Flexaball Workout (a.k.a. Tone, Trim, & Tighten)

Gin Miller
Year Released: 1995

Categories: Balance/Medicine/Mini/Stability Ball, Total Body Workouts


This video comes with the Flexaball purchase; I'm not sure if it is sold separately. Instructor Gin Miller begins with a general overview which includes inflating the ball, caring for the ball, and using neutral alignment on the ball. She then leads a 6-minute warm-up, mostly having you move the feet while moving the arms holding the ball; this did open up my back and shoulders. You then sit on the ball for a few minutes of additional stretches.

The next segment, abdominals, is 8 1/2 mintues long. This part (as well as the butt/thighs segment) is very similar to Kathy Smith's Shaper Ball workout: you work upper abs, lower abs, obliques, and the side muscles, plus do some additional hip work thrown in at the end. Back work is next, but here, Gin shows only one set of a single exercise; a message then comes on the screen suggesting that you rewind to complete additional sets.

The final segment is a butt/thighs workout, also about 8 1/2 minutes. In this section, you are mostly lying on the ground with your feet up on the ball, and you work the backs of your legs, your hips, and your inner thighs. Finally, Gin shows one set of wall squats using the ball at your back; again, the video cues you to rewind to complete additional sets. Gin ends with a few minutes of stretches, bringing the total time for the workout to about 27 minutes.

I especially liked the abs section of this workout, and I liked how Gin included stretches throughout inbetween the exercises--the ball is great for stretching! However, I would have preferred additional back work and wall squats to be incorporated into the workout; I also didn't like the fact that there weren't any upper body exercises. Finally, for a routine that is almost 1/2 hour long, I felt only very mildly worked out. However, this is a nice introduction to ball work and would probably be well-suited to beginning exercisers as well.

Instructor Comments:
This was my first video with Gin. She instructed well with good cueing, although she was quite goofy at times, often making very silly comments which I found to be a bit distracting.

Beth C (aka toaster)

01/17/2005