Spheres help exercisers build strength and balance

Monday, April 10th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

What started as a physical therapy tool 40 years ago has become the latest craze in fitness centers. When it comes right down to it, though, most of us have been "working out" with this exercise prop since we were kids.

The ball is back. But when you work out with an exercise ball, you'll do more than throw, hit, lob, spike and dunk it. Balancing yourself and working out the muscles that help you keep your balance is the key.

"The ball helps retrain and strengthen muscles by giving the body an unstable platform," says Jake Spivey, a physical therapist at Matrix Rehabilitation at Walnut Hill. "Muscles have to work harder to stay in balance."

Lynn Glasser, a physical therapist and director of rehabilitation services at Arlington Memorial Hospital, has been using
balls for more than 20 years. Therapists who specialize in different areas - from lower back pain to neurological disorders to orthopedic problems - have all used balls, she says.
"Now," Ms. Glasser adds, "we realize it's useful for the whole body - muscular and neurological components benefit [from using balls]. It's balance, strength and coordination, all of those things together."

Using balls as fitness props is nothing new. Known previously as "medicine balls" or Swiss Balls, you'll now find a wider variety of balls by several manufacturers, including Flex Ball and Physio Ball. These are oversized balls that take the place of a workout bench, the wall, even the floor.

"[Ball] therapy originally started for people who had neurological problems, such as spinal injuries and stroke," says Mr. Spivey. "Sitting on them helps increase balance and builds core stabilization [which involves the deep abdominal and lower-back muscles].

"That has evolved into multiple uses. We still use them for core stabilization for people who have low back pain, because a majority of low back pain is caused by a breakdown of the core stabilization muscles - due to bad posture and bad habits, like sitting in front of a computer all day."

Ms. Glasser believes because of the close ties between physical therapy and physical fitness, people saw the benefits of using the body for resistance and, in looking for a fun way to keep fit, began using the balls in their workout routines.

"By having to stabilize and move at the same time, you really have to work," Ms. Glasser says. "And it's fun. You don't have to have a disability to make your workout fun."

Here's where you'll find balls being used in exercise routines in Dallas.

The ball class

Instructor Chinook Wusdhu has every kind of ball ready to bounce at Deep Ellum's Studio Exclusive: big exercise balls, smaller and heavier weighted balls, a football, basketball, soccer ball, even a hackey sack.

There are 18 people taking this class, called "Multi-Sculpt" (he also teaches another ball class called "Fitness Sphere"), with a different theme every week depending on Mr. Wusdhu's whim.

Students complete the ball circuit, spending several minutes at each station. They use balls for buttock lifts, triceps and biceps curls, sit-ups and squats, and for aerobic benefits such as throwing, dribbling and kicking.

"It rocks," says class participant Holly Jefferson. "It's never the same. It keeps people like me, who hate the routine, motivated. The balls keep it exciting and keep people involved."

That kind of reaction from participants is exactly what Bruce Boyd, Studio Exclusive's owner, expects.

"Alternate fitness is where it's at," he says.

While Mr. Boyd has used medicine balls for abdominal work in his personal training and fitness business for years, he didn't start using the large Flex Ballsuntil two years ago.

The benefits, he says, go beyond helping to build muscle.

"It helps you become more aware of your body. The body works harder, it tones the connective tissues and builds integrity in the joints," Mr. Boyd says. The brain works just as hard, sending messages to muscles, he says, and it learns how to send these messages more efficiently.

The 42-year-old former University of Texas football player, believes he's more supple and agile for using the balls in his training and he's hearing about the benefits from his clients: many have a much easier time standing on one foot to put on a sock.

The trainer's view

While many gyms are just beginning to incorporate group exercise with balls, many personal trainers have a wealth of "ball exercises" for one-on-one sessions with clients.

Josh Smith, a personal trainer at Dallas' Cooper Fitness Center and a partner at Biokinetics, a fitness training company, incorporates both Swiss Balls and medicine balls in fitness routines.

"A bench is one-dimensional and the core muscles don't have to support you because you're supported by the bench," Mr. Smith says. "On the ball, they become intrinsically involved in the process, otherwise you'd fall off the ball. We operate in a three dimensional world where we're not supported by a bench or a machine."

The size of the large rubber balls is based on height. People 5 feet 6 inches or shorter require a 55-centimeter ball. Those up to 6-feet tall need a 65-centimeter ball; those who are taller than 6 feet work with a 75-centimeter ball. Weighted balls come in all sizes and weights.

Large balls typically are used for support, while the weighted balls are the props, used to develop specific strength.

"They're similar to weights but to optimize power you have to release whatever you have in your hands," Mr. Smith says, adding that you can release a ball with the same motor pattern that simulates a sport. "Take any sport and we can mimic it," he says. "It can enhance, teach, make you faster or more efficient."

Mr. Smith believes balls are gaining popularity because using them matches life movements and you don't have to buy a $5,000 piece of equipment to exercise.

"Functional fitness is becoming a buzz word," he says. "People see great value in having core stability. If your core is not strong it doesn't matter how strong your quads or biceps are. This is a way to enhance the core strength."

Kara Douglass Thom is a Dallas free-lance writer.