Women’s Health Blog

If there is one equipment you should not miss in your training, it is the stability ball. The market comes up with new training tools every now and then. Yet you are not sure if they do work and if they are safe. So for one that is guaranteed to work, use the stability ball.

What Is a Stability Ball?

This is a large and inflatable ball used as an exercise equipment. Despite being air-filled, it is generally heavy-duty and capable to hold 600 to 700 pounds of weight. It is comfortable and gives good support. It perfectly suits the trainee as it easily goes with the structure of the body.

This exercise tool is also sometimes called as the physioball or the Swiss Ball.

The good thing about using the stability ball is it reduces the perception of working in training, especially for beginners. It gives some element of play as you get rough with the training. It adds some fun and excitement as you advance in the movements and techniques.

Another good point with the ball is that it can be used by anybody. No fitness level is required. It is very portable and light weight, easy to bring along even when traveling. It is also inexpensive compared to other exercise equipment and it could last for a very long time.

How Stability Balls Came About?

The use of the stability balls for training can be traced in rehabilitation. As early as the 1900s, physical therapists have been using balls in addressing the neurological disorders of their patients.

Then, in the early 1960s, Aquilino Cosani, an Italian toy maker, made the ball and sold it, known then as the Gymnastik. Two decades after, Cosani came up with a company called Gymnic and became the major supplier of the stability ball to most rehabilitation programs and centers.

The ball then shifted from the rehabilitation to the athletic area, in the 90s. It was used to condition the body of professional athletes. From then on, the ball became very prominent in the fitness community.

At present medical specialists and fitness professionals very much recommend the use of the stability ball by the public. It serves more than solving physical problems. It is good in preventing you from having one.

What Are the Benefits of Using a Stability Ball?

The stability ball definitely is best to improve the strength of the abs and the lower-backs. It improves as well the functional strength, balance and flexibility of the body.

1. Proper Alignment
Using the ball during training will test the body to make use of the different parts to maintain the proper balance. The dynamic movements during exercise will improve the natural motor reflexes of the body as different muscles are utilized in movement, especially the ones that are not usually used. The challenge posed by the ball is to maintain balance. As one aims to get the proper balance, the alignment of the body parts is also improved.

2. Great Abs
For people working out to achieve great abs, this ball can definitely target the abdominal areas. The abs and the back muscles are simultaneously moved as you work in your balance. Just imagine the good feeling of having a flat stomach area and you will definitely love this ball.

3. Muscle Strength and Endurance
The stability ball can help in alleviating any back pain and preventing one in the future. As all the major muscle groups are exercised, the muscle tone, strength and endurance are also improved. Thus it gives the body flexibility, stability and resistance.

4. Core Stability
This concerns the major muscles that helps stabilize and support all of the body movements. This is made up of back and the deep abdominal muscles. With the ball, no matter how deep or into the core these muscles are, they are still exercised. This is something only the stability ball can guarantee.

5. Stretching
The ball is a good companion during stretching exercises. With this, you can easily move into and move out of different stretching positions.

6. Losing Weight
Of course, with all the good benefits of using the ball, you will not miss out on the aspect of losing weight. With regular exercises and trainings done with the stability ball, a person can lose some unwanted pounds as the body is firmed.

Health is definitely your most important asset. So do your regular exercises and maintain a healthy diet. Furthermore, have a happy and fun training with the stability ball.

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For long, man had a common perception that emotions have nothing to do with success. On extremes, many believed that they do not only interact negatively with our decision-making but may also cause us to fail.

There are various intelligence types that human has. And lack of one doesn’t actually imply failure in the general picture of life. Some are naturally endowed with higher I.Q. scores that make them in the advantage of having larger storage for information. Other people, on the other hand, have the special ability to truly discern themselves. This is what they call intrapersonal intelligence.

Emotional intelligence therefore is the ability to become sensitive to understand one’s own emotions and the emotions that observe from other people. This in the end will be consciously monitored to serve as determining factors in creating decisions and in putting up reactions to various stimuli.

Since we are dealing with the various aspects of emotions, it is pretty obvious that there is no gray line between emotions and emotional intelligence.

Emotions affect decision-making, our reactions to things, our moods, our sentiments, our general disposition in a given situation. Oftentimes, solutions do not come from the intellect. Too much thinking may even cause paralysis of the mind. This is largely due to the fact that when we think too much for a solution, our minds seem to clutter with answers that point to nowhere but to the beginning. Analysis takes time and when it does, it may allow time for the aggravation of problems.

It is not to discourage anyone from analyzing personal problems clearly. However, we want you not to enclose yourself with the idea of I.Q. alone. There is more to intelligence than using your cranial capacities in creating decisions.

We weren’t inherently equipped with emotions though. When we were born, we were likely to be blank white pages where various stimulus must be written before we ever find the concept of reactions to emotions. Only as we age and therefor exposed to spectrums of experiences do we learn to react with the different types of emotions.

This is probably the reason why when we were children, we had no fear or anxiety over tripping on the floor or doing something dangerous. After all, we still have no idea what fear is or what is anxiety or what are dangerous experiences.

Knowing the degree of your emotions and the various reactions that are created during specific conditions. Having enough knowledge of determining how well you cope up with given stimulation. And knowing what are the factors that will create the rise of emotions in you will all be helpful in gaining new insight of yourself.

Emotions are inevitable parts of our existence. And experts in the field have learned to evaluate emotion intelligence by determining its five domains.

Management of emotions
This generally covers the ability to handle one’s emotions to fit a given condition. This also entails the proper mixture of emotions and the realization of what caused a specific reaction to arise.

Self-awareness
This is different from self criticism mainly in the manner by which specific emotions are determined. It is the systematic observance of oneself to recognize feelings and moods as they happen.

Self motivation
This is evident in delayed gratification, in positive use of emotions to channel emotions into goals, and in over-all self control.

Empathy
This is basically the sensitivity to other people’s feelings and perspectives of things.  

Handling of relationships
This is one dimension of social intelligence, which is closely intertwined with emotional intelligence since it covers the management of emotions to retain and harmonize relationships.

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