By Elizabeth Towe
The new year is a good time to check in with your core strength. Quadruped on the ball is a favorite “fun” exercise to play with finding balance and stillness with core stability. We add the challenge of the alternating arm lift to improve balance, shoulder and hip stability. In order to enjoy and excel at the activities that we participate in regularly, we have to do the appropriate strength work to support the skeleton. Let 2014 be the year that you get strong!
Exercise:
Start by bringing the stability ball against the shins and knees.
With hands on the ball, begin to lean your shins and knees into the ball until your bodyweight is distributed evenly on all four points on the ball(your hands and knees), drawing your focus inward – your feet should come off the ground so you are balancing on top of the ball.
Be sure to brace your abdominal muscles and allow the bracing to balance your center over the center of the ball. Hold a neutral spine (flat back) with maximal length from the sitting bones to the crown of the head. Check in with your pelvis and be sure that you are not tucking it under – bring it to neutral so that your sits bones (ischial tuberosities) are “shining” straight behind you, not pointing at the ground.
Hold the balance and focus on slow, steady breathing. As your balance improves, begin to lift one hand off the ball and continue to balance on the three remaining contact points. Move slowly to alternate the arms lifting off the ball.
Play with this for five minutes or more a day to see steady improvement.
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Elizabeth Towe is a runner and a cyclist and the owner of Balanced Movement Studio in Carrboro. She graduated from East Carolina with a degree in exercise and sports science and has been personal training for over 20 years. Her ultimate goal for all of her clients is to help them realize and achieve the optimal quality in their life – and to remember to have fun doing it.
