| May 2007 - Exercise and Fitness Question and Answer by Jeremy Gentles, CSCS Question - I really enjoy using stability balls at home and at the gym, but I don?t know what size ball is right for me. How do I choose the proper ball? Answer - It is extremely important to select the stability ball of the right size. While sitting straight up on a stability ball, your knees and hips should both form 90 degree angles. When purchasing a stability ball, you should use your height to gauge what size ball you require. Use the following guidelines as a reference:
Keep in mind that as the firmness of the ball increases, so does the difficulty of the exercise being performed on the ball; the softer the ball, the easier the exercise. Additionally, if you are overweight or obese, it is recommended that you use a softer, larger ball. Question - I have heard that certain cardio machines burn more calories than others. Can I burn more calories using an elliptical than a treadmill? Answer - You may have heard from the local ?gym rat? or an infomercials on TV, that various pieces of cardiovascular training equipment ?burn more calories? than others. This is often based on the premise that if you are using your arms and legs, you are burning more calories than if you were only using your legs. While this sounds realistic, there is not much truth behind it. A great way to measure exercise intensity is heart rate. Let?s say you exercised on an elliptical trainer for 30 minutes at a heart rate of 150 beats per minute (BPM) and then exercise on a bike for 30 minutes at a heart rate of 150 BPM. Your caloric burn after both exercise sessions would be very similar. There would not be a significant difference in caloric burn between the two machines. Now, if you exercised at a higher heart rate on the elliptical trainer than the bike, your caloric burn would be higher, not because of the machine you were using, but the intensity at which you exercised. The same could be applied to the bike; if you exercised at a higher intensity on the bike than the elliptical, your caloric burn would be greater on the bike. Let your exercise intensity be the judge of the number of calories you burn, not the machine you use. |