Easy Exercise: Gotta Bounce!

What’s the best exercise? The answer: the exercise you’ll do!

Your doctor, coach, or fitness trainer all have their own ideas of the best exercise for you. Generally speaking, a combination of resistance or strength training combined with aerobic exercise is often recommended. Finding the exact exercises can be challenging, but unless you find something that’s fun and is suitable for your current physical condition, you will soon find yourself making up all sorts of excuses to skip your workout.

Today, l want to talk about an exercise that’s easy, burns calories, works your core, and helps your lymphatic system remove toxins and metabolic wastes from your body. It’s also suitable for someone with limited mobility issues. 

Curious yet? I’m talking about bouncing on a stability ball, or Swiss ball. It provides a supportive base for bouncing exercises without the impact on your joints. They’re easy to find at any store that sells sporting goods and are inexpensive wellness tools.

Your lymphatic system helps to remove toxins, such as metabolic wastes, from your body. It provides immune functions and assists in your body's fluid balance. Furthermore, your lymphatic system distributes fluids and essential nutrients around your body. You can assist your lymphatic system's function through bouncing. A stability ball, or Swiss ball, provides a supportive base for bouncing exercises without impact on the joints of your body. Exercise balls can be purchased at any sporting goods store and are inexpensive wellness tools.

Your lymphatic system depends on exercise to help it eliminate toxins from your body. The lymph fluid cannot move on its own. It moves as a result of your body movements. Bouncing helps to open and close the one-way valves of the lymph ducts to allow free-flowing removal of waste. This is important because when toxins build up in your body you will have reduced energy levels.  

Think of bouncing like resistance training for your cells. When you bounce, your cells respond to the changing gravitational pull by becoming stronger.

Another plus to bouncing on a Swiss ball is that you stimulate the small muscles of your core, those muscles essential for good posture, balance, and movement control. Who knew something as fun as bouncing could strengthen your abdominal, low back, and deep pelvic muscles? And just two minutes of bouncing leads to an increase in white blood cell count, helping to boost your immunity.

When bouncing on your ball, keep your feet in contact with the ground. You can add arm raises to the front and sides as you advance. Begin with one or two minutes and aim to not exceed five minutes during one session. You can repeat your sessions throughout the day. The American Holistic Health Association suggests two to four times each day.

When choosing a ball, the correct size is important. To measure proper size, sit on a ball and look to see if your knees are in a straight line out from your hips. If your knees are too high, the ball is too small. If your knees are too low, the ball is too big.

Wear supportive, non-slip shoes when bouncing on a stability ball to provide a supportive base; and choose a clean open space when bouncing. Remember, the ball is an unstable surface, so sit on your ball for a bit until you feel comfortable keeping yourself balanced; your core will love you for it!

If you want to continue core work, sit on your ball at your desk, or while you watch tv. You can’t really slouch while sitting or bouncing on the ball, so your back won’t ache either!

Remember to always seek your doctor's guidance before starting a workout program.

Exercise: It does a body good!