The reason why most people fail to attain their fitness goals is because they perceive exercise as overly tiring and tedious. With exercise balls, however, you’ll see that working out has never been more fun!

The Ball of Your Choice
Workout balls are the most affordable and easily controlled of the lot. They are the best choices for beginners or people who haven’t exercised for a long, long time.

Gym balls are particularly effective for users who wish to benefit from balance training. They’re great to use as well for core stability exercises. Keep in mind that although supremely effective, gym balls are quite challenging to use so exercise novices may not be qualified to use them.

Weighted medicine balls are the circular equivalent of weights. They?e unbelievably great if you?e looking for a way to tone your flabby arms and weak muscles. Physical therapists and rehabilitation specialists encourage athletes in fact to make use of medicine balls if they’re experiencing shoulder or arm pain.

Hi-Fit balls are also meant for individuals in intermediate levels; practicing on them would require you to show a combination of strength, stability and balance. It should be noted that some experts tend to use hi-fit balls and gym balls interchangeably.

Different Routines that Use Exercise Balls
The following routines are primarily designed to complement the use of exercise balls. Concentrate on one routine at a time!

CORE CRUNCHERS - Specifically focused on abdominal and other core muscles, this routine requires you to be on your knees, bent from the waist and resting your elbows on the exercise your ball. While squeezing your abs, try to roll the exercise ball forward until your upper body and thighs are of the same level. Then, roll back to your original position. Repeat this several times.

CRUNCHES WITH A TWIST - If you think you’ve done every version of crunches, have you done it with the help of an exercise ball? Thought so! Place your lower back on the exercise ball while taking care not to lift your feet off the ground. Your upper body and thighs must be parallel to the ground. Then crunch! Use your abs to lift your shoulders and upper back off the ball. Repeat several times.

A DIFFERENT SORT OF PUSHUPS - This exercise concentrates on improving your pecs, shoulders, triceps and abs. Make sure that your whole body is parallel to the floor by keeping your hands flat on the ground and the front of your knees on the ball. Try to reach the ground by lowering your face then push back to your original position.

ABDOMINAL ROLLS - Besides improving the look and feel of your abs, this exercise also improves your overall fitness. Start by placing the exercise ball near your knees with your hands on top of it. Make sure that you’re lying on your back with your knees bent and your feet maintaining contact with the ground. Lift your shoulders from the floor ?the way you do with crunches ?while rolling the ball to the top of your knees. Go back to your original position then repeat for several times.

BALANCED PUSHUPS - This is a great alternative once you lose interest with the previous pushup version discussed. Your body should be at a 45 degrees angle this time around and you should balance your body using just the tip of your toes. Bend at the elbows and try to reach the ground with your upper body this time. Go back to the original position. Repeat several times.

As you can see, the use of exercise balls can make ordinary routines new and exciting. And what’s better, you don’t have to stop there. Let your creativity shine through and find other ways to make use of exercise balls. Good luck!