Some fitness products make no sense (remember the Slide?) but, every now and then, a single but basic fitness product works its way into the main stream that you cannot ignore. One such workout product focuses on functional fitness and core strength which involves strengthening the torso for better home workouts, functional training sessions. A favorite exercise product for core strength is the yoga ball. Yoga gurus and physical therapists understand the effectiveness of exercise balls and have been using them for years. Now even Olympic athletes know it is a great way to strengthen the torso and core stability muscles and increase overall fitness levels. Here’s what you need to know about choosing and using a stability or exercise ball.

Choosing a Stability Ball or Exercise ball:

Before you buy a stability or exercise ball, make sure it’s the right size for your height. Here is a good set of guidelines for choosing a stability or exercise ball that will fit your overall body size:

55 cm exercise ball if your height is between 4′11″ - 5′4″
65 cm exercise ball if your height is between 5′5″ - 5′11″
75 cm exercise ball if your height is between 6′0″ - 6′ 7″

Why Use An Exercise Ball

Exercise Balls affect you by requiring your core body parts for balance and stabilization. When you lie on the Exercise Ball, your core muscles immediately contracts to keep you from falling off. Add yoga to that and you’ve just increased the intensity of exercise.

This video highlights the top 10 medicine ball exercises. The exercises that are featured, when done as a group, are designed to give you a complete, total-body workout.

The exercises featured include:Sit-ups with Medicine Ball

1. Push up on Medicine Ball with Lateral Roll
2. Squat with Medicine Ball Flexion to Extension
3. Forward Step Lunge with Medicine Ball with Torso Twist
4. Torso Turn Reach with Medicine Ball
5. Medicine Ball Wood Chop with Rotation
6. Overhead Medicine Ball Toss
7. Chest Pass with Medicine Ball
8. Oblique Medicine Ball Toss
9. Squat and Lunge Jumps with Medicine Ball

See our complete line of GetFitSource.com Medicine Balls and get fit for life.

Dumbbells (or Hand Weights) offer an element of added weight and resistance to almost any exercise. What this does is intensifies the effectiveness of the exercise, making each movement you make more meaningful, and helping you to burn more calories. Working out with dumbbells has advantages over other types of exercise equipment that rely on resistance. Dumbbell workouts require you to use stabilizing muscles that are important to strength, balance, and posture. Unlike some exercise equipment that utilizes movements that may take some getting used to, dumbbell exercises use many of the body’s natural movement patterns and also incorporate a greater range of movement than many other type of functional home fitness equipment. The flexibility of dumbbell workouts means that you can target specific areas of the body very effectively.