Roll like the Swiss do
IF YOU’VE BEEN WONDERING WHAT THE BIG DEAL ABOUT THE SWISS BALL EXERCISES IS, WE HAVE NEWS FOR YOU
Over the years, Swiss balls have grown in prominence with fitness enthusiasts. But for those just out from living under a stone, Swiss balls are large inflatable exercise balls, sometimes also called yoga balls, used mostly in physical therapy, athletic training, etc.
In one of his social media posts, Neeraj Chopra, the golden boy who brought India the javelin gold in Tokyo 2020, gave a glimpse of his preparation ahead of the main tournament. The champion had pulled off an inherently risky core strength exercise by standing on a Swiss ball, while flaunting exceptional balancing skills.
Actress Bhagyashree also had recently taken to her social media and shared a video that gave fitness freaks a glimpse of her robust exercise session. In the video, Bhagyashree can be seen placing her hands on the Swiss ball as she brings her knees forward on the ball while slowly shifting her weight on it. Getting comfortable on all fours, she is seen rising up into a kneeling position while maintaining a neutral spinal position. Then using her arms at her sides to assist in the balancing, the actor looks ahead, lifts her chest and raises her hands overhead to clasp them together in Anjali mudra while still kneeling on the Swiss ball. In the caption to the video post, she wrote, “Core strength gives core balance. #coreexercise #core #corebalance #corestrength #coreworkout #coretraining #balance #swissball #domorebemore [sic].”
We spoke with fitness enthusiast Vaibhav Somani who is also a director at Gravolite, a manufacturer of sports mat, to understand more about Swiss ball exercises. “Swiss ball exercises have multiple benefits, starting from being good for lower back pain. It can also be used for other purposes including finding neutral spine position, learning proper postures, build and strengthening abdominal and back muscles and increasing balance and stability,” explains Vaibhav.
Here are a few Swiss ball exercises he lists, with their benefits: