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Pilates Ball

Although a Pilates ball is not part of the original Pilates movement, Pilates has evolved so that many people include these balls in their workouts.

Among other things, here are some of the things that a Pilates ball can do for you:

• A Pilates ball helps to increase the difficulty of an exercise by adding balance and/or leverage challenges. The ball can be used for as long or as little as you like, but if you use it just a little each day, you should soon see changes in your balance and strength.

• These balls also help the muscles to be able to adapt to do certain things. For example, although your balance may improve, the balance only improves thanks to the fact the muscles you use when doing Pilates develop in the correct way to improve the balance. Simply developing muscles is not enough—they must be developed in the right way.

• Many physical therapists use Pilates balls in order to help their clients regain strength that they may have lost. These balls have been found to provide support as well as increased movement for many people who are in physical therapy.

• One of the problems that some people who sit at desks all day have is that their back and abdominal muscles tend to get weak. People who notice that they have this problem will sometimes sit on a Pilates ball to help avoid this problem.

• The muscles in your chest and arms can also be exercised with a Pilates ball. Simply holding the ball in front of you and giving it a few bear hugs will provide you with the opportunity to experience enough resistance to flex your muscles.

• Simply stretching is made much easier with a Pilates ball. People will drape themselves over the ball and stretch out. Some choose to do this on their stomachs, and others find it is better on their backs.

A Pilates ball can be used for all of these things, but they can just as easily be used for doing something as simple as playing.

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