Going Ballistic

This is a very enjoyable stability ball tape. First of all, I really like Stephanie Morris. She is a very down to earth instructor, who knows her stuff. She speaks about proper form and alignment and constantly gives tips on making the moves work better for you. She has a real woman’s body, (a little cellulite and all), but looks healthy, strong and fit.

The warm-up consisted of holding the ball and swinging it around from side to side or up and down while you reach up and then squat. She also has you sit on the ball and move up and back using your feet, abs and balance to get you around. This was my least favorite part of the workout. Although I knew it was the warm-up, I don’t want to use my ball for cardio, just for core conditioning, strengthening and flexibility.

When the warm-up was over was when the real fun began. Stephanie showed a variety of abdominal, upper body and lower body exercises that really pushed me to my limit. She showed a variety of levels and then took you to the most advanced. I enjoyed this video because she performed a sufficient amount of repetitions while completing a body part. She also used the ball to stretch you out. I could do all the moves and although many required a tremendous amount of body balance and strength, I did not feel awkward completing the exercises (as I did in Gin Miller’s Extreme Circuit on the Ball). The exercises were very different and all appeared safe to me. The boredom factor was absent and Stephanie is a joy to listen to and watch.

You definitely need a proper size ball, especially for the oblique exercises you perform while pushing your side into the ball. If your ball is too short, your form will be completely off. I feel most people over 5’5” should have a 65 cm ball to help facilitate these moves. You can just not fill it with as much air if you are closer to the 5’5” mark, and really pump it up if you are closer to 5’9”/5’10” inches as I am. Overall, this was a definite Grade A tape.

Janet O'Neil