Welcome to the Get Fit Guys' quick and dirty tips to get moving and shape up.

My name is Brock Armstrong, and I'm the Get Fit Guy.

Think back on all the fitness doodads and gizmos that have come and gone in the last 20, 30 or 40 years.

Due to the fitness craze that mostly began in the 1980s, you can likely think

of a lot. But while the thigh master and the shake weight of gum and gone, one fitness fad has

stuck around, the exercise ball, also known as a gym ball, Swiss ball, physio ball, or stability

ball. But I'll use exercise ball and stability ball interchangeably here.

Why the staying power? Well, because unlike other fads, the exercise ball actually makes sense.

This big rubber inflatable sphere is truly a versatile piece of workout equipment, and not just for serious bodybuilding or high athletic achieving individuals either.

This ball is great for all levels of fitness. It can function as both a form of resistance

in your workout, or it can work as a bench or platform for exercising on. And sport docs and

physiotherapists have been using these types of balls for years to help

improve their patient's core strength and overall functionality. And more recently, many gyms and studios

have incorporated them as well. And to be honest, along with a pull-up bar, I think everyone should have one of these in their homes.

So let's talk about what an exercise ball is good for. And the first thing is weight training.

A properly inflated ball is an inexpensive and useful alternative to a weight bench. Plus, when you

lie down or use a ball while you're lifting

weights, you actually activate some muscles, aside from the ones that you're truly focusing

on, that are working to keep you stabilized and safely on top of the ball. And the next thing

you can use an exercise ball for is core training. Using a ball in our core training can help in two ways.

Doing core training on top of a ball can help you increase the range of motion that you're moving through,

and using the ball as a resistance tool or weight also allows you to get more out of your core exercises. And you can also use an exercise ball

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