When you come across an article titled “Swiss balls: functional aid or fashion accessory?” you can’t pass by.
The full article is here.
Not denying the basic idea of using a swiss ball as a good exercise tool for core stability the author goes further and explains why it is not everything so simple with a swiss ball.
You’ll get the answers for:
Q: Does the Swiss ball automatically increase core muscle activation?
Q: Are Swiss ball exercises suitable for low-back patients?
Q: Why perform leg and arm exercises on the Swiss ball?
One of the most interesting passages:
Fitness trainer Paul J Goodman argues that Swiss ball-based exercises are the key to effective improvements in trunk strength. As actions per-formed on the ball involve greater stimulation of the ‘neuromuscular system’, users develop better balance, coordination and proprioception, Goodman says.
Evidence to support the efficacy of Swiss ball exercises comes in a piece of research from a Canadian laboratory. Kathryn Clark and her research team at the School of Health and Human Performance of Dalhousie University compared the electromyographic (EMG) activity of the rectus abdominis muscle during various abdominal exercises(2).
Clark’s findings are supported by those of another Canadian researcher, Stuart McGill. His team also looked at the EMG activity of the Swiss ball ab curl versus the ab curl on the floor. McGill reports(3) that the EMG activity of rectus abdominis and obliques are greater when the ab curl is performed on the Swiss ball.
Thumbs up for the Swiss ball so far.
Another piece of research looked at the Swiss ball from a different angle. David Behm and team, from the Memorial University of Newfound-land, analysed changes in the muscle force and activation of the limbs when an exercise is performed under stable (on a bench) or unstable (on a Swiss ball) conditions(4).
They examined muscle force and EMG of the quadriceps during leg extension and calf during plantar-flexion performed in stable and unstable modes, also noting the EMG of the antagonist (opposite) muscles: the hamstring and dorsiflexors.
This produced some unexpected results. As you might expect the leg extension and plantar-flexion forces were greater where the subject was stable, seated on the bench rather than on the Swiss ball. However, while the quadriceps and calf EMG was lower during the unstable movement, the EMG of the antagonist muscles (hamstring and dorsiflexors) increased.
This suggests that agonist (prime-mover) muscle activity is inhibited during unstable exercise, with in-creased antagonist activity. So Swiss balls are not going to be the best way of developing prime-mover muscle strength.
In simple terms, the Swiss ball changes the task from pure leg extension to leg extension while controlling the body. It turns the movement into a stability/proprioception exercise rather than a limb-strengthening exercise.
