I brought one of those big fitness balls into work to sit on instead of the chair. This was at the recommendation of my chiropractor to keep my hip flexors from getting tight as hell and messing up my training. Apparently it keeps lots of ones propreoceptive muscles firing just to keep you “on the ball” if you will.
And man after only 5 hours my ass really stings. the sides of my glutes are killing me. There really might be something to this. In theory it should help me recover from leg days better. Plus there is the forced good posture.
Try it out. Set your self apart from your fat co-workers.
Fit: helps recovery, keeps tendons in legs from tightening, helps balance muscles develop.
Sex: have to keep legs apart which allows balls to hang freely down the side of the ball. As opposed to being cramped between your legs and the chair. this gets them heated up too much which reduces sperm production and boners. Keep your balls cool and airy for maximum protein value in your load for your lady.
[quote]Mr ian wrote:
what about back support? Most chairs have some sort of back support. Does it make a difference not having it? for better or worst? [/quote]
If you can maintain your own posture it certainly is for the better.
I’ve gone the ball route and it hurt my back worse than a regular chair. I dropped $700 on a real chair and the Magnificient Mobility DVD and my back is the best it’s ever been.
You also might want to try standing up every hour and doing about 5 minutes of stretching.
[quote]ConanSpeaks wrote:
I’ve gone the ball route and it hurt my back worse than a regular chair. I dropped $700 on a real chair and the Magnificient Mobility DVD and my back is the best it’s ever been.
You also might want to try standing up every hour and doing about 5 minutes of stretching.[/quote]
That’s an interesting result… do you have an idea as to why your back felt worse?
[quote]De sleeplijn wrote:
You might want to check your works Occupational Health and Safety manual. Most work places have banned sitting on the Swiss Ball.
There was actually a case of a lady rolling back off the ball and cracking her skull on the desk behind her.
Another case was of a lady who fell off it and broke her wrist.[/quote]
Probably a good idea…
I’ll try the original suggestion some time next week. I work at a desk at a gym, so I could just steal the swiss ball for a while… I’d try it next week, but I’m deloading and trying not to put any weird stress on my system for a week.
In addition to checking OSHA, you may want to check with your employer’s HR department to see if they’d be willing to compensate. I have a friend that gets all kinds of shit outta them (dual monitors for hurt neck, wireless keypad for carpal tunnel symptoms, etc). Companies usually are willing to throw money through HR more than any other department.
[quote]Vyapada wrote:
ConanSpeaks wrote:
I’ve gone the ball route and it hurt my back worse than a regular chair. I dropped $700 on a real chair and the Magnificient Mobility DVD and my back is the best it’s ever been.
You also might want to try standing up every hour and doing about 5 minutes of stretching.
That’s an interesting result… do you have an idea as to why your back felt worse?[/quote]
Just personal preference I suppose. In my case I found that the ball did indeed make your back muscles fire all day long. However…
…if you do a workout that consists of 3 sets of 8 reps of stiff legged deadlifts you are under a brief period of intense stress and as a result you get a training effect when your body has time to rest and recuperate. Now, reach down like you are going to do a stiff legged deadlift, put a little tension on the weight like you were going to pick it up off the floor and now hold that position for an hour at a time until you reach 8 hours of total tension. Based on what we know about lifting from this site, that 8 hours of mediocre tension isn’t going to build up any kind of strength in your back. In fact it may irritate it, which it apparently does to my back.
Like I said from my personal experience I think you are better off putting in the time to exercise and stretch your back with something like the Magnificient Mobility program. That is what works for me personally.
My back feels tense but i pretty sure it’s cause im using my core to keep me upright. I felt great after work though, not stiff and lethargic.
-chris
[quote]ConanSpeaks wrote:
I’ve gone the ball route and it hurt my back worse than a regular chair. I dropped $700 on a real chair and the Magnificient Mobility DVD and my back is the best it’s ever been.
You also might want to try standing up every hour and doing about 5 minutes of stretching.[/quote]
[quote]ConanSpeaks wrote:
Vyapada wrote:
ConanSpeaks wrote:
I’ve gone the ball route and it hurt my back worse than a regular chair. I dropped $700 on a real chair and the Magnificient Mobility DVD and my back is the best it’s ever been.
You also might want to try standing up every hour and doing about 5 minutes of stretching.
That’s an interesting result… do you have an idea as to why your back felt worse?
Just personal preference I suppose. In my case I found that the ball did indeed make your back muscles fire all day long. However…
…if you do a workout that consists of 3 sets of 8 reps of stiff legged deadlifts you are under a brief period of intense stress and as a result you get a training effect when your body has time to rest and recuperate. Now, reach down like you are going to do a stiff legged deadlift, put a little tension on the weight like you were going to pick it up off the floor and now hold that position for an hour at a time until you reach 8 hours of total tension. Based on what we know about lifting from this site, that 8 hours of mediocre tension isn’t going to build up any kind of strength in your back. In fact it may irritate it, which it apparently does to my back.
Like I said from my personal experience I think you are better off putting in the time to exercise and stretch your back with something like the Magnificient Mobility program. That is what works for me personally.
[/quote]
Thanks for sharing your experience - it’s an interesting perspective.
I’d like to say though, that from my experience ball work is intended to be for muscles with a postural role (like multifidus, for individuals who can benefit from having better function in these muscles) and proprioceptive or stabilising work rather than for strengthening muscles which have gross movement roles.
I’d like to hear from anyone with other experiences, though.
[quote]wressler125 wrote:
I work at a desk at a gym, so I could just steal the swiss ball for a while… I’d try it next week, but I’m deloading and trying not to put any weird stress on my system for a week.[/quote]
I used to have a job like that. They fired me for telling everyone all they needed to do were push ups to become buff and the ‘real deal’.
I think it does force you to keep good posture by not slouching back into a chair or leaning forward too much.
It’s got a bit of a faggy reputation in most workplaces though. Most of the people doing it probably don’t exercise or anything. Sitting on the ball probably counts as their training session.