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III.3. FITNESS BALL

This is a dynamic and joyful workout method, which efficiently develops condition and coordination skills. The equipment is a gymnastic ball specially designed for these purposes. It is also called fitness ball. The fitness ball is a recreational sports equipment developed for healthy people. Its use protects the skeletal system including the bones and joints, and, even during relatively intensive aerobic exercises, it provides ideal cardiovascular load for anyone. Fitness ball trainings are a safe preventive and rehabilitative workout method, so it is appropriate for everyone including children, the elderly, less trained and well-trained individuals. Large balls have been used for therapeutic purposes among people with disabilities and neurological problems since 1910. Later, it proved to be an effective tool to assist injured athlete’s rehabilitation, too. Although it improved muscle strength and joint mobility, decreased endurance was still a problem to be solved in the case of injured athletes. As time passed, physiotherapists recognized that aerobic exercises can also be carried out while sitting on the ball and bouncing intensively. These exercises train large muscle groups (quadriceps, hamstrings, gluteus, abdominal and lats) without straining the injured joints. Moreover, bouncing on the ball provides high intensity levels. This brought about the birth of fitness ball trainings in 1992 (Antal, 1999).