Exercise Ball Workout

For your convenience, this post contains affiliate links.

Trends come and trends go, especially concerning fitness equipment.  Do you remember the Thigh Master?  Unfortunately, I do.  But, one piece of equipment that has stood the test of time for me is my exercise ball.  I've had this ball for eight years now.  I've used it regularly for exercise and it got me through 3 pregnancies with sciatica. Today, I'd like to share  with you my favorite exercises on the ball!  Warm up for five minutes, grab your exercise ball, and join me!  

(The workout should take 25-30 minutes.)

Exercise Ball Workout

Do 12 reps of each exercise, unless the exercise says "Hold," in which case, hold for 30 seconds.  Repeat each set three times!

Set 1:
(Exercises 1-4)

1.  Sit ups on ball.  Sit on ball and roll slighly so your lower back is firmly on the ball.  Sit up, with neck relaxed and core engaged and repeat.

2.  One-legged squat.  Balance one leg on ball.  Squat with other leg, making sure knees don't go past toes.  Complete reps, then switch sides and repeat.

3.  Leg raise.  Start with ball on ground.  Grip ball between calves.  Lift ball until feet point to ceiling (or sky!), lower and repeat.

4.  Plank hold on ball.  Feet shoulder width apart.  Hold ball on both sides and slowly walk out until you are in the plank position. Hold.

Set 2:
(Exercises 5-8)

5.  Adductor Squeeze. Lay on side.  Hold ball between calves.  Lift ball slightly while squeezing inner thighs and lower back down.  Complete reps and repeat on the other side.

6.  Back Extension.  Lay on ball on stomach, with feet wide for stability.  Extend back up and lower back down until stomach is laying on ball again.  Repeat.

7.  Pike hold.  Start with feet on ball and body in a plank position.  Roll feet slowly up on ball so your bum is pointed in the air and lower head down.  Hold. (If this is difficult, and legs don't go as straight, hold with legs bent and work towards straightening legs.)

8.  Glute bridge.  Lay down with arms down by sides and feet on ball.  Keep body straight, engage core and glutes as you move your pelvis up and back down again.  Repeat.

Set 3:
(Exercises 9-12)

9.  Glute Tuck.  Start in the same position as the glute bridge.  Roll feet on ball until it almost "tucks" under legs.  Return to start position and repeat.

10.  Pushups on ball.  Start in standing position.  Roll your body out on ball until you are in the pushup position.  To make it easier, you can roll out just to your knees, if needed.  Push up and down on ball as you would regular pushups. 

11.  Side lunges.  Place foot and calf on ball.  Lunge down, making sure feet are straight and knees do not go over toes.  Go back up and repeat.

12. Back Stretch.  Start with bum against the ball and legs in a 90 degree position.  Lay back on ball slowly while walking your feet out so your legs are stretched.  Continue the stretch with your arms stretching out and back down towards the ground.  Hold. 

Cool down!  

I hope you enjoy this workout!  Please feel free to comment and give me feedback on how this workout went for you!

If you'd like to purchase a ball similar to the one I have, please click on this link!

For more info on how to pick out the right size ball for your height, click here!

80 Years of Workout Songs

I love music.  I grew up in a musical family.  My dad plays guitar.  My mom sings.  My sister played flute.  My brother played drums.  My twin brother can sing.  And, due to many hours of practicing with Amy Grant, Celine Dion, and Crystal Lewis, I can sing too!

My family's love of music rubbed off on me.  I love a bit of most genres and a little from nearly every decade.  This is what inspired this post.  My favorite genre to workout to is simply rock. These songs are sure to get you moving and keep you moving!  So, without further ado, here are my favorite workout songs over the last eight decades!

(All songs are linked to Amazon music.  Feel free to download your favorites!)

80 Years of Workout Songs

1930s

Sing, Sing, Sing (Benny Goodman, 1935)

1940s

Chatanooga Choo Choo (Glenn Miller, 1941)

1950s

Aint That a Shame (Fats Domino, 1955)

Jailhouse Rock (Elvis Presley, 1956)

Great Balls of Fire (Jerry Lee Lewis, 1957)

La Bamba (Ritchie Valens, 1958)

1960s

Barbara Ann (The Beach Boys, 1962)

Twist and Shout (The Beatles, 1963)

Respect (Aretha Franklin, 1967)

1970s

Sweet Home Alabama (Lynyrd Skynyrd, 1974)

Carry on my Wayward Son (Kansas, 1976)

Already Gone (Eagles, 1976)

1980s

Eye of the Tiger (Survivor, 1982)

Beat It (Michael Jackson, 1982)

Livin' on a Prayer (Bon Jovi, 1986)

I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Whitney Houston, 1987)

1990s

What is Love? (Haddaway, 1993)

U Can't Touch This (MC Hammer, 1996)

Song 2/"Woo-hoo" (Blur, 1997)

All Star (Smashmouth, 1999)

2000s

Beautiful Day (U2, 2000)

Dare You to Move (Switchfoot, 2000)

Hanging By a Moment (Lifehouse, 2004)

Viva La Vida (Coldplay, 2008)

2010s

Firework (Katy Perry, 2010)

Stronger (Kelly Clarkson, 2011)

Let it Out (Switchfoot, 2014)

Shake it Off (Taylor Swift, 2014)


Disclaimer:  I do not live by the lyrics of the songs, or even promote them.  I simply enjoy the beat of these songs to workout to. These songs were chosen for their BPM (beats per minute).   I did, however, try not to put any songs with vulgar, profane, or sexual lyrics on this list.

I hope you enjoyed my eight decade long playlist!  What are some of your favorite songs to workout to?

6 Reasons Why You Should Hula Hoop

(For your convenience, this post may contain affiliate links)

I have peaked a bit of curiosity in many this past week since I got out my weighted hula hoop and starting hula hooping for the first time in my life.

I admit, it is kind of curious why a 31-year-old mother of three would start hula hooping.  There are plenty of good reasons.  But, for the sake of time, I'll just give you six!

1)  It's great aerobic exercise.  It takes a whole lot of controlled motion and breathing to keep that hoop going!  If you hoop for at least 10 minutes, you will feel the difference.  For the average women, it can burn up to 165 calories in 30 minutes, and for the average man, a whopping 200 calories in just 30 minutes!

2)  It engages and strengthens more than just your core.  When basic hula hooping, you must engage several parts of your body--- your, knees, hips, chest, and shoulders---to move in rhythm with your waist.  Your waist, of course has to be moving back and forth and all those body parts I just listed have to move a bit less, but in rhythm with your waist.  That may sound hard explained in words.  Deanne from HoopLovers gives a great video instruction here.  This is the video that after not being able to hula hoop all my life, I was able to do it the first time after seeing her explanation of how to do it!

3)  It's fun and can improve your mood!  I will be buying hula hoops for my kids this weekend (or perhaps attempting to make them!) so they can participate with me.  It gets those endorphins going while I just let that hoop go around and around and around!  Turn on some music for just 10 minutes and do some hula hooping, and, honestly, you really can't stay in a bad mood!

4)  It's cheaper than a tummy tuck and a whole lot more fun (and effective) than crunches.  Seriously, though, folks.  After just one use, my core seemed firmer.  With each use, I can do more continuous rotations of the hoop---I'm up to 1,243---but whose counting?  Remember, before I started using this larger, wide, weighted hoop, I couldn't keep it going for more than 2 rotations.  I feel stronger in a very short amount of time, and it is awesome!

5)  It's low impact and activates joints.  People of all ages can hula hoop!  There are several in the 50+ crowd who reviewed the same hoop that I have and were very pleased and surprised they could do it!  I've noticed that high-impact exercise like jogging makes my previous abdominal injury from surgery hurt, but due to this exercise being low impact, the injury doesn't hurt a bit.  It also is great for those with joint conditions, like arthritis, as it improves joint flexibility.

6)  The hoop has withstood the test of time.  The Egyptians used it to test agility in their hoop games. Native American, Tony White Cloud, made the hoop dance popular in the1930s when he would perform at public events, and then he went on to tour the United States and Europe with Gene Autry.  It clearly became popular in the 50s and again in the 80s, for good reason!  (Hooping.org)

After these amazing benefits of hula hooping have been listed, I'm sure you want to get a hula hoop, right?*  I was able to get mine from a garage sale, but they are also available on Amazon.  If you read my post on how to build your home gym frugally, you would know I always check garage sales and Craigslist for deals before going to Amazon.  Craigslist may even have them in your area.  I just checked my area on Craigslist and there were several Acu-Hoops for sale from $15-30 dollars.  They run from about $32-$45 dollars on Amazon.

*Here is a bit of a disclaimer on the weighted Acu-Hoop:  After your first or second use of the weighted hoop, you may experience bruising around your hips or waist.  This is normal.  It's almost like building up a callus on your finger with working with tools or learning how to play the guitar.  That bruising will go away.  If you find you are bruised and it hurts to hula hoop, wait at least two days and try again.  You'll find that it won't hurt and you'll bruise less and less until you don't bruise anymore.  It may take a week or two for this process to work out.  It is well worth it, though, to keep trying.  Again, the bruising is normal and will go away.  You can read several reviews on the subject on Amazon.