A real all -rounder!

1. Go to the four -footed stand and support a hand on the Pilates ball. Now slowly raise the other arm and at the same time stretch the opposite leg into the air. Arm and leg form a straight line with the back.

2. That will be a bit shaky at the beginning, but you can do it! Tense your stomach and breathe regularly. After a few breaths, you change the site. Doesn't work? Then initially only lifts the arm, not the leg.

3. Isn't that difficult enough for you? Then the knee and elbow leads together under the stomach and stretches it out again. After a few repetitions, change the page here too.

Exercise for the back

If you sit a lot, the back suffers from it. This is exactly why it is important not to forget your back during training. A good Pilates Ball Exercise for beginners is the following:

1. Place on your stomach, stretch your arms forward and put the wrists on the Pilates ball. Now put a little pressure on the ball and then slowly rolls it up to you. In the end, your hands rest on the ball.

2. Lifts your body from your back muscles during movement. But the core is also active. Make sure to let your shoulders loose, they should not be pulled up.

3. As soon as you are as high as possible as it is possible for you, you keep there. Then slowly you roll down again in the same way. Performs everything about 10 times.

Pilates balls are suitable for both beginners and advanced Pilates fans. You just start with it, then you may need some attempts until you have the shoot. But that is a lot of fun and trains your body tension at the same time. You can also easily practice the movements at home.

And if the positions become too easy? It is always difficult! Because the exercises can be easily adapted and thus creating new sporty input. The fitness ball participates.

In addition, people benefit: