When I was a teenager I had a saying. “If it can’t be fixed with duct tape – it can’t be fixed.” As I got older I added the mantra, “All I need are grapes for wine and coffee beans for coffee.”
A few years ago, I realized that the easiest and surest way to turn almost any exercise into an awesome core strength building exercise is the Physioball. Tada…a new mantra. “All I need is a Physioball for Functional Fitness.” You can balance on one on your knees. You can then do darn near anything with a dumbbell while kneeling on the ball, such as Presses, Curls, etc.
Put your back on the Physioball for things like Russian Twists and Lateral Rolls. In fact, below is a list (not comprehensive by any means) of various Physioball exercises. But again, with a little imagination, you can do tons more. The key is that you have to activate your core to stablize yourself while doing the exercise, so there is added value anytime you throw in a Physioball.
PB Balance PB Balance & Curl PB Balance & Press PB Russian Twist PB Dumbbell Curls PB Leg Rotation PB Knee Tuck Rotation PB Lateral Roll PB Plate Crunch PB Bridge (1 0r 2 Leg) PB Knee Tuck (1 or 2 Leg) PB Push-up (1 or 2 PB) PB Leg Curl PB Mountain Climbers PB 1 Leg Sit-up Now, my list for the Slosh Tube (his name is Devon, remember?) is much smaller: Press Ovehead Walk Burpee Twirl Get up sit up SquatI knew that just running or walking with Devon is a great exercise (no videos for that though). Talk about engaging your core!!
But the other day, Seth and I did a workout at my house that called for a heavy bag or barbell. I didn’t have one available so I substituted Devon in for anything that called for either the bag or the barbell.
One of the first exercises that came up was the Dead Lift. Now Devon doesn’t weigh much and the Dead Lift was way too easy…so I thought. I added more reps and called it good – thinking I just downgraded the workout. But then I felt something. As the water sloshed from one end to the other, especially with a close hand grip, I realized that I was working tons of muscles to keep the tube level. So maybe I wasn’t working my lower back as hard as I would with a nice heavy Dead Lift, but what a great surprise.
Devon was great for the Burpees (see link above) and for Presses and Thrusters even. The greatest gem that came out of the workout, however, was when we tried to do Floor Wipers. Here is a link for a Floor Wiper with a barbell. Now, 135 lbs is a lot heavier than the weight of Devon, but it proved to be darn near impossible to keep flat on the ground while swinging our legs to the side and balancing Devon.
That is when it hit me…Devon can be used for a lot more than I thought. Just substitute him in for almost any exercise that involves holding something and you have an intense core building exercise!
So which is better – a Physioball or a Slosh Tube? To be honest, I am on the fence and do not have the answer as of yet. I want to try Devon out with more movements to get a better idea. If you have used a Slosh Tube, please let us know what you think.
Why not add a wrinkle to your difficult choice? Get a physio ball & instead of filling it w/ air, fill it 1/2 way w/ H20! 🙂 Now you’ve got a cross b/w Devon & a physio ball. OOOHHH!!!!!
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I’ve got one physioball I don’t need… but until I get bored with all the other workouts I probably won’t drown it 😛
I’ve been meaning to build a slosh tube for a while now… When I have a bit more time I’ll really need to takle that project.
Somehow my physioballs have been collecting dust for a month or two now.. except for the one I usually sit on. I guess they started to bore me a little when I mastered most of the exercises.
Hey Pete, congratulations on 10’000 hits 🙂 !
By the way, did you get my email?
Pat,
I did not get an email, but have not checked since yesterday morning. I can’t check it here at work, so I’ll try again tonight. I did respond to your other comment and have been working on some better posts to help with workout design.
If you haven’t, check out the post just before this one titled “creating your own workouts.” Try to email me again at kemmestudios@altelco.net
And yes, you need to invest the $15 and get yourself a Slosh Tube. It is just way too much fun! Search Slosh tube on my site for a post I had about 2 different theories on how to fill it with water.
Yeah… I guess you can triple the price for the slosh tube for me…
However I could imagine that a water physioball would actually make exercises easier, as long as you’re not trying to lift it.. like balancing on a medicin ball is easier than on a basketball.
I’m going to send you the email again tomorrow, it’s already late here.
Oh and Pat…You have to be certifiably crazy to follow Lawrence’s advice. Trust me! 🙂